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:
- Panda Crate for 0-24-month-olds,
- Koala Crate for 2-4-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 and Maker 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 2-4.
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 from KiwiCo
The Subscription Box: KiwiCo 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 $3.95 per month, worldwide from $4.95-$6.95.
KiwiCo Koala Crate "Little Builder" Review
My kids get so excited to see the yellow Koala Crate box arrive in our mailbox each month! While the recommended ages for this particular box are 2-4, my 7-year-old and now 5-year-old make the cutest team in reading and completing this box all by themselves. It's so rewarding to sit back and watch them work on their own!
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This month's theme is "Little Builder" and as the sons of an electrician and tinkerer, Hank and Charlie were thrilled to see what kind of projects they would be completing! This month they created a stand-alone tunnel arch, a wrecking ball, and construction signs! We love that this box always features well-made supplies, and easy to read and follow instructions that the kids can mostly do themselves.
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Each month the Koala Crate "Imagine!" magazine is included. This colorful book contains information on real-life construction opportunities, a story, a tool hunt, information about construction equipment, a DIY project, and suggested books to fit our construction theme. Hank and Charlie were excited to see two of their very favorite books included in the Koala Library this month, so we found them upstairs and read them after completing our projects!
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Because the weather has been so fantastic lately, we took this Koala Crate outside! Check out our completed projects below!
Tunnel Arch
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The supplies for our arch were in the same bag as some of the wrecking ball pieces, so we separated out our support wall and paper strip and saved the wood frame for our next project.
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We also received a set of foam blocks used to form our arch. They sent 6 light blue trapezoid blocks for the sides, with a larger trapezoid in dark blue for the top of the arch.
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To build our arch we first needed to build the support wall. Using the large cut-out, we folded the creases and added the paper strip to hold it into place. This part was a bit tricky for Hank and Charlie, so I helped them get the tabs into the correct slots. Once the support wall was built, I gave the kids the instructions and they were able to build the arch all by themselves. It took a bit of thinking to get the blocks positioned just right, but with the darker blue block saved for the top, they figured it out. Their minds were really blown when we took away the support wall and the arch stood on its own! They were so impressed with this that they built and destroyed this arch more times than I could count!!
Wrecking Ball
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For our wrecking ball project, we received a cardboard base, a foam ball, and support frames along with a rubber band and string.
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This project had Hank and Charlie really fired up. They actually were able to build it without looking at the instructions! To start, they slid the long wood pieces into the cardboard base. Then we stretched the rubber band around the wooden pieces. Next, we added the big wood piece in the slots. To create the wrecking ball, Charlie poked one end of the string through the foam ball and the other into the frame. We then built a tower of foam blocks and crashed the wrecking ball into it! This was done over, and over, and over...
Construction Signs
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To complete our construction signs we received a hammer, a golf tee, signs, sticks, foam bases, clear stickers, a foam sheet, and we got to upcycle our crate.
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When Hank and Charlie caught a glimpse of the hammer, they were soooo ready to build! They couldn't wait to get to this project just to use their new tool! Using the shipping box, we added the foam sheet to the top of it. Placing a sign on the sheet, we used the golf tee to tap the holes around the signs in the designated spots. We then flipped the signs over and used a clear sticker to attach the stick to the back of the sign. Once this was complete, we pushed the stick into the foam bases. Easy and fun! Once we were done with the signs the kids just kept hammering holes into the box with the golf tee. A perfect activity for fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination!
Here is our construction site in the works! Perfect for outside or inside play!
Verdict: This Koala Crate was a lot of fun! Like I said above, my husband is extremely handy, and the kids are always helping him build or make something in the garage. While these projects are obviously a lot more basic than what they help my husband with, they loved getting to do this all by themselves without (much) help. I am always impressed with how much thought goes into these crates, as they include educational information along with the fun activities for a really well-rounded box. I also liked that we were able to do this box outside! I can honestly say that we have packed this kit up and brought it on the go for easy entertainment! We can't wait to see what theme we receive next month!
All of the included projects came with high-quality materials, were very well-curated, and were educational as well as fun. My kids learned about teamwork and facts about construction and building, all while having a great time. I feel this is extremely important and worth the $19.95!
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 and kids!
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