Koala Crate is the toddler subscription box offering from KiwiCo, designed for hands-on learning and fun every month!
KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups:
- Tadpole Crate for 0-36-month-olds
- Koala Crate for 3-4-year-olds
- Kiwi Crate for 5-8-year-olds
- Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds
- Eureka Crate for ages 14 and up
There really is something for every age with this company.
This review is of the $19.95 a month Koala Crate, for Pre-K kids ages 3-4.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About Koala Crate
The Subscription Box: Koala Crate
The Cost: $19.95 a month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: 2-3 fun DIY projects for you to do with your preschooler!
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $5.95 per month, worldwide from $6.95-$7.95.
Koala Crate "Rainbows" Review
My family was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Koala Crate! I have 2 boys, ages 4 and 6, and they love anything hands-on. While this crate is geared toward 3-4-year-olds, I have to say, my 6-year-old did a fantastic job reading the stories and instructions to his little brother, and they worked together as a team to create all of the projects. I love it when my kids are having so much fun that they don't even realize they are learning!
Included in this box was this promotional ad for the KiwiCo Store. I love that they have gifts for all price points, and am seriously tempted to purchase that Froggie Lab Dissection kit!
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This month’s theme is “Rainbows” where children get the opportunity to create stained glass art, make a rainbow tote bag, and design a cloud pillow. My kids LOVE crafts, so this is awesome for our family! I love how well organized the instructions are for each and every project. Not only do they list the items you need from the crate and from home, but they also list the level of messiness, the level of grownup involvement needed, and what skill your child will be working on while completing these projects. It is extremely easy to follow, and even gives more creative activities based on the theme via their website listed on the back!
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Also included in this box is a wonderful magazine titled "imagine!" This magazine features real photos of rainbows, a hidden cloud game, a story, seek and find game, science experiments, a craft idea, and a library list with books all about rainbows! Koala Crate does an impeccable job creating this informative and fun magazine. My kids were engaged throughout the included stories, and can't wait to go to the library and look for more books about rainbows. They were so proud of what they learned, they had to call up grandma and grandpa and tell them all about how rainbows are formed!
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Here are my little men going through the magazine and learning all about rainbows before diving into the crafts. It warms my heart to see them working together as a team, learning, and having fun all at the same time!
Stained Glass Art
Here are the materials we used for the stained glass art. These items were included in the crate: black frame, black shapes, rainbow squares, and clear sticky sheet. Other items they suggested having on-hand were scissors and tape. They also note that the tissue squares are needed for 2 projects, so only use half of them on this craft.
The first step in this project was to remove the backing to reveal the sticky sheet. Once the sticky sheet was removed, we punched out the black shapes and created a shape scene. My boys chose a mountain scene with a sun, some trees, and a log cabin.
After the scene is complete, we used half of the tissue squares to cover up the rest of the sticky paper. My kids were a little confused as to why we were covering up their beautiful mountain scene but were soon pleasantly surprised! Once all of the tissue paper was applied, we used the clear sticky sheet to contain all of the tissue paper pieces and to give it a more finished look.
And here we have 2 proud little boys! They thought this project was almost like magic! I loved to see them working together, and how they were able to collaborate and make a scene they both could agree on!
The finished project! I love how bright the tissue paper is, even on a rainy day! This craft was fun, easy, and worked on creating and discovering skills. I might just have to buy some contact paper to make more of these!
Rainbow Tote Bag
Here are the supplies needed to create the rainbow tote bag. They included the tote bag, water dropper, cloud stickers, and rainbow squares. The items you will need from home are a baking tray, cup/bowl, and water. This is a bit of a messy project, so they suggest covering your workspace.
The first step in this project is to soak your tote bag in water and squeeze out the excess. The kids enjoyed slopping in the water!
Next, we applied the rainbow squares all over the tote bag. (I sort of wish we would have saved a few more from the stained glass art, but we made do with what we had leftover.)
And for the best part: using the water dropper!! We poured water in a bowl and used a pipette to suck up the water and drop it on the squares to saturate them. It really took patience for my kids to take turns with this. Everybody wants to use the pipette!
This is what it looked like after we were done pipetting. It was so fun to watch the colors blend together!
Because our tote bag was soaking wet, the directions suggested letting it sit overnight before you take off the tissue paper. The kids couldn't wait to come home from school to finish their bag!
Once the papers were discarded, we added the included felt cloud stickers.
How cute is this tote?! It's a bit on the small side, but I have already been asked if they can bring it to Aldi on our next shopping trip!
Cloud Pillow
Here we have the supplies that were sent by Koala Crate to create the cloud pillow. We received a Velcro cloud pillow form, stuffing for the pillow, and rainbow stickers.
A bag of fluff to stuff your cloud. We used the entire bag, which turned out to make a really fat cloud, but the kids wanted it that way!
I love how high quality this pillow form is. The bottom has a Velcro closure for easy finishing, and the Koala Crate tag on the side is just too cute. I love the supplies they send!
And here are the rainbow stickers. Forewarning: these stickers are EXTREMELY sticky. My kids learned the hard way that once you lay one down, it is NOT coming off!
Charlie was working on some fine motor skills peeling off the sticker backing!
Once the backing is removed from the sticker, you are able to place it on the pillow.
Hank was up next! Taking turns is such a great skill!
Hank and Charlie equally agreed that stuffing the cloud was the best part. Like I stated above, they used all of the fluff, because it was just so much fun!
Proud little crafters! They love their rainbow pillow! They were so sweet for the entire project until it was time to decide who gets to sleep with the pillow....in case you're wondering, it had to stay on the couch in the living room because no agreement could be made!
Didn't it turn out cute?! I love this craft!
Verdict: This Koala Crate was so much fun! I am extremely excited to be able to review this box because I can't get enough of crafting and learning, and when you put the two together I am right in my element! My boys loved every aspect of this box. They enjoyed the magazine and the crafts, and they really learned a lot. It was also fun to see how well they could work as a team to complete the projects together. Each child had to make some sacrifices, and really had to work on some life skills as well as creative ones! I love how easy the directions were to follow, and how they stuck to the rainbow theme throughout the entire box. I really felt like this was a homerun! I can't wait to see what theme they send next month!
All of the projects included were made of high-quality materials, were educational, fun, and well thought out. $19.95 a month is a steal for all of that, plus 3 hours of quality time spent together!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history – not all subscribers receive the same theme each month
Check out all of our KiwiCo reviews and the best subscription boxes for toddlers!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
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