Together Unplugged is a monthly subscription box designed with the whole family in mind. Each month you will receive 3-4 interactive games and loads of activities and reading material. This subscription is much more than a single-session box. They include activities and resources to help families play, create, read, learn, goal-set, laugh and celebrate together throughout the entire month all while establishing a healthy digital/analog balance in our homes.
This box is being reviewed by popular demand!
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 Together Unplugged
The Subscription Box: Together Unplugged
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $5 off your first box!
CODE: MSA5OFF
The Cost: $47.95/month
The Products: Each month is different, but may include games, puzzles, crafts, team building activities, Highlights magazine, and much more.
Ships to: The US, Puerto Rico, and military addresses for free!
Together Unplugged April 2020 Box Review
The first item is a welcome note and a list of all the included items in this month's box. I love everything about this content directory! Every main item is printed in blue and includes a summary about each included product. They even use symbols to indicate what skill you are using for each activity. I have found this very helpful to make sure I have utilized this box in every possible way!
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Each month we receive a calendar with unique, fun, and festive reasons to celebrate in April! I love having a calendar around, and this one features fun clip art and lists even non-traditional holidays! Being homebound for the last month has been crazy, but Together Unplugged has really kept it fun! We really had fun with "Draw a Bird Day" and we can't wait to do our part on "Earth Day!"
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I love the fact that each month we are sent information on usually two different holidays courtesy of DUCKSTERS Education site for kids. The informational sheets are packed with all kinds of fun info about said holidays, and are easy to read and understand. I love the trivia we learn through this. Did you know that around 90 million chocolate Easter bunnies are made for Easter each year?! Because Earth Day is celebrated on the 22nd, we also were given some ideas on how we can celebrate. While we don't plant our garden until the end of May, we are planning on celebrating by picking up trash along our road.
Goal Sheet
I love making goals, and getting my family to participate and talk about goals is easily done with this Family Goal sheet. Our included sheet hosts ample space for our family goals for the month, as well as our individual goals. Below are spaces to reflect at the end of the month. Prior to the start of receiving this box, my kids didn't know what a goal was. Now they are experts! We have a really great time discussing our goals for the month, and the boys love choosing new ones. This month our family goal is to go on at least one hiking adventure a week. Charlie's goal this month is to complete all of his chores, and Hank's goal is to also do his chores every week. (We started chore charts last month, and after a poor week, they stepped it up to earn their full "paycheck.")
Expressions of Gratitude Sheet
On the other side of the goal sheet, we received a gratitude sheet. This sheet is broken down into weeks, and has different questions to answer for each week. This exercise is to have you reflect on your thoughts and helps us implement gratitude into our daily lives. This month we shared the things we have come to appreciate more during the time we've been confined at home. We discussed the extra playtime we have had, how there is not as much school work, how we get to enjoy life at a slower pace, and just looking for positives in ordinary everyday life without all of the "excess." We also talked about who made us smile in the past few days, family traditions we are grateful for, and what we are grateful for in general. I have found this exercise to be an awesome reminder of what is really important in our lives!
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Family Activity Pack
The family activity pack is one of my favorite parts of this subscription. I love sharing the jokes, riddles, and puzzles with my family. The jokes are usually pretty funny, and my husband and I have a riddle solving competition! It's also been fun to discuss the "Would you Rather's" and conversation starters. Being together 24/7, we need to spice up our conversation topics, so this has added some pep to our regular routine! In case you were wondering, the first thing Charlie is going to do after our stay at home order is over is go to the trampoline park, while Hank wants to stay home and go for more walks in the woods.
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S.T.E.A.M Craft: Craft Stick Catapult
The STEAM craft this month was a craft stick catapult. I have seen this activity on Pinterest multiple times, and actually had it pinned to my "Kids" board, but didn't have enough craft sticks to actually build it. I was pumped to see the bright colored craft sticks and bunch of rubber bands to create this project! While the directions were straightforward, I did have to give Hank a hand to build it. It only took a few minutes and we were catapulting balls everywhere! I love that they give the science behind how a catapult works and tips to extend the activity! By moving the fulcrum we were able to adjust the distance/height of how high our projectile went. My kids also enjoyed trying other items in the catapult such as plastic eggs, small candies, and ping pong balls!
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Minute-to-Win-It Challenge Sheet
Another aspect of Together Unplugged we look forward to each month is this fun sheet of Minute-to-Win-It games! This month's challenge included 20 hex nuts and 2 chopsticks. No wonder this box was so heavy!! We were given instructions for 8 minute-to-win-it games and had a blast doing these! I figured out a super clever way to perform the "stack attack" and smoked my husband at that challenge! By the time we reached the Pyramid of Steel, we just about tied. My kids loved trying these out, and if we ever are in need of a large hex nut, we are in luck!
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After we put the kids to bed my husband and I had a Minute to-Win-It face off and I won!! Hank and Charlie were very excited to go head to head with the champ the following morning!
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Family Team Building Activity
This month's team building activity began with the story, "The Father, His Sons, and The Bundle of Sticks." It was a very fitting story as my family consists of 2 boys and my husband and me! The story goes on to talk about siblings that can't get along and are always fighting...hmm, sound familiar? The father explains that they are like a single stick. If you single out a stick, you can easily break it, but if you bind many sticks together it becomes unbreakable. I love the moral of togetherness this story describes! My kids really enjoy trying to figure out what these stories mean, and get really excited to try the activity! See below for more on that...
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The challenge was to each break a stick by yourself. That was easy...the next part was to group all of the sticks together and attach them with a rubber band. This is symbolizing the strength of our family: as individuals we can snap in a second, but when you are all together you aren't able to be broken (except perhaps by my Hulk strong husband).
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Draw a Bird Day Sheets
Because April 8th is "Draw a Bird Day" we received a set of 4 instructions on how to draw different birds. The birds vary in difficulty level, and are all super cute!
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Although "Draw a Bird Day" was over before we received this box, we had a blast trying out these instructions to draw the birds. Hank even went the extra mile and added some extra details like the birdcage and the trees! I thought they turned out pretty dang cute!
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Haiku
This box just amazes me every time! The amount of custom items in this box with educational value just astonishes me every month. This month we received a write-up on Haiku poems. We learned what a Haiku is and how to write one. Not only did we get sample poems and tips but we also received a nice stack of paper to write our own poems!
Sign Language Alphabet
Did you know that April 15th is American Sign Language Day? I didn't either, but I do now. To celebrate, we received a sheet with the ABC's! They suggest keeping this sheet at our dining table to practice at mealtimes. At our preschool, the teacher is very good about teaching the students sign language, so while I needed some brushing up on a few letters, both of my kids already knew the entire alphabet! To challenge Hank, I have been spelling words in sign language to see if he can figure them out!
Snyder's Mini Pretzels, 2 count - Buy a carton of 48 for $20.67
Oh how I love receiving snacks in this box! What a fun addition to an already great curation! We love pretzels, and these pretzels are the perfect snack to eat while playing games since they aren't messy!
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Pairzi - Retail Value $19.95
A couple of months ago, we received the game "Tenzi" and it has been an absolute hit with our family, so when I saw "Pairzi" this month I was jumping for joy! Made by the makers of Tenzi, Pairzi is a fast dice game that also adds card matching to the mix! First you have to roll doubles, then you need to find matching pairs of critter cards. Whoever gets 5 pairs of critter cards first wins! To add to the challenge, they included 2 different decks of cards, one for beginners, and all yellow cards for a challenge! We love that this game takes only a short time, so it is perfect when we are short on time or right before bed.
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My husband and I tried this out while the kids were sleeping and used the challenging cards, but my kids just had to try out the neon-colored cards!
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Rhino Hero Game - Retail Value $14.99
Another awesome game!!!! Rhino Hero is here to save the day! This superhero fearlessly scales the highest houses looking for crooks and we are here to help him accomplish his construction mission by building a tall and solid skyscraper! This game is extremely simple but so much fun that we played it over, and over, and over, and over. My husband even loved this game. Like I said before, I am a game hoarder, and while I have a room dedicated to games, I have yet to receive a duplicate from this subscription!
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Can you believe how tall we got our tower? Granted, that was when my husband and I were playing during our "date night," but still! While playing with the kids, we didn't get the tower nearly as high, but we had a serious amount of giggling going on!
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Highlights Magazine April 2020 - Get a one-year subscription here for $39.96
Another item we look forward to each month is the current Highlights magazine. We truly enjoy scouring through the pages of this magazine reading the different articles and doing the hidden puzzles! We find that this magazine has a little something for everyone!
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Paint By Sticker Kids - Retail Value $9.95
Recently I was at a friend's daughter's birthday party, and she received a book just like this, and I can honestly say I was jealous...so much in fact that I had a similar book to this in my Amazon cart last week! I happily deleted it upon receiving this in the mail!! This fun sticker by number book is really fun, and something I enjoy more than coloring. My 5-year-old thought it was a little challenging, but my 7-year-old LOVED this. He sat down and did 3 of these in one sitting! And I of course loved these too...I have been told I need to add it back into my Amazon cart!
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Aren't they pretty when they are finished?!
Certificate of Recognition
Last but not least, we have the Certificate of Recognition. This certificate shows that in April 2020 we were a family that was focused on making time for us. I love the saying "For being a family that's focused on making time for the good stuff." While the "stay at home" order has been a challenge, it has also been really nice to focus my time on our family and strengthen our bond.
Verdict: Together Unplugged boxes are top-notch. Like I said above, even before "stay at home" orders were mandated, this subscription helps families focus on the positives and realize what is most important in life: being together. The curation of this box is so very well thought out. I find the custom items and the physical items to be the perfect balance, and to be something that would take me months to come up with on my own. I can't say enough good things about the choice of items in this box. Our family is obsessed with both of the games, and as I finish this review, the sticker by number only has one page un-stickered. The paper items are extremely valuable to me as well, really getting my family to open up and bond as one. When I calculated this month's retail value, I found most of the physical items for about $48.72, which is slightly more than the subscription cost. That being said, not included in that amount are the hex nuts, sticks, rubberbands, catapult supplies, and original content- which are a HUGE part of this sub. If I were to try and come up with ideas on my own and buy the physical items, I know my total would be significantly higher than this- plus it would take me forever. I can honestly say, this is my favorite subscription box, and it's not only items- it's an experience that lasts all month long. I can't wait to see what May has in store!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, the April box is sold out, so you will receive the May box.
ACTIVE DEAL: Save $5 off your first box!
CODE: MSA5OFF
Check out all of our Together Unplugged reviews and our list of the best kids subscription boxes for 2020, recommended by MSA readers like you!
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