Girls Can Crate is a monthly subscription for children between 5 and 10 years of age that promotes the idea that girls can do whatever they set their minds to. Each month features a different female pioneer whose story inspires girls to achieve. Each box includes a 20 page activity book that includes the heroine’s story, 2-3 STEAM activities and creative play props. Boxes cost $29.95 each month and can ship to either the United States or Canada. Although this box is intended for girls, I’m a firm believer that it’s crucial for boys to believe that girls can do whatever they set their minds to! The themes celebrate female pioneers from diverse backgrounds, but the activities themselves are usually gender neutral. This month’s box did contain one project (making a flowery headband) that is more likely to be appreciated by girls.
Each box arrives well packaged with attractive squiggles, but there are always so many materials in the box that not much is needed in the way of packing.
DEAL: Save 25% on your first box! Use coupon code HELLO25.
Everything in the box. In addition to the supplies for the month’s projects, your first box comes with a special supply pack to keep and use on future boxes – it includes some washable Crayola markers and a pair of scissors.
This month celebrated three artists – Frida Kahlo, Lois Mailou Jones, and Mary Cassat are this month’s heroines.
This month’s pointers are all about perseverance. The card shares advice for fostering an indefatigable in children through encouragement, praise, and the recognition of the value of failure.
A sneak peek for the August crate! August feautures Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts of America.
“Persevering Painters” is the title of this month’s activity book. It celebrates the lives of Frida Kahlo, Lois Mailou Jones, and Mary Cassat.
A ready-to-color picture based on the work of each artist is included, so you can recreate their masterpieces on your own.
The booklet introduces our heroines by way of a trip to the museum with Rosie and her aunt.
Rosie wonders why there are not more paintings by women in the museum.
Her aunt introduces her to our three heroines, noting the challenges they faced in getting recognition for their talents.
The book has lots of great biographical information on the featured women, so kids can really get to understand their story and accomplishments.
Our daughter loves the magazine. In addition to the main biographies, they include bits and pieces of trivia all over the magazine, too.
Another thing we always look forward in every Girls Can Crate is the variety of activities they include in the magazine. Here, they had us use the capillary action of paper to mix colors.
From arts and crafts to problem solving – name it and they have it!
The first activity was making our own “Stained Glass” panel. All the materials are provided in the box!
The craft use colored tissue and a sheet of clear adhesive paper to create the pane.
A string sealed in along the top edge made the painting ready to hang.
The next activity was making a “Flower Crown Headband.”
It was fairly simple to make basic flowers, but one could change the shape, texture, color, and arrangement of flowers to make the project even more fun.
The box included a plastic headband and tape to wrap around the attached pipe cleaners to cover the pointy ends.
The headband turned out super cute! She used a combination of different sizes, shapes, and colors ot make it look cool.
The next one is “Color Mixing.”
This was essentially a prelude to the next painting activity. We got to set up our palette and practice creating different tints, shades, and tones from our primary and secondary colors.
Finally, we put our color mastery to work creating “Self-Portraits.”
She had a lot of fun with this, though she got carried away a bit trying to make textured and layered areas like one would with oil paints.
Girls Can Crate is such a fun box that the whole family can share. The pointers, booklet and activities all fit the theme well. They do a great job of using the biography of the featured heroine is used to introduce a topic, but the box goes beyond her biography and also teaches broader lessons. You get quite a bit in the box — several crafts or activities, some puzzles and games in the booklet, a well-presented biography, as well as some topical information. There is a lot to do and work on together. Families can make a great bonding moment from this subscription!
Do you enjoy Girls Can Crate as much as we do? What’s your favorite thing about this subscription?
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