Thanks to Afterschoolz for sponsoring this post.
At the beginning of this year I shared about a helpful resource called Afterschoolz, a website that helped caregivers find activities for their kids in the Chicago area. The site was pretty new at the time but had such a great variety of activities listed and new ones being added frequently. I really liked the variety of activities provided, from sports to STEM classes to unique things like anime club. There seemed to be something for everyone.
Since the site was fairly new, they were looking for feedback and asked Making Time For Mommy readers what else you’d love to see available on the site. I know many of you asked for better search functions and I’m happy to say that the folks at Afterschoolz heard your request and made updates to make the search options even better.
This is great news for those of us still looking for summer activities! Personally, I have been wanting to find a gymnastics class for Lucas because the one he goes to at our local park district was cancelled this session and he was really disappointed. When I searched Afterschoolz I was excited to see many options, including gymnastics studios nearby that I never knew existed.
Searching the site to find local activities your children would enjoy is so easy using their new search feature with adjustable filters. You can pick the kind of activities you’d like by main category (academics, arts, athletics, camps or preschool) or search by specific activity keyword like “crafts” or “hockey”. You can look at all activities in your area or narrow the activities to only show ones within 5 miles of you. You can narrow the search even more by adding in more specifics about your child like age and gender and price limits if you are on a budget.
My favorite feature though, is the date and time filter. With a busy schedule I like being able to put in the hours that we have open and be able to see classes and lessons that are during those time periods. It’s great not having to search through dozens of activities looking for ones that work for our family’s schedule because this filter does all that work for us.
So whether you are looking for a summer camp for your tween, an art class for your preschooler or a dance class for your budding ballerina, Afterschoolz is the website Chicago area parents will want to check out. In addition to the great search function, the site shows detailed descriptions along with ratings and parent feedback on activities. There is even the option to sign up for the activities right on the site making this an easy to use resource parents will refer to for years to come!
What summer activities will you be searching the site for?
This is a wonderful app. I think it is great that you can search by time blocks so you know what’s available at the times you want.
This is such a great idea! So many kids these days just sort of float after school. Between jobs and scheduling. they need something to occupy them. I love the app.
This app is genius. Cities like Chicago always have a ton of programs available to kids, but not everyone knows about them.
This is such a great idea!~ I am always looking for things to do with my daughter after school, and to have them all listed in the app, that is a great thing!
Such a great idea. I wish there was an app like that where I lived. It’s hard to find an activity that could fit into the time slot I need.
Activity Finders are the way to go! There are so many different places to go and things to see, and Afterschoolz is a quick and easy way to find just the right activity.
What a fantastic website. I’m going to have to talk to my town about doing something like this.
Ah, this is a really nice tool to have. I always liked finding things my kids could participate in locally.
I will have to check out Afterschoolz for my Son. I am always looking for ways to have fun after school and the summer holidays.
I have friends that live in the Chicago area. I will have to tell them about Afterschoolz.
This program seems very beneficial to me. I would love if we had something similar in our area.
This is really cool! We could use something like this in our area. Sometimes it’s tough to figure out what to do after school. This would be a big help.
What a great idea! I really wish we had something like this in our area. Sometimes it is so hard to find things to do with my son.
Every city needs this. What a great resource for finding amazing activities to do with your kids.
This is something that we could really use. Half the battle is researching things for the kids to do, and by the time you find something, everything is booked up. Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome!! I am sure my kids will enjoy this too. Will definitely share this with my friends!
Wow this is really neat, I have a similar resource like this here but this is very convenient.
I’m still in the process of looking for summer activities and ideas for my kids. I love that there are websites and apps that are great resources for us parents. I will definitely check this one out!