📚 Reading apps and reading coaches · 🧸 Early learning (ages 2-6) · 🔭 Science, nature and the world
PBS KIDS Summer of Adventure
By PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Visit PBS KIDS Summer of Adventure
Desk research from the maker's own pages. Not yet tried by us. Checked 2026-10-24.
A free summer page on the PBS KIDS for Parents site. It gathers printables (a summer checklist, an activity book with PBS KIDS characters and a reading chart), book lists, crafts like a cardboard mini library, everyday math ideas and tips for keeping young kids curious over the break. Most of it is for a parent to print or read and then do with a child offline; it links out to PBS KIDS games and shows for screen time.
Our take: Handy for parents of preschoolers and early grade-schoolers who want low-cost summer ideas; families wanting a summer learning plan with tracking should look elsewhere.
Checked in a browser
A browser check on 2026-10-25: what loads, the ads and trackers we saw, and what a child meets first. Not a hands-on test.
| Child safety: 2 out of 5 | Google ad slots were on the page (3 ad frames from Google's ad exchange), so adult-oriented ads are possible; this page is on pbs.org/parents and meant for parents, not the PBS KIDS games site. |
|---|---|
| Data: 1 out of 5 | Seven ad networks (Google, PubMatic, OpenX, Criteo, The Trade Desk and others) and the ID-sync service id5 fired before the cookie banner was answered. |
| Ease: 3 out of 5 | A parents' article page; the cookie banner covers the bottom third of the phone screen and the cards are reading lists and articles, not activities for a child. |
| Cost honesty: 5 out of 5 | Free; the only ask seen was a newsletter sign-up. |
What we found
- The listed URL is the parents' page (pbs.org/parents/summer), not a child-facing PBS KIDS page
- 7 known ad networks plus id5-sync contacted before consent; 3 Google ad frames on the page
- 20 cookies set before consent, from ad domains such as Criteo, OpenX, The Trade Desk and Yahoo
- A cookie banner with Accept, Reject Optional and Settings covered the lower third of the screen
From the test: This is a page for parents that carries programmatic ads and ID-sync tracking on the first visit; the PBS KIDS games themselves were not checked here.
| Ages it suits | about 2-8 |
|---|---|
| What its terms say about age | The parents' site falls under PBS's general terms: users say they are 18 or older; under 18 only with a parent's permission and supervision; under 13 may not register or give personal information. Children of any age may use the separate pbskids.org with a parent's permission. (terms) |
| Price | Free. Free (Oct 2026). |
| Works on | Web |
| Account | No account needed |
| Ads | Yes |
| In-app purchases | None |
| The AI in it | No AI. |
What's good
- Free printables that get kids off screens
- Uses characters young kids already know
- Short, practical tips for parents
Watch for
- It is a page of links and printables, not a structured program
- The parents' site carries sponsor messages and ad-tracking cookies
- Meant for adults to use, not for kids on their own
Data and privacy
PBS's privacy policy says third parties may track activity across sites for measurement and to show more relevant ads on other sites, with opt-outs through ad-industry programs. It says PBS will not sell student data or use it for targeted ads. Read the privacy policy.
Does it work?
No studies of this summer page. It is a collection of activities, not a tested program.
In the Big Index
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Where these facts come from
- https://www.pbs.org/parents/summer
- https://www.pbs.org/about/terms-use/
- https://www.pbs.org/about/pbs-privacy-policy/
Prices, terms and features change. Nobody paid to be listed, nothing here is an affiliate link, and Peabody never rates itself. Where we and the maker disagree, the maker's own pages are the ones to trust.