We love KiwiCo in our house, and the range of hands-on projects for kids is endless. Here’s my KiwiCo Review for kids ages 9 and 3. This post is sponsored by KiwiCo. Get 30% off your first subscription with the code LEARN30!
I have written about KiwiCo before because we love their projects so much! When Mazen was younger, my mom bought him a subscription that we maintained for a few years. (Here’s the first introduction post I ever wrote about it featuring little Mazey.) Both boys get so excited for a new box, and I’m glad there is a box for each of their ages.
KiwiCo fosters innovation and the projects are designed to encourage creativity and critical thinking. Each box includes hands-on projects that aim to be both educational and fun.
Get 30% off your first subscription with the code LEARN30! Learn more here.
KiwiCo Review
My kids are always looking for something “new.” Nothing excites them like a new toy, but we don’t buy them new toys all that often. So when KiwiCo boxes come in the mail they are thrilled to have a new activity. It’s a great big monthly surprise! When they come in the mail (usually while the kids are in school) I tuck them away until a rainy day when we have a block of time and then dramatically bring them out. I gotta milk this activity time for all its worth! The boxes are also perfect for packing to take on a trip or to a grandparent’s house. We’ve taken them to the beach too.
The Boxes: Full STEAM Ahead
The boxes include projects, experiments, and/or products designed to expose kids to concepts in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). They are designed by experts and tested by kids, so the chance of success is very high (not all kids’ activities have that claim…!). I love that all of the materials you need are included so I’m not rummaging through drawers looking for some glue.
Each KiwiCo box has a theme
From safari or farm animals to the ocean or space, everything in the box usually has a theme. There are also bonus materials like stickers and mazes in a cute magazine to go with the theme. The magazines get more advanced with the ages and move from mostly pictures to more facts and articles.
Mazen’s robotics-themed magazine had lots of fun facts inside!
KiwiCo Boxes By Age
There are 9 subscription lines plus a la carte projects in the KiwiCo Store and you can buy them without a subscription. Here are all of the subscription lines KiwiCo has available, plus more information about the ones that we’ve gotten:
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- Panda Crate (ages 0-24 months) helps babies learn by doing what they do best — playing, exploring, and interacting with their loved ones. Crates arrive every other month and are filled with two-months’ worth of content.
- Koala Crate (ages 2-4) delivers fun hands-on activities to engage the natural curiosity and creativity of preschoolers in play-based learning.
- Kiwi Crate (ages 5-8) delivers young innovators all the materials and inspiration needed for hands-on projects that explore art, science, and engineering.
- Atlas Crate (ages 6-11) sparks kids’ sense of adventure and curiosity, inspiring them to see themselves as citizens of the world.
- Yummy Crate (ages 6-14) helps kids discover the science of cooking with recipes and activities that explore hands-on experimentation in and out of the kitchen.
- Doodle Crate (ages 9-13) invites young designers to build creative confidence by experimenting with art & design techniques.
- Tinker Crate (ages 9-13) helps young innovators to discover and learn about science!
- Eureka Crate (ages 14-100) teaches kids (and kids at heart!) how to apply principles of science and math to engineer solutions and make awesome things they’ll love using every day.
- Maker Crate (ages 14-100) encourages the recipient to experiment with a new technique, draw inspiration from real designs, and take pride in a finished project that’s both fun and functional.
Tinker Crate: For Mazen (9)
Mazen can read, therefore he can do most of his crate independently. I say most because he sometimes needs my help with some of the more technical parts of the Tinker Crate – wires, gears, and the like. He’s at the bottom of the age range and so I think he’ll get better at these steps over time.
I’ve helped him with other crafty projects (not KiwiCo brand) that have been super confusing. We both find the KiwiCo instructions to be VERY clear. It’s a lot of “stick this on that” or “press this into that” with holes already punched and grids to line you up. Both of the robotic projects we’ve done recently have had additional steps to customize your creation artistically, and I will say that Mazen usually skips that step : )
His robot can walk across the table!
Koala Crate: For Birch (3)
At age 3.5, Birch can’t read (except for his name!) and so I sit down with him and help him with each step. The projects are still age-appropriate but might require some more engagement from an adult or sibling. MOM TIP: Have your older child help the younger!! Mazen helped Birch with his Koala Crate without me asking, which was a total win-win for me.
When either Mazen or I help Birch, we pass him a material and tell him what to do and he does the actual assembly, gluing, coloring, etc. Everything is already cut and prepped – you mostly get to just do the fun part of putting it all together!
I love that most of the projects in Koala Crates are created so you can play with them after they’re made. And there’s often something that comes ready to go – like the sea animal foam bath puzzle that came earlier this year. That thing made bath time fun for weeks! This time it was these puzzle cards that Birch loved!
You can buy KiwiCo boxes a la carte or as a subscription.
They make such great gifts! We had a lot of fun making holiday crafts and both boys got boxes for Christmas from Karen. This remote control snake was so cool!
Tip: Store your projects in the nice boxes for toy rotation
The box the crates come in is solid, and once Birch loses interest later in the week I tuck everything away to bring out again in a few weeks. 2x the enjoyment.
Get 30% off your first subscription with the code LEARN30! Learn more here.
Thanks to KiwiCo for sponsoring this post!
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