Green Kid Crafts is a kids subscription box company that sends you up to six STEAM-based projects each month for $19.95 (plus $5.95 shipping).
Green Kid Crafts strives to encourage the growth of the "whole child," which includes fostering a sense of care for our environment. Their process and products seek to have minimal environmental impact, and the activities in each box aim to help kids engage with nature in creative ways. It's not surprising that Green Kid Crafts was actually founded by an environmental scientist!
Choose between the Junior Discovery Box (ages 2-4) or the Discovery Box (ages 5-10+). Green Kid Crafts also offers two deluxe options for $29.95 (plus shipping)—the Literary Discovery Box (ages 2-10+), which includes a book related to the theme, and the Sibling Discovery Box (ages 2-10+), which sends two of each project.
This is a review of the Junior Discovery Box from Green Kid Crafts, which costs $19.95 + $5.95 shipping per month.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
About Green Kid Crafts Junior Discovery Box
The Subscription Box: Green Kid Crafts Junior Discovery Box
The Cost: $19.95 per month + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: Materials and instructions for up to 6 STEAM-based projects aimed at helping children ages 2-4 get creative and engage with nature.
Ships to: US for $5.95/month, Canada for an additional $15.00/month
Good to Know: Shipping has recently increased by $1 (from $4.95 to $5.95)
Green Kid Crafts "Desert Science" Box Review May 2019
The booklet for this month offered some basic information about what deserts are and provided instructions for the four different projects in the box.
There were also a few pages of activities, a maze, book suggestions, and the social media information for Green Kid Crafts.
Each box includes a new sticker for my kids and I to add to our Green Kid Crafts badge chart. This month we received the Desert Science Expert badge.
The project materials come packaged neatly in this recycled-plastic bag. I like that they put more than one project's materials in each bag—it conserves plastic while still keeping things organized.
Project 1
Our first project was to paint a wooden lizard. The slits on the lizard's body allow its tail to move back and forth, which is certainly fun to play with! They also provided paint and a brush.
With the help of the booklet, I talked with my kids about what a desert is and the animals you might find there. Then, I got my son set up to paint his lizard.
I tried to encourage my son to paint each section in different colors. But since he's only three, he ended up blending all the colors together. He did try his best! My son is happy with how it turned out and has added this lizard to his pile of toys that he carries around to play with!
Project 2
Next we made a patterned snake using the pipe cleaners and pony beads in our box. While I love this idea and that it intends to help teach patterns, there really weren't enough beads of each color to make many patterns. My daughter still enjoyed the activity, and both kids liked learning about snakes and their patterns.
Project 3
Our third project was to perform some desert animal "experiments" using these two rubbery lizards and a small thermometer.
We placed one of the lizards in direct sunlight and the other lizard the shade. Then, we compared the temperature of each lizard and talked about why animals might like to stay in the shade. We also explored why desert animals tend to be nocturnal (we compared the temperature outside during the day and then at night) and also why they burrow (we buried one lizard in a cup of dirt, put the other on the surface of the dirt, and compared their temperatures). While I like the idea behind these experiments, I felt like the concepts were almost too simple. My son did love playing with the toy lizards though!
Project 4
Our last project was probably my son's favorite. In it, he learned about cacti by making our own cactus ball using a green floral foam sphere and some toothpicks. I was a little worried about my son using the toothpicks by himself, but they were slightly dull, so he had no trouble at all. This was great fine motor practice for him!
I left the room for a few minutes, and when I came back, my son was almost done doing this project himself! I was actually pretty impressed by how well he had spread out the toothpicks and how hard he was concentrating.
His spiky cactus ball turned out great! When it was finished, we took it outside to see if the shape created any shadows, and talked about how the needles provide the cactus with shade.
Once we were finished with everything, my son entertained himself for a long time playing with the cactus, lizards, and snake!
Verdict: My son really loved this desert-themed box from Green Kid Crafts. He always enjoys activities that involve animals, so I knew the lizard toys in this box would appeal to him! My son's excitement over this box definitely held a lot of value for me, but I still feel like for the price ($25.90 after shipping), I would have liked a little something more, especially in the way of the lizard experiments. This box included some great educational information, and I love their green mission. But I think this is one of those boxes where your own experience would determine the value for you!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Here's what Green Kid Crafts says:
The first box of all subscription orders will ship immediately, through the 25th of the month. After the 25th, the initial box will ship with the following month’s mid-month shipment. After the first month, subsequent boxes will ship around the middle of the month.
Check out all of our Green Kid Crafts reviews and the best kid subscription boxes for more kids activities!
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What do you think of the Green Kid Crafts box for kids?
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