Wouldn’t it be a great idea if once a month every month someone shipped a creative kit right to your doorstep for say, what people spend on a week’s worth of coffee? And what if this kit had all of the unique materials already inside it so that kids can curate projects from beautiful stained glass to colorful kaleidoscopes? Well, this happens to be more than just a great idea, because this service and these engaging open-ended projects do exist—and it’s called Kiwi Crate.
With Kiwi Crate, kids ages 4 to 8 are crafting, learning, and designing something different each month. Every Crate is created specifically for kids in this age group and then reviewed not only by a team of child development experts to ensure each product is enriching and developmentally appropriate, but is then tested for universal appeal and how fun it is by a crew of kids. We all know how excited kids get to share their art projects from school with their family members, and what I love about Kiwi Crate is it allows kids to discover and imagine at home—not just in the classroom. It’s also a way to bring parents and kids together to play, explore, and learn.
While Kiwi Crates make great gifts and stocking stuffers for the holidays, in my opinion the best way to take advantage of these great kits is with a monthly subscription. Gift givers can choose the package that works best for them (available in 3-, 6-, and 12-month packages) and each month, a green crate will show up at the doorstep with materials for two to three themed activities inside. For parents, it makes do-it-yourself super easy and kids will benefit from the quality craft materials inside and the engaging activities that will likely broaden kids’ interests.
In our office, I experimented with Racing Wind Cars, a kit full of wheels, straws, dough, rods, tape, stickers, and more. The only extra thing I required was a pair of scissors. Inside was an instruction guide that showed me how to create my wind car, but there was still enough room for me to personalize and decorate it all my own—which I really enjoyed. Utilizing all of the materials I was able to craft two wind cars and at the end of the instruction booklet I was given a few challenges, such as what would happen if, “you bring it outside on a windy day?” So, kids can not only create their projects, but they can then experiment with them too—and the fun doesn’t stop there. Each Kiwi Crate has an Explore! magazine inside where kids can read more about wind power, learn about wind turbines, draw, play, and create a whole new project at the end.
Each Crate is set up similarly and they are available in different sizes. No matter which crate kids are given, they’ll have the materials and inspiration to keep them occupied for hours.
