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KiwiCo Kiwi Crate Review + Coupon – Mechanical Sweeper

Brandi D.
ByBrandi D.Dec 4, 2019 | 0 comments

KiwiCo Kiwi Crate
4 overall rating
22 Ratings | 15 Reviews

Kiwi Crate is a subscription box for kids ages 5-8 from parent company KiwiCo. It arrives every month with all the materials and instructions needed to complete 2-3 crafts centered on a theme, plus additional materials to help educate young learners!

KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups: 

There really is something for every age with this company!

This review is of KiwiCo’s Kiwi Crate (for ages 5-8), which costs $19.95 per month.

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 Kiwi Crate by KiwiCo

The Subscription Box: Kiwi Crate

The Cost: $19.95 per month + free shipping

The Products: Crafts and DIY projects for kids, with supplemental learning kits, booklets, and activities. Crates are filled with materials and inspiration to encourage creativity and curiosity. Projects cover a number of developmental areas through art, science, and imaginative play.

Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95, and worldwide from $4.95-$6.95

Kiwi Crate "Mechanical Sweeper" Review November 2019 

 

Our theme for this month is Mechanical Sweeper and we received this booklet which contains the directions for our activities. This includes detailed, colored illustrations and clear instructions that are easy to follow. They also included some educational information on the science of mirrors. On the back of the booklet, they include their social media links and a sticker for this month’s project.

This is the little sticker chart that we received in our first Kiwi Crate along with our welcome note. We are running out of room on our Adventure Map!

 

Each month you also get a Kiwi Explore! magazine with a letter from Steve the Kiwi and a little comic to go along with the theme starring some cute characters. This month they learn all about whales and how they have baleen to catch fish in their mouths for food. The rest of the pages contain information about whales and some whale-themed activities. This month I was especially impressed with how well our project ties into the information that we learned!

Part 1: Watercolor Whales

 

The first thing we needed to do was paint our whales with the watercolors and brush that they provided. They also provided several different painting techniques for us which we found to be helpful.

 

My daughter went ahead and painted her whale normally using just the paints.

 

My son used the salt they provided to test out another technique. He painted his whale and then while it was still very wet, he sprinkled some of the salt over the top.

Once it was dry we rubbed the excess salt off and were left with a fun textured effect.

 

While we only needed the whales for now, they did include some extra watercolor paper for us to use as an extension of our project, which I appreciated and I know the kids will enjoy doing more painting when we get to it!

Part 2: Mechanical Sweeper

 

Then it was time to build our sweeper. The first step was to add these tabs into the notches of our sweeper bars. They were made out of thin foam and were very flexible so it was fairly easy to maneuver them into place. 

 

Next, we added these wooden side pieces to the ends of our foam sweeper bars.

 

To secure them we simply wrapped a rubber band around the tabs that stuck out through the slots in the wood.

 

Next, we slid a dowel through the center of our sweeper bars and stuck these blue circles on either end.

 

Then we further creased the tabs on this box at the green lines.

 

We folded the tab into a triangle and secured it with a sticker right over the square marked for us.

 

Then we added our sweeper roll to the open arms at the end of the base by slipping the ends of the dowel into the holes. We took the second dowel and slid it through the holes at the opposite end underneath the larger flap on the base.

 

Sister helped us add the two small wooden circles to the dowel inside and then we set the edges inside the notches of the base and folded the large flap back over it. Liv then secured it with some more stickers.

 

Then it was time to add the arm pieces to either side. We held them in place with a small rubber O-ring.

 

We slid the handle into place at the top and secured it with rubber bands.

 

Next, she slipped a wooden bead onto each brad and then inserted them into the slots on either side of our sweeper. She opened them up to hold them in place.

 

She then added a blue sticker over the open brads to secure them better. Our sweeper was complete!

 

They included some pom poms for us to use when testing our sweeper out.

 

We pushed down slightly on the handle and rolled our sweeper forward to pick up all of the poms. It worked so well!

Here it is in action. Please ignore the background noise - that would be her brother yelling for her to come to his pet store (a.k.a. all of his stuffed animals dumped out everywhere!).

 

Then, when our whales were dry, we added them to either side by slipping the holes in them over the dowels and securing them with another O-ring. Now it looks like our whale is eating the pom-poms when we sweep them up! How cute and what a perfect way to provide a visual for what happens when a whale catches food!

Verdict: This month's Kiwi Crate project was both educational and fun, and we were left with a functional product, so I'd say this was a pretty great box! The kids loved being able to use the watercolors, and pushing around the sweeper to pick up the pom poms has provided a lot of entertainment for us. All of this combined with the fact that this box is so well organized with such easy to follow directions makes it a great value for a $19.95 plus free shipping box.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? It is possible you might get this crate, but it is not a guarantee. 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 Kiwi Crate reviews and more boxes for ages 5-8 in the Kids Subscription Box Directory!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What do you think of Kiwi Crate?

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KiwiCo is a monthly subscription box that inspires kids to see themselves as makers, engineering and creating their own innovative designs and outcomes. They offer multiple lines of fun and enriching STEAM projects that are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, innovation and learning. Ultimat... read more.

Brandi D.
Brandi D.

I am a homeschooling mom to 4 kids; 1 girl and 3 boys. While I have been reviewing boxes since 2018 and I love the luxury of trying new products, I'm also balancing it out by dabbling in a little bit of homesteading, too. We now have 4 chickens and a rabbit and my sourdough starter is going strong! I love learning about new brands and sharing the great things I find with others in hopes that they find something new to love or to fit their needs!


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