I recently was introduced to cwist, and asked to review this site created with kids in mind. Do you know about cwist? If not, here is a little background information on this website, which lets parents create fun learning activities/challenges for their children, or choose from hundreds of activities created by other parents, teachers, etc.:
"cwist is the only digital platform to harness the creative power of both parents and educators to develop, test and share hundreds of challenges that educate the whole child. With an interactive library of educational, community service, outdoor and unique challenges for kids ages 5-10, cwist helps kids make a healthy connection between the things they want and the effort it takes to get them. Challenges or “cwists” are crowd-sourced from parents, educators, mom bloggers and experts and posted in the cwist library. The cwists can be anything from organizing a community clean-up, researching fun facts for your upcoming family trip, completing a summer reading list or simply finishing your chores every day on time. Upon successful completion of a cwist, kids choose parent approved rewards which can be anything from a sleepover to a trip day somewhere fun, a new toy or gadget they have wanted or something completely unique and original.
While a great resource and community for parents, cwist is also a great way to see what your kids are wishing for and giving them a way to earn it. Partner companies, like Imagine Toys, Edmund Scientific and more make it easy for kids to select rewards they really want. And if it’s not on cwist, kids can chose and enter their own unique reward. cwist’s creators have diverse backgrounds in the education,tech services and kids entertainment and media industries. As parents themselves, they understand that moms and dads need a place where they can motivate their kids to learn work ethic, delayed gratification and build self-confidence."
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I have been using this website with my girls, nieces and nephew for a few weeks now. We have all been having fun. I like that I am able to tailor activities to their age range and likes, or if pressed for time and need a fun activity to keep the kids busy, while having them learn, can choose from the creative activities shared in the learning library from others. Because Christmas is right around the corner, the kids completed a few activities, in were given the option to either earn a reward for themselves (toy, pizza night, movie night, etc.) or pick up toy and donate it to local child in need. I was surprised to see that my nieces and nephew all chose to give a toy to a child in need. They said that they knew that Santa would be coming to the house, but that other children out there might not be getting a visit from Santa -- so, they wanted to make sure they had a brand new toy to play with. My heart melted when they said this, and I can't help but tear up now thinking about this as I type up review.
One of the activities that the kids, including my daughters took part in was to clean up their playrooms and bedrooms and fill a box with toys they longer wanted or were too big for, so that we could donate to local battered women's shelter for kids in need. I didn't think my girls would want to give up toys, as they are only 2 and 3, and fight whenever the other takes a toy from them, no matter what it is. But, I kept telling them that they needed to make room for the new toys Santa may be bringing -- that was, if they continued to be good and stay on his "nice list." This activity, which I created, had multiple parts to it. The first was to decorate the box they would be filling with toys, then they had to go through their toys and fill the box. Then, I had the older kids write a letter to the new toy owners, letting them know they loved these toys and hope that the new owners get as much enjoyment from them as my kids did. :-) The older kids accompanied me to the battered women's shelter office, where they handed over their boxes of toys. The staff thanked them for their good deed. You should have saw how happy they were receiving this thanks, and knowing that they were doing something good. We have been talking for a few weeks now how giving is better than receiving, especially during the holiday season. Once we arrived home, the kids were able to check off that all mini activities were complete, so that I could review and approve their work. Then, they watched as I ordered the toy they chose when we started these fun "learning mission" as they called them. A few days later, the toys were received, and we wrapped them and left them under the giving tree at the town hall.
Thanks to the cwist site and how the platform is set up, the kids have been loving the site, and learning things like community service, volunteering or simply learning something new. Just the other day, we spent the afternoon completing fun holiday cwist activities others posted to the cwist library. As we sat around the family computer, the kids learned the true meaning of Christmas, did math/problem solving activities and more. Once you find the activity you think would be good for your child, you can arrive your child(ren) who are registered on the site, and then they are ready to start the assigned activity. This is what the cwist learning activities look like on the cwist platform:
As you can see, many of the cwist activities can be completed in about an hour or so, and require only a few supplies like scrap paper and a pencil. There are other activities that take some time to complete, or require you to have different books like the Polar Express on hand, or have to buy supplies for your child to complete an activity...but, you can browse all the learning activities and see what is needed time and supply wise before choosing and assigning to your child.
My kids loved browsing the 100+ activities and helping me choose just the right ones for them. And, right now they have a few learning activities that they are working on, and should be completed by the end of the week. Again, they will be donating their reward of a toy to a child in need. But, I also plan to surprise them with a movie/pizza night for all their hard work in completing these activities, and for giving to others.
As a parent, I can't say enough about the cwist website. I only wish it was around when I was a child, as I would have loved completing these fun, educational activities, which teach valuable life lessons, build self esteem and offer activities that get kids moving or thinking, rather than just sitting and playing video games or texting on their phones. If you have children, you should really check out cwist and sign up for a free account. And, with the winter break next week for the kids, this site will definitely come in handy for parents looking for activities to keep kids busy and engaged. Who knew that learning new things or volunteering and helping others could be so much fun?!
Click here to visit cwist now to sign up and start assigning learning activities to your child(ren) today -- www.cwist.com/.
And, while you are at cwist signing up a new account, make a point to check out the Kids CWIST For Kids program, where your kids can earn gifts for kids in need this holiday season. Read on to learn more...
Imagine the joy when your child sees how they've helped make a holiday wish come true! So, what are you waiting for? Head on over to the CWIST website to sign up and start motivating and teaching your child valuable life lessons, while also helping out a child in need this holiday season - https://www.cwist.com/holidaygiving.
For more information, please visit www.cwist.com. Be sure to like CWIST on Facebook and follow them on Twitter: @cwisting, and on Pinterest at: pinterest.com/cwistmom.
Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting (#MC) for CWIST. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
This is such a great idea and I love that the child has the option to earn a toy or they can donate one. Thanks for sharing this one great product.
ReplyDeleteheather [email protected]