This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Brain Chase – a summer adventure learning challenge that I am SO excited to tell you about! Please read on for more info and a special discount code! This might just be the summer “brain drain” prevention you’ve been looking for! 
As a former teacher, someone who loves to travel, and the mom of 3 boys (at least one of which is a reluctant reader), I am seriously SO excited to share with you what we’ll be doing this summer to keep up with some academic skills & learning. We LOVE summertime and I think family activities, free play, family travel, etc. are ALL very important parts of learning during the summer. However, we ALL know that with no academic practice at all over the summer (which for most kids here in the United States is around 10 weeks), there tends to be learning lost. That dreaded “summer brain drain”. I’ve seen it in my kids now and with one that struggles with reading a bit (and one about to enter kindergarten), I don’t want them to fall behind. BUT, almost no one wants to spend their summer break doing typical school “paper & pencil” stuff. So, what if there was something to help keep those academic skills sharp that could all be done at home that was FUN, ENGAGING, had REAL WORLD APPLICATION, could help INSPIRE A LOVE OF TRAVEL, and had BIG PRIZES?!?!? Well, there is – it’s Brain Chase! And, I can’t wait to get started on our adventure with the boys this summer! Take a look:
Brain Chase – What is it?
Brain Chase is a 5-week summer adventure learning program designed for students in 2nd through 8th grade (officially ages 6-16), presented as a massive global treasure hunt!!! YES…there REALLY is treasure! And the first adventurer to guess the location of that treasure (within a two-mile radius) get to travel with his/her family to the treasure site to claim the gold! Last year the winning family headed to Spain to dig up their treasure! And, as if that weren’t cool enough…the winner receives a $10,000 college scholarship!
SOoooooooo cool!
How does Brain Chase work?
At 9 a.m. ET on Monday, June 22, 2015, Brain Chase: The Sunstone of Cortés begins. Then, through a series of structured academic challenges, adventurers will unlock additional clues, hidden messages, etc. What is extra amazing is that ALL of these academic challenges are tailored to YOUR child(ren)! Pre-assessments are done (using the Khan Academy & MyON digital library) to determine the appropriate level for YOUR child. Hello individualized instruction!!! It truly is a one size fits all. The bonus challenges and treasure hunt is the same for everyone, but everything else can be completely customized to meet the individual student’s level. The teacher in me is beyond amazed & happy about this!! So…students can do anything from early math and basic phonics to advanced Calculus and Shakespeare! So cool!
Each week the adventurers have four tasks: read for 15 minutes per day, write one journal entry, earn 10,000 points on Khan Academy, and do one bonus challenge. When they’re done, they unlock the next webisode, which contains hidden pictures, numbers, and riddles to help them guess the treasure’s location. There is NO working ahead (but you can catch up if you fall behind). So, each week, everyone is really an even playing field again. And, you really have to get through all five weeks to unlock all the necessary clues to solve the mystery.
Seriously, how cool is this?! I tend to be a little competitive (as does my oldest), so I think the real life (GLOBAL) treasure hunt component is insanely amazing! I feel like this is Where in the World is Carmen SanDiego meets Indiana Jones! Pure awesome! In addition to just the pure coolness factor of the whole thing, I LOVE that this program not only fosters a love of learning and travel, but it really promotes family collaboration! Obviously, the individual kids need to do their academic work (and on their own where possible), BUT families (and friends) are encouraged to work
together on the treasure hunt. I LOVE that this is something that we can work on together as a family! So great!
Here’s last year’s winner talking about how they worked together to solve all the riddles and figure out the location of the treasure!
The 2015 Challenge
The 2015 Brain Chase challenge is to find the Sunstone of Cortés, a mysterious calendar stolen from the Aztec empire by Hernan Cortés in the 1500s. Kids join Mae Merriweather, her brother Max, athletic Sean Drake, and former nemesis Savannah Bryce to find the fictional Sunstone of Cortés… and the real one! To find the treasure, Mae Merriweather and her friends from the Grayson Academy of Antiquities will travel to the Himalayas, dive off the coast of Greece, and solve riddles. But there is more to the quest — and treasure — than they realize!
Once the adventure begins and you start working through the challenges and getting clues, you can start making guesses as to the treasure location. Every 24 hours, adventurers can log in to enter their guess! The first adventurer to guess the location within a two-mile radius travels with his/her family to the treasure site to claim the gold.
Register for Brain Chase! Discount code!!
Brain Chase is now open for Early Bird registration! And, YOU get an additional 15% discount for being a Mom Endeavors reader!!
Register by April 30th with code MOMENDEAVORS15 and the cost is just $127 for 1 child ($212 for 2 or $296 for 3)!! After April 30th, the cost with the discount code is $169!
For a 5 week program, that is an AMAZING deal!!
Here’s what your Brain Chase Registration comes with:
- 5 weeks of structured challenges on external reading and math websites
- Weekly writing exercises with feedback from credentialed teachers
- Weekly progress reports emailed to parents
- Exclusive access to an original animated adventure series loaded with hidden puzzles and clues
- 3 adventure tools mailed to your home to help solve special bonus challenges
- Participation in a massive global treasure hunt for a golden trophy containing the key to a safe deposit box holding $10,000!!!!
So…are you ready for this summer learning adventure?! Be sure to Register for Brain Chase (<—- click here) and enter code MOMENDEAVORS15 to save 15%!!!
What do you think about this? Is it something you & your kids would be interested in?
Have questions? If so…please leave them in the comments below and we’ll make sure they get answered. Or, you can check out the FAQ’s here: Brain Chase FAQ’s
2 Responses
This is SO cool!! Watching the video now…
This really sounds so cool! My oldest is just in kindergarden but this would be a great way for her to keep her brain going through the summer when she’s older. I’ll have to pin this and check it out when she is in second grade. Thanks for letting us know about it!