One of the things I find tough about having a little one who is between preschool and kindergarten age, is that they're not yet in school full time. B goes to school three days a week. during the morning hours, only. Next year, he'll go five days a week, but again- just during the morning hours. One of my main goals this year, has been to continue the learning at home during the afternoon hours, as well as on the days he is not in school. We do a lot of different things, from crafts and projects to experiments, reading and writing, etc. We also work toward discovering and learning new things. B has recently expressed an interest in learning more about the world, and loves animals, as well- so when we were introduced to Junior Explorers, I felt that the program would be a great fit for us!
About Junior Explorers
Junior Explorers is a fun monthly subscription for kids of all ages. Every month, the kiddos are sent a new mission pack. They never know where they might be assigned to explore! The physical kit contains everything needed to get ready for a fun adventure! With the help of a grown up, the children are then encouraged to log into the Junior Explorers website, and join friends Kia and Kyle on the mission! Kia and Kyle are the resident Junior Explorers who accompany your child on every adventure. Together they will explore amazing places like the Arctic, Serengeti and Amazon, having fun while learning about these regions and the animals that live there!
We couldn't wait to see what Junior Explorers was all about! I wondered if B would enjoy it, or if it would hold his interest, since we would be going online together to complete the mission.
Our Junior Explorers February Mission Kit arrived in the mail...
...and told us that we would be going to the Arctic!
Our Mission Kit came in an envelope, and B couldn't wait to see what was inside!
Our Mission Kit for Mission Arctic, all laid out...
Our Mission Kit included a special letter, an activity booklet, an instuction sheet to follow as we went through our mission, a bracelet, a Mission Arctic Pin (to be pinned to the bracelet), stickers, tattoos, and mission flashcards, plus little mini figures of a fox and a whale. B excited waited to dig into all of this, until we were ready for our mission.
We read through our mission letter from Kia and Kyle, which contained our mission code, and a bit more information about what our mission to the Arctic would entail.
As I retreived the needed info to log onto the Junior Explorer's website and get everything set up for our mission to the Arctic, B made his own preparations. He disappeared into his room for a few minutes, and when he returned (still in his pj's), he was all decked out in his explorer gear, and ready to head to the Arctic for our mission!
Here's Junior Explorer, B- all dressed and ready for our mission!
We logged into our mission portal, and were so excited to meet Kia and Kyle, and learn about why we needed to head to the Arctic. We viewed several photos of the Arctic, so we could get a better sense of what the climate is like in the Arctic. B noted the flat, snowy areas, and the snow-covered mountains. He then decided that he might need a jacket for the mission, afterall.
Slide show of the Arctic...
We met our friends Kia and Kyle, and they gave us a better idea of what we'd be doing on our mission to the Arctic. We enjoyed taking a look around, and clicking on the envelope to read our mission letter.
Before we could head to the Arctic on our mission, we needed to pack our gear. So, we used our checklist, and added the items we woud need for our trip to our gear cache. B had a blast locating the items we needed, like a map, compass, backpack, binoculars, water, etc.
We encountered a lot of different animals on our journey through the Arctic.
B loved learning about the Snowy Owls. With every animal we encountered, there was a fun game to play. After we completed each game, we earned a mission flash card, which told us more information about the animals, and were a lot of fun to collect! The games helped us learn more about how the animals in the artic live, the foods they eat, and what they have to do to survive. We loved the food chain game, where we had to try to guess the order the animals eat one another in, for their survival.
Here's Junior Explorer B, with his hat and binoculars, proudly showing off his earned flash cards!
One of B's favorite things about our mission, was looking at the map, and clicking to continue our journey. He loved being able to follow the trail on the map with his fingers, tracing our starting point to where we wound up.
Our Mission Folder showed us our checklist, and some of the photos we snapped while on our mission! It was fun to go back and look through it for a recap of what we had already accomplished on our mission!
Each time we played a game while on our mission, we earned points. Those points accumulated, and near the end of our mission, we were able to split the points up between causes we wanted to show our support to- like the Nature Conservatory!
As Junior Explorers, Kids also will learn how to give back and support the habitats and species they explore every month!
Each month kids complete our Mission Giveback program:
Play games + Earn points + Give points to real world conservation projects + We convert the points to $ and make a donation to those projects = Your child makes a difference + We fulfill our mission of supporting conservation!
Once the mission was completed online, B received his Mission Arctic certificate!
B was so excited to see a certificate with his name on it, after her completed the Mission Arctic. The certificate was issuded by the Junior Explorer Mission Center! In total, we spent about 90 minutes from start to finish completing the mission online. I was so surprised that B was interested and engaged the entire time! He was so excited by this fun, new way for us to explore nature and the animals, that he was prety much glued to his seat at the table the whole time. He loved the photos and fun facts about the animals, loved the games, and couldn't wait to see what we might encounter next,
He was pretty bummed after we completed the mission, until I told him that we had some fun 'offline' stuff yet to do for our mission. So, we took to our Mission Kit that we received in the mail, and grabbed the activity book. We answered some questions, and then B went right for the stickers! He couldn't wait to decorate his Mission Kit envelope!
Having fun decorating...
...and then we went for the tattoos! This was actually the first time B let me put a temporary tattoo on his hand! He loved it!
B had so much fun exploring the Artic with Kia and Kyle and learning about the animals we encountered while on our mission. We loved exploring the climate and learning about how the animals are able to suvive in the arctic, as well. We loved the fun games and missions, collecting the flashcards, and completing the mission made B feel so special. I loved being able to tell him a bit more about why it's so iportant for us to take good care of the earth, and to help protect the earth and the animals that inhabit it, by giving back.
We can't wait to find out what the mission for March will be!
The February mission was so much fun!
Want to Join the Missions? Sign Up Here!
Click above or head on over to Junior Explorers to learn more about this wonderful opportunity to connect your children with Kia and Kyle, and explore the world around them! The process is simple- select your subscription- 1 Month is $19.00, and the more you bundle, the more you save. You can cancel anytime along the way. Once you subscribe, your mission kit will arrive each month you're signed up to receive one. Open your mission kit to get your code, and then log onto the computer to join Kia and Kyle, and find out more about the mission!
Junior Explorers makes a wonderful gift! I am especially looking forward to Junior Explorer Missions that we'll be able to go on during the summer months!
Be sure to connect with Junior Explorers through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. You can also sign up for the Junior Explorer Newsletter and head to the JE Blog for even more fun content and ideas!
Special thanks to our friends at Junior Explorers for allowing us to experience the Arctic! We can't wait to see where the next journey will take us!
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