Night Zookeeper is an online learning platform with a website and a mobile application which is designed to make learning both fun and engaging.
The platform has been specifically designed for children between the ages of 6 and 12 to help develop their reading, writing and creative thinking skills.
Since launching back in 2011, Night Zookeeper has helped more than 1 million children around the world.
I’ve been lucky enough to partner in a paid sponsorship with Night Zookeeper on this article to highlight what both myself and my children think of the online learning platform. As always, all of the opinions within this article are my own.
Contents
What Is Night Zookeeper?
Night Zookeeper is an online learning platform that features animated characters, creative tools, videos and games which are designed to make learning both engaging and fun for children between the ages of 6 and 12.
Both children and parents can access the Night Zookeeper features either on a computer, laptop or tablet.
The website and application is safe for kids. Usernames are pre-created, comments are moderated, scanned and no photos can be uploaded.
The website is designed to immerse children in a virtual world in which they are a zookeeper in a zoo which only operates at night. In return for looking after the animals and writing about them children can collect orbs which help them to go through different levels.
Unlike some other video games there’s no option to buy orbs, instead children have to earn them by completing these English National Curriculum and creative tasks.
While children can use the application and website independently I found that I needed to sit with my children for around an hour to set them up. Together we created their first animal within the zoo, and moved around the basic functions of the website.
You can easily use Night Zookeeper as part of your English curriculumn thanks to the detailed TV lessons. There’s new videos being added all the time which cover different topics such as basic fun facts and writing skills.
Sadly, write now there’s no break down for parents of each of the videos. Instead I had to spend an hour one evening going through the videos and categorising them so I could assign them to a particular lesson plan / schedule.
Alongside the skill building videos there’s also games. I find that all my children learn best through doing, so these fun games which build up skills and feature detailed prompts to allow them to work indepdently are perfect.
Depending on how you structure your homeschool you can use these games after a lesson to build skills or as a break out area for a workbox.
Thanks to the application which can be downloaded onto most tablets you can even have children playing these educational games on road trips, or journeys to sports practice for example.
How Much Does Night Zookeeper Cost?
Night Zookeeper comes in a subscription format with discounts for longer subscriptions with an up front payment.
If you choose to pay monthly it’s £9.99 / $12.99
If you choose to pay every 3 months it’s £9.00 / $11.33 per month taken as a single payment every 3 months of £26.99 / $33.99
If you choose to pay every 12 months it’s £7.50 / $9.92 per month taken as a single payment of £89.99 / $118.99 every 12 months.
Unsurprisingly, the best value is the 12-month option which saves you 25% when compared to paying monthly.
However, Night Zookeeper is offering an exclusive discount for Happy Homeschool Nest readers providing them with a 50% discount on annual plans when signing up through this link.
This brings the annual cost down to just $55.99 for one child or $77.99 for two or three children (contact the team and tell them you were referred by Happy Homeschool Nest for custom pricing for more than three children).
If you are looking to add more than one child to your subscription plan then the cost increases slightly. However, in my opinion, this is well worth it as it gives each child an individual profile which from the parent dashboard you can then use to track their progress.
There’s an additional £2.00 / $3.00 charge per month for up to two additional children (which would leave you with 3 children costing £12.99 / $15.99 on a monthly plan, £110.99 / $154.99 year on a 12-month plan or £33.99 / $44.99 on a quarterly plan)
If you have more than three children who you would like to use Night Zookeeper then you can contact the team for a bespoke offer using the email address support@nightzookeeper.com
Who Is Night Zookeeper Suitable For?
Night Zookeeper is suitable for children between the ages of 6 and 12 from anywhere in the world.
All you need to use Night Zookeeper is access to the internet. This can be in the form of a tablet, computer or mobile device.
Whether you’re homeschooling your children or your children are part of mainstream education, Night Zookeeper can help them to build litracy skills and inspire creativity.
What’s Included With A Night Zookeeper Subscription?
Here’s what’s included with a subscription to Night Zooekeeper;
- An online platform in which children between the ages of 5 and 12 can improve their core writing skills.
- The ability for children to get personalised feedback from a dedicated team of tutors.
- Weekly Lessons that incorporate interactive video elements and games to teach your children key skills
- Publishing opportunities and weekly competitions with real-life prizes!
- FREE Monthly Educational Printables
Is It Easy To Sign Up & Cancel?
Signing up to Night Zookeeper is simple and straight forward.
Simply log onto the website here to register.
You can register as either a parent, a child or a teacher. In my case, I’ll be registering as a parent.
Then, you’ll want to ensure that the flag at the top of the page, and the pricing currency matches your home currency. This will ensure you’re billed correctly and don’t face additional charges by your bank.
Then you’ll want to select your pricing structure. There’s more about the different pricing options above. Regardless of the pricing option, you choose you’ll be given a seven-day free trial. If you cancel before the end of that trial you won’t be charged.
Once you’ve chosen your plan you’ll need to add some personal details such as your email and name. You’ll also need to add your child’s age.
After this, it’s onto banking details. Once that’s confirmed you’re all signed up. From there you’ll be sent an email with a username and password for each child and a link to the parent dashboard.
The entire sign up process takes 10 minutes or less.
If for any reason you want to cancel your subscription to Night Zookeeper you can do so by emailing the support team at support@nightzookeeper.com
Is Night Zookeeper Worth It?
I believe that the Night Zookeeper is worth the cost. It’s a solid platform, with highly engaging materials. It’s modern, and fun and incredibly interactive.
Personally, the biggest selling point for me is the parents dashboard where I can see at a glance what my children are working on and comment if required. No other platform that I’m aware of has this much functionality when it comes to parents being able to access a different area to switch between children to view their progress.
The fact that the application is available both on a computer / laptop and a tablet is another key selling point. If we’re out of town, it’s a great way to have the children learning on the go, or learning without me bringing along 10 physical workbooks.
Much like all learning curriculums and resources there’s some changes I’d like to see in the future. The key one being a breakdown of the type of lessons and an associated game so I can quickly allocate different projects to different lessons / weeks as part of a broader subject (i.e. verbs).
However, the continuous updates and new materials being added to the platform leaves me to believe that functions like this one may come in the future.
Night Zookeeper Books
Alongside the Night Zookeeper online platform, there’s a number of physical resources you can purchase from the store. This includes a range of books.
If you would like the books in e-Book format they are $5 each, meanwhile, in a physical format, they are $10 plus postage. However, be sure to keep an eye out for special offers for book bundles which can significantly reduce the price.
Right now there are four Night Zookeeper books available to purchase. Each of these books are numbered so you can read them in order.
Book #1 – The Giraffes of the Whispering Wood
Book #2 – The Lioness of Fire Desert
Book #3 – The Penguins of Igloo City
Book #4 – The Elephant of Tusk Temple
However, none of the books are sequential. Therefore you could opt to read book four and then go back to book one or book two if you prefer.
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