KidArtLit Subscription Box Review – March 2018

KidArtLit is a subscription box that sends a hardback, boutique quality picture book and supplies to complete an open-ended art project with your family. This is geared towards 3-8-year-olds and includes enough supplies to make the projects twice.

This box is a packed full of fun! Everything is neatly wrapped in a bright, appealing yellow tissue paper that catches your eye immediately.

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 KidArtLit

The Subscription Box: KidArtLit

The Cost: $39.95 a month + shipping

The Products: One hardback picture book, all the needed to complete an open-ended art project two times, and a mini magazine with easy-to-follow instructions & ideas for exploring the box’s theme. Plus, each box includes an extra mini project: a Ready-Set-Go Pack.

Ships to: US for $7.95 and Internationally for an additional charge

KidArtLit March 2018 Review

Yellow Kayak by Nina Laden and Melissa Castrillon - Retail Value $17.99 (found here for $13.64)

This month’s book is such a colorful, whimsical design throughout the entire book, keeping the attention of my little one.

I personally love reading books that rhyme, so this one is right up my alley. It’s written in a short, four line segments which aren’t overwhelming and give you time to talk about the beautiful illustrations with your child. The story portrays the journey of a child and giraffe friend on their yellow kayak. They travel on an adventure through many mystical moments until they find their way back home. The funniest part of this experience was my son's reaction to the book. We always read two or three books right before he goes to bed, so when we pulled this out before dinner, he didn’t understand that it wasn’t an early bedtime. Reasoning with a two-year-old isn’t the easiest thing to do, but after 10 minutes or so, we were on the same page - literally.

Once we dug into the supplies, all of his little anxieties ceased. The supplies included two pages of five different colors of high-quality construction paper, four gold foil papers, two canvases, crate paper (used to secure the packaging), one bottle of all-purpose glue, scissors, three dot stickers, one white cardstock paper, two small wooden dials, one large popsicle stick, a pair of scissors, and two large pencils. I wasn’t completely sure where to start, but the mini magazine gave me all the direction I needed:

The ready-set-go pack included this month items to make shadow puppets of a wave and octopus. The two small dial rods glued to the stencil cutouts, and after they dried, we used a flashlight to shine those onto the white cardstock paper. We talked about the sea creatures we saw in the book and pretended to make big waves with the other stencil. He loves to splash in the bathtub, so it helped him to make the connection between the art and real life.

The project of the month was sculpting a sunset. The magazine suggests that you allot 20 minutes for the project, which ended up being the perfect amount of time to hold his interest. We started by cutting strips of paper. This was one of the first times he’s used scissors, so after a little coordination, we started cutting together. He gave up after a few minutes, so I finished up. We used some of the techniques they suggested, including curling the strips of paper around the pencil, as well as fan folding. After we made a handful of different shapes, we glued down the shiny paper and other pieces to give the effect of a sunset. Once he picked out his favorite shape that reminded him of a sun, we glued them to the canvas. Even though it wasn’t necessarily apart of the crafting supplies, we glued down the thinly fanned yellow craft paper pieces - it was the perfect way to complete our sunset.

I loved how interactive this was, and even though my son is slightly younger than the suggested age range, my wife and I had so much fun completing this with him. I love knowing that this is helping him to develop abstract thoughts and build creativity. I’m not super creative, especially when it comes to toddler activities, so uniquely curated design brought so many wonderful aspects into one common theme. While the skills he’s gaining through this subscription will be useful throughout his life, in his mind, he’s just having fun with his parents. Learning through experience - my favorite way to do anything!

The Verdict: I am a SUPER fan of KidArtLit. I love how interactively this is designed and how well they use different colors, shapes, and textures. This box encourages creative thinking by tying it back to a lovely story that you can continue to revisit with your little one. The number of supplies you’re given allow you to complete this project more than once, making it perfect for families with multiple children or being able to save the extra craft for a rainy day. The supplies are high quality and all included. No one has to run around the house trying to find a bottle of glue (and hope that it’s not dried up from leaving the cap open). For $47.90 ($39.95 per month plus $7.95 shipping, discounted if you subscribe for multiple months), they provide you with an awesome children’s book, a plethora of supplies, and multiple activities to enjoy with your family. I’d say this is a 100% win!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? From KidArtLit:

All orders placed between the 1st-14th are shipped on or around the 15th. All orders placed between the 15th-31st are shipped within 3 business days or as supplies last.

Value Breakdown: This box is $47.90 per month. The book retails at $17.99, leaving the remaining $30 to cover the high-quality materials and curated projects designed to create meaningful, interactive learning moments with your family.

Check out more boxes for ages 3 to 4 and ages 5 to 8 in the Kids Subscription Box List!

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

What do you think about KidArtLit?