Little Thinker Box Subscription Box Review – October 2015

M is for Monster for the October Little Thinker Box. Kidable Adventures Little Thinker Box is a preschool subscription box for ages 3-6.  The Little Thinker Box includes four components: Read, Create, Explore, and Learn. The Learn component is divided into three different levels: Head Start, PreK, and Kindergarten. Choose the level that’s right for your child!

The theme for the month is M is for Monster. But they are cute monsters, so no need to be scared!  Don’t quote us, but we think they alternate letters of the alphabet with themes.

We take the packs apart for photos, but each component is packaged separately, which is great for spreading this box out over your month.  You could do a component per week, or you can work through them all on a rainy weekend.

All the actual instructions plus the parental guidance is included, along with all the supplies! The Read, Create, Explore, and Learn format is a newer design, and is based on customer and expert feedback.  We like the bit of structure it lends to the boxes — the numerous activities are more manageable conceptualized in smaller bites.

Read


This month’s book was “Look at Me, I’m a Monster,” by Sebastien Brown.  This was a very interactive book — each set of pages had eye and nose holes, allowing the kids to wear the book like a mask.  I believe the accompanying activity was also more hands-on than usual.  Instead of questions for guided reading, the book came with Play-Doh and some crafting materials.

The book has several funny monster faces for the kids to try on for size.

Just another day at our house.

The activity accompanying the book turned out to be a blast.  My daughter put together lots of funny monster faces — this would’ve kept her entertained for the whole afternoon!

Create

The Create portion of the box had three main activities:  a magnet, an accordion monster, and a sand monster.

The magnet monster was cute and really easy to assemble.  All the pieces were pre-punched and self-adhesive.

The accordion monster was also very easy to do.  The pre-cut pieces needed to be glued together, and the kit came with glue dots (which can be a little challenging to use).

Super simple and silly, this was a quick project that, like many Little Thinker Box crafts, results in a displayable (albeit likely not permanent) decoration.

The final create activity was a sand monster.  This required a little more patience and concentration that the other projects, but it was very easy to do.  The pre-colored sand comes in individual packets, and the monster had segmented stickers that could be peeled individually to prevent misdirection of sand.

Explore

The Explore segment engages kids in more kinetic, unscripted activities.

Monster Draw included a dry erase board and marker, prompting drawing of unique monsters, the composition of which was determined by a roll of the die.

Monster Catch used the included monster boxes as potential receptacles for a well-aimed ping pong ball.

Monster Knock-Down was like bowling for monsters.  The box monsters were used for this as well, stacked up and knocked down with the “porcupine ball” included in the kit.

Learn

The learn segment included a learning course board game.

A roll of the die led the little figurine down the course.  Each letter along the way required a different activity.   A single run through involved a half-dozen or so challenges, but several plays covered most of the letters — a few of which were a little repetitive when landed upon in rapid succession.

Even Mom (or Dad?) gets something to enjoy, Sweet Tea Caramels by Home Made!  One of these disappeared shortly after this photo was taken.

No info was provided on this little dude, so I figure he is included as a bonus.  His bendy arms (all four of them) retain shape when bent, so he can be made to hang around just about anywhere.

This Little Thinker Box, like those before it, was loaded with activities.  Each one was engaging, and they even added additional substance to the Read segment to get more out of it.

We love this box and all the updates! The new format is solidly organized and well-planned, the parent gift is a nice touch, and most importantly our preschooler is engaged and thinking the whole time we were doing the activities.  For this box our daughter tried it out – our son doesn’t care for monsters. We always like to note – reviewers tend to do everything at once, because we have to – but this box is designed to provide activities over the course of the month.  The Create and Explore segments each had more than one activity, so there was plenty of stuff to stretch out over the course of the month.

Visit Little Thinker Box to find out more or to subscribe!