Green Kid Crafts August 2016 Rainforest Science Subscription Box Review + Coupon

Green Kid Crafts is a subscription box that sends 5-8 themed projects made with eco-friendly materials to your home every month. The boxes contain hands-on explorations in science, math, technology, engineering and art that are intended to challenge children from 3-10 years of age.

August’s theme was Rainforest Science. This got my son very excited. He is fascinated by the Amazon Rainforest and was thrilled to get to learn more about it.

Each set of crafts is grouped together by theme. The introductory card depicts some of the exercises: making a rainstick, terrarium, rubber ball and conducting sound experiments.

Before we began, we checked out this nice visual representation of the different activities awaiting us in the box. Then we got to work.

We began by talking about rainforests, where they’re located and the different plants and animals you can find in different rainforest strata. Although not included in the enclosed information card, we also briefly discussed different types of rainforests.

The first project asked my son to make a terrarium.

My son has become pretty familiar with these soil pellets thanks to subscription boxes. He enjoyed placing his new one in water and watching it expand.

Once ready, my son peeled the mesh off of the soil and placed the soil into his plastic bowl.

He added moss, trees and rocks to his bowl to create the perfect habitat for his rainforest friends.

Once done, he covered his bowl and placed it next to the window. He enjoyed watching the water move in his terrarium as time went by.

My son was thrilled to get a chance to make Rainforest cookies! When he was two, I tried to bake with him, but he didn’t have the attention span yet to really appreciate the experience. Now, though, things are different! He couldn’t wait to get started!

He mixed the dry ingredients together. Afterwards, he put the wet ingredients into the mixer and turned the mixer on. This was fun to watch! Unfortunately, though, although it was included in the list of ingredients, vanilla wasn’t included in the directions so I forgot to have him add it to the wet mix. Oops! I realized my mistake as the first batch of cookies was baking and tried to go back and add it to the mix myself. As a result, some of our cookies contained more vanilla than others.

My son enjoyed adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in the mixer. He thought it was magic how the consistency changed as the different ingredients became incorporated. Once the dough was complete, my son enjoyed mixing in chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.

He also enjoyed spooning the cookies onto a silpat-lined cookie sheet.

The cookies were pretty good. They were a bit more cake-like in consistency than I’m used to, but the flavors were yummy. For the rest of the day, my son told everyone he spoke to about how he made rainforest cookies with me earlier in the day. He and I were both so proud!

Next, Green Kid Crafts included the supplies to make a rainstick. Fun!

The first step was to fill the tube with materials that would rattle. My son stuck to the enclosed materials–crumpled aluminum foil and rice.

He rolled up the aluminum foil and twisted it.

After placing his rolled foil into the tube, he added rice and sealed the tube.

Then he decorated it.

He loved his rainstick!

Next, he got to experiment with sound.

He created two different percussion instruments. The first was a drum. He enjoyed hearing the different sounds created when the tautness of the balloon was adjusted.

Next, he made an instrument that you pluck with a cup and rubber bands. He enjoyed listening to the different pitches produced by the rubber bands. The tighter the rubber band, the higher the pitch. These experiments prompted a broader discussion of sound, what causes it and different ways to produce it.

To make a rubber ball, my son mixed together the enclosed borax, cornstarch and white craft glue.

He mixed in red food coloring as well, but was disappointed to learn it resulted in a pink ball and not a red one. While our ball was sitting out to dry, my daughter got ahold of it and stepped on it. It got smooshed. Oh well.

My son thinks chameleons are really cool and was excited to play with paint in this activity.

He had fun painting his plate using the paints and paintbrushes we received in August 2016’s Bumby Box.

He loves mixing colors together to see what new colors he can create!

He enjoyed playing with this chameleons very much! Because of his propensity to mix all colors together, the two chameleons didn’t look that different from one another, but that was ok! At this age, it’s the process that matters most!

What a fun box of crafts and scientific discovery! I’m thrilled with how much my son loved baking with me. That’s something we’ll have to do again. Soon! Hopefully, it’ll help tide us over until our next Green Kid Crafts box arrives, which we always await with great anticipation.  I wonder what we’ll learn about then!

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