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 Disk Launchers! 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 inertia — the magazine includes extension activities and some simple observational experiments to learn more about the principles underlying the project.
As a means of introducing STEM topics, explore! teaches kids some of the science at work behind the project, and it is really good at drawing upon examples they understand.
The text encourages kids to think about everyday phenomena the observable effects of inertia.
There are also some fun puzzles and, hidden object, and similar activities in every issue. My son enjoyed the Hockey Mix-Up twisted path maze. Who do you think scored?
The extensions usually require some basic materials from home. They are lots of fun and really help you get the most out of the Crate, both from an educational and an activity standpoint. The back of the booklet has a recipe activity and suggestions for further reading on the month’s theme.
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. The three activities in this Crate were closely connected — creating a disk launcher, making targets, then playing games with your creations! The booklet includes an inventory of all the supplies included in the Crate, plus a messiness and parental involvement rating for each project.
Our first project was building the disc launcher. 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. They are well-suited to the suggested age range, with holes pre-cut and connections made using self-adhesive pieces.
The second activity was creating clay obstacles — targets to hit or shoot around with your launcher.
Here we are trying out some molding techniques!
To test our knowledge about this month’s project, there was a challenge game. We had to launch discs across the provided game mat, like a mini version of shuffle board or curling!
Another game is bowling, and this isn’t your usual bowling game because you need to use the disc launcher to knock down the game pieces! The inspiration page also encourages the kids to make their own game with the launcher and the clay models!
Ready to launch!
Here are the kids playing bowling!
My son almost knocked it all down! Good job!
The next game they tried is curling!
And here are all the pieces they made from the clay!
They used the clay models for their own game! We had enough supplies to create two launchers, so the kids could compete head-to-head and race to be the first to knock down their targets. The double launchers also made it easier to play our own version of horseshoes!
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. I love the diversity of activities in each kit — this one coupled an assembly project with a more open-ended sculpting activity — there is something for all learning types.
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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