Things To Do With Your Kids: The Solutioneers

Apr 9, 2020

2 min read

This post is sponsored by Shaftesbury to promote Shaftesbury Kid’s and their new program The Solutioneers. Experience and views are my own.

I don’t know about you, but physical distancing and self-quarantining have meant my personal screen time has skyrocketed. I’ve wasted countless hours on Tik Tok (where my cousins are making a bid to become Tik Tok stars), watched all of Netflix and been continually shamed by my screen usage alert every week. It comes as no surprise then that Clara’s screen time has also gone up. We feel only a little guilty about this as we subscribe to the theory of doing whatever we need to do to get through this. Luckily there is a lot of awesome programming on YouTube for kids, including Shaftesbury Kids latest show The Solutioneers.

Shaftesbury is the production company most famous for Murdoch Mysteries (of which we are HUGE fans of. Crabtree is my favourite character. Johnny Harris is a national treasure) Hudson & Rex and Frankie Drake Mysteries. Shaftesbury Kids YouTube channel has released its entire library of new and legacy kids programming as a result of COVID-19, to ensure families have free and easy access to entertaining and educational content.

The Solutioneers

The Solutioneers follows 12-year-old best friends, coders and budding inventors as they solve everyday problems and make a major difference in the world using STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math). Five-minute episodes are released every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and this scripted show highlights Riley, Kat, Gwen and Ava’s challenges and experiences as they try to win the National STEAM speed challenge.

According to the National Centre on Early Childhood Development, each of STEAM’s five subjects shares a common approach and focus. They require gathering and using evidence to create knowledge or solve problems. STEAM learning happens naturally every day as children explore, play, and try new things. When young children have the opportunity to investigate the world around them, they learn and experiment with new STEAM skills and theories. Research shows there is a positive relationship between early STEAM experiences and future success in school.

I’m a big fan of how this show promotes both STEAM and young girls working together. While the episodes are geared towards kids older than Clara, they are short enough that Clara can watch them and remain interested.

To watch all of the episodes released so far you can check out the Shaftesbury Kids YouTube channel, which also features some of Riley’s Vlogs as well as all their other programming. I’ve also included the first episode below for you to check out!