Kiwi Crate is a kids’ craft and activity subscription that comes with everything you need to complete a great project or two, usually a pair of crafts that can be used as toys or playtime props. The box is geared for ages 5-8, and the projects are always age-appropriate, though some require more parental assistance than others.
Kiwi Crate is the most popular craft and activity subscription box for kids!
This month’s theme is A Different View! Kiwi Crate includes all necessary supplies for the featured activities, plus explore! magazine.
DEAL: Use this link to save 30% on your first box of Kiwi Crate!(or KiwiCo family subscriptions Tinker Crate, Koala Crate, and Doodle Crate).
All of the craft supplies from the Crate. You really need very little from home to do the crafts.
Usually, you only need a pair of scissors (they sent us a Kiwi Crate branded pair in our first box!), but often the pieces are pre-cut, scored, or otherwise prepared for you already. The crate includes self-adhesive items or glue/glue dots if needed for the crafts.
An issue of explore! magazine is included in every Crate. It is full of fun content that brings the project to life. explore! has read, draw, learn, explore, eat, and make designated activities. There is really a lot to look at and read – a comic, puzzles, and games – and it really extends your young one’s engagement with the Crate. Each expands on the theme of the box, whether through factoids, drawing activities, or recipes, but the variation is helpful for engaging different learning styles and interests.
There is always a comic featuring Steve the Kiwi and his pals, plus lots of historical and scientific information relating to the current theme.
This issue explored perspective, and how it is used to judge the distance of objects.
As a means of introducing STEM topics, explore! often teaches kids some of the science at work behind the project.
The magazine includes extension activities and some simple observational experiments to learn more about the principles underlying the project.
A big portion of the issue was dedicated to creating silly illusions using the power of perspective!
There was even a recipe for 3D pancakes.
Every Kiwi Crate comes with a unique Steve sticker (like your merit badge for completing the box). The first box of an annual subscription includes a poster for displaying your earned stickers.
The second booklet that comes in every crate is the actual instruction booklet for the crafts, and often it includes additional activities beyond the extension projects included in explore!
Each Crate usually has three activities – either separate projects or phases of a single, large project. This Crate had three distinct projects. The booklet includes an inventory of all the supplies included in the Crate, plus a messiness and parental involvement rating for each project.
Step-by-step instructions guide you through the project. They are clearly written and very easy to follow, pointing out potential pitfalls so you don’t go astray. The first project was constructing a large, three dimensional letter.
I love the way they find multiple projects to address different facets of the same concept — there is something for everyone! There are things that even my youngest kid can do without assistance, and the projects are fun enough that my eldest enjoys working through them without any help from me. My youngest son worked on the 3D letter.
I like that they included a piece of fabric to lay over the top of the template. It gives it a very finished look for a kids’ craft!
True to the theme of the Crate, the letter looks normal from above, but it has 3D relief when viewed from the side — it’s all a matter of perspective!
The second project was making a Silly 3D Camera.
This device lets you assemble a silly overlay on a clear sheet. When viewed through the “lens” of the “camera,” the composite picture looks quite funny!
The third project was making a portrait with creepy eyes that follow you as you go by.
A small paint tray made a perfect concave surface for a pair of eyes.
The eyes are on a different plane than the main part of the picture, so they appear on to be on the left if viewed from that side…
In the middle, if viewed from the front…
And on the right if viewed from that side. It is a very cool illusion, and it was much easier to construct than I had thought it would be.
This Crate was a little different than most, as it was more centered on a science topic than on a particular project. Ordinarily, a main project serves as a window into a scientific phenomena or principle — this Crate seemed to flip that order and feature smaller, wholly independent projects that demonstrated the central theme. It was cool and fun, but it definitely had more of a scientific demonstations/experiments feel than usual.
Kiwi Crate is intended for kids 5-8, but all three of our kids like to get in on the action. It is really engaging and approachable for a wide age range (years 5-8 actually covers a lot of ground, educationally and developmentally) – there is enough information and complexity to immerse older kids, while the light-hearted nature of the box makes it easy to use for Kindergartners, too. Kiwi Crate is great at gently introducing some science, history, and other lessons into the projects, offering both entertainment and educational value.
Did you enjoy this months activity? Let us know in the comments!
Visit Kiwi Crate to subscribe or to find out more about this fantastic kids’ craft subscription box!
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