Atlas Crate is the newest subscription box from parent company KiwiCo. This box is designed to spark the curiosity and sense of adventure in children ages 6-11 and help them become citizens of the world. Each month they will deliver materials and instructions to provide hands-on experiences to help them develop their sense of cultural awareness.
KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups: Cricket Crate is for 24-36-month-olds, Koala Crate is for 3-4-year-olds, Kiwi Crate is for 5-8-year-olds, and Doodle Crate, Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds, and Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds. There really is something for every age with this company.
This review is of the $19.95 a month Atlas Crate box, for 6-11-year-olds.
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 Atlas Crate
The Subscription Box: Atlas 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 about the world.
Ships to: U.S. for free, Canada for $6.95 per month
Atlas Crate September 2018 Review
The country we explored this month was Peru and we received this envelope full of information. I love the detail of the string closure on the back, it makes it just a smidge more exciting being able to physically open this!
This envelope unfolded to show us a contents list and several pages to add to our Adventure Book. Everything in this box is incredibly organized and nicely packaged making it easy to locate it all!
We received this Adventure Book in our first box and this month they gave us a Peru sticker to add to the front of it. The rings of the book open up so that we can add more pages as we receive them.
Our first box was based on the World and contained cards for each of the continents. This time we were able to locate the continent in our book and add our pages behind it.
The pages we received for Peru were filled with fun facts and several instructions for various activities. We decided to use a few things we had around the house to create this straw flute which the kids had a lot of fun with, even though the sound is very quiet (I definitely don't mind!).
We received this Juego de Sapo (Toad) game, and I think that the inclusion of games from the country is a great way to immerse children into other cultures! This came with a little story to introduce us to the history behind the game. The story is from ancient times when there were magical toads that lived in Lake Titicaca that the Inca king tried to attract by throwing gold coins into the lake. If the toad caught the coin, he would turn to gold and grant the king a wish. To thank the toad, the king then put up a golden statue of the toad and it became a game for people to throw golden coins at the statue while shouting "sapo!" I thought this was a fun way to incorporate some folklore into the box.
First, we used the little foam stickers to secure the water paper to the top of our clear tray.
Next, we put together our lilypads by folding them over the included dowels and securing them with the large foam sticker in the middle, then we added the end pieces to them and secured those with the mini plastic rings.
We used the little rectangle stickers to secure the lilypads in the holes on our tray. The lilypads twirled if we flicked them.
Lastly, we put our toad together using brads and then secured him to our pond with more foam stickers.
Here is our finished game with instructions and the Peruvian coins for playing. These are made of thick styrofoam (or something similar) and the object is to toss them into the various holes on the board. You get the most points for making it into the toad's mouth, which is adjustable and can open up pretty wide. A fun and simple game with a lot of culture to it!
Each activity comes with its own booklet with instructions and our next activity was to make an alpaca. I love that they included information on llamas versus alpaca because I can never tell the difference!
I liked that they really highlighted the importance of the alpaca to Peru, which gave a bit more meaning to the activity of making our very own alpaca.
The alpaca was incredibly easy to make. I added the foam stickers to the notch above where the legs go. These helped to make them more secure. Then it was time to wrap the fuzzy yarn around the alpaca. There was plenty of yarn and the notches all around made sure that it didn't slip off. He was just so cute and soft when we finished!
The last activity was to weave a blanket and make a hat for our alpaca. The instructions were so incredibly clear and detailed, and it was a tedious task that will definitely be a great tactile learning experience for the intended age group. I just wish that they had included some information about weaving and its importance to Peruvian culture. I also think this would have been a good time to include some vocabulary such as weft and weave.
They did include a few facts about weaving and the hats, but it wasn't enough to show how much value might be placed on it whether through family tradition or as part of their economic trade.
First, we put together our little loom and then we were able to begin our weaving using the specific instructions. The weaving was very simple and just followed an over/under pattern. They provided plenty of foam rectangles that helped us secure the yarn in between stages so that nothing slipped. They even included this little comb that we could use to push up the yarn so that it would be nice and full.
We used the little pipe cleaners to secure the ends of our yarn blanket and then it was complete. I think it turned out great and it was such a fun way to explore a traditional Peruvian custom.
Making our chullo hat was easy. We just cut the yarn into even pieces and tied it onto the included ring alternating colors as we went.
Then we pulled up the ends and used the last pipe cleaner to secure it and placed it on our alpaca's head. He is looking very stylish!
Verdict: I really loved the ways that Atlas Crate chose to show us Peruvian culture. Having a traditional game to play is such a fun, unique way to explore something that is different from our own culture. I also liked that we got to learn such an important trade as weaving to accessorize our alpaca, but I wish that they had included some more information about its importance or the history behind it. Overall, there were many great facts and activities that will really appeal to kids ages 6-11 such as making an Antara and also including a recipe for a new food to try. It's a good mix of topics and definitely feels like a thorough introduction to Peru. This box costs $19.95 plus free shipping and I think that's a great value for all of the activities and learning that took place.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, it is likely since this is a fairly new subscription, but keep this in mind- from Kiwi Co:
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 more boxes for ages 5-8 and ages 9-12 in the Kids Subscription Box List!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
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