Adults make friends all of the time via Facebook groups or other specialized social media- what about virtual social classes or clubs for kids?
Listen to our podcast episode HERE for more details on virtual clubs for kids and teens.
Making friends safely as a child or teen in a virtual world is challenging.
Parents want their kids to connect with others and be able to socialize. Truly, we all want our children to find others with similar interests and create true friendships.
What’s the challenge? Distance learning, online school and homeschooling during a pandemic all pose real roadblocks against traditional social networking and communicating.
What if your children and teens could connect safely and easily with other kids? Trust me- my 9 year old NEEDS social connections and kids to talk to.
The good news- we are in a tech savvy world with amazing opportunities. Honestly, this is a chance for your kids to connect with people they may not have otherwise via virtual social classes.
These are the options I have discovered for online, safe socialization for now and fall. Got other recommendations for virtual social classes? Comment and we will check them out!
Connected Camps
Got a kid who loves Minecraft? Through Connected Camps, kids can safely build and play with peers in moderated servers (separate for kids and teens). In October, they are even offering “Halloweekends” that are completely free and filled with spooky, fun challenges and activities.
Have a teen looking for volunteer opportunities? Connected Camps is continually looking for teens to serve as mentors and assistants- check out the volunteer opportunities here.
Social Options on Outschool
Various and wide-ranging social opportunities await on Outschool. Kids can connect to play teacher-monitored games (board games or things like Minecraft), trivia sessions, weekly hangouts, and movie-talk. Got a little one who loves Roblox like I do or a Sudoku obsessed kid? They have a social group for your kid. Online clubs are even available for teens with interests in law, healthcare, and other professional fields.
General Social Clubs on Outschool:
A new feature allows you to sign your kiddo or teen up for the ‘community’ and connect with like-minded individuals. Sign up at this link.
Outschool is also offering some free (yes, FREE) weekly virtual meetings for kids. Check out the options here-
Learner Community Kick-Off Ages 9-12
Learner Community Kick-Off Ages 13-18
Specific Social Clubs On Outschool:
Finding the right ongoing class or club on Outschool doesn’t have to be difficult– use the search term “social”, “social skills”, “club”, “friends”, or WHATEVER your child’s interest is in the search box and take a few minutes to peruse the options. Note that classes ARE available for non-verbal students as well- just make sure to include that in your search.
Examples of social classes my kids have taken on Outschool– Friends trivia (based on the hit tv show), Roblox Fun, Mermaid Sisters Club, Cooking Club, Fashion Club, Art Club….the list goes on. It’s truly a safe way to connect your child with like-minded kids around the world.
Want to have a more academic experience? Outschool Book Clubs or novel studies are also available- read more here about those opportunities.
Clubba
Clubba provides virtual after-school and weekend clubs for kids ages 6-12. All counselors are college students from top universities. Kids join small groups of 5 and participate in virtual clubs from YouTuber to fashionista to acting. They consider themselves future-forward and fun. Parents get time to themselves while kids learn and play. It’s a win win.
Carefully App
The Carefully app is ‘carefully’ designed to connect families for childcare and activity purposes. Currently, they host weekly free activities for kids, including cooking, arts, storytime and music.
Group Meetings on ARI Learning
Various offerings are available on a sign-up basis- examples include a nature explorers club, a virtual school newspaper group, and a Learning Wellness Program. Details:
Virtual School Paper
Learning Wellness Program
Blake Boles, author of Why Are You Still Sending Your Kids to School, offers meet-ups on a regular basis for teens around the world. Teens can sign up for these free, fun and laid-back meetings on his site. An email is sent prior to the chat with topics of discussion (they are really creative and interesting conversation starters).
Social Workshops via Level-Up
Level-Up, which is part of Empowered Academy, is offering various social workshops linked from their Facebook page. Sessions occur within the Whereby platform and are topic-oriented. All workshops are monitored and are often games, art, or other creative endeavors. New postings are listed on Sundays.
Are you looking for more ideas of classes or activities your kids can pursue online to make screentime useful? We have suggestions for you and we even have a private Facebook group you can join with all things online school-related.
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