Parents' Guide to Thrively

Thrively has an interesting premise: Parents choose several subjects they think their kid would be interested in. Then their child takes an assessment test, created with input from pediatric neuropsychologists, that identifies academic and personality strengths. Thrively's system then generates suggested activities and information to help kids learn more about certain topics. The quiz asks multiple choice questions like "If you were in a race and someone fell next to you, what would you do?" -- then gives kids some pretty accurate info about their best assets. It's fun to take, though a bit long, and both kids and parents will appreciate the insight it offers. Thrively's suggestions often involve classes, workshops, and other events in a kids' area -- many of which cost money to attend, which could be a barrier to some families. (There's a bit of educational content that you can find directly on the site, which is cool, though offline activities are the real focus here.)

Courses, workshops, and similar items listed on the site are labeled by age level, gender, and other qualifications -- so, if you're looking for a way to find kid-centric activities in your town, Thrively can serve as a helpful directory that zones in your kids' interests. It also features some links to sites that have learning-based games and other items. Thrively can be a handy search tool, but seems to have potential for more depth in the future.