Koala Crate Subscription Box Review – October 2018

Koala Crate is the preschool subscription box offering from KiwiCo, designed for hands-on learning and fun every month!

KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups: Tadpole Crate is for 0-36 months, Koala Crate for ages 3-4, Kiwi Crate for ages 5-8, Atlas Crate for ages 6-11, and Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate are for ages 9-16 and up.

This review is of the $19.95 a month Koala Crate, for Pre-K kids ages 3-4.

This box was sent to us for review purposes. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

About Koala Crate Kids Subscription Box

The Subscription Box: Koala Crate

The Cost: $19.95 a month + free shipping

The Products: 2-3 fun DIY projects for you to do with your preschooler!

Ships to: US

Koala Crate "Birds" Crate October 2018 Review

My family was excited to review this month's Koala Crate! KiwiCo's teaching methodology perfectly aligns with how my kids learn today. My son is in early pre-school and goes to a school that is focused on hands-on and project-based learning. My 2nd-grade daughter attends a school with a STEAM curriculum and was happy to assist her little brother with some of the more challenging tasks in the projects.

This month’s theme is “Birds”. While completing the 3 fun projects, we learned about different types of birds, the function of their feathers and beaks, and how they build nests.

Koala Crate includes a parents' guide with step-by-step instructions on how to complete each project. I recommend looking at the instructions and gathering all the materials for the project before engaging the kids. My preschooler lacks any amount of patience, so I wanted to be prepared to get the project started right away!

The crate includes three engaging projects for outdoor fun: Bird Wings, Bird Mask, and Clay Bird Sculpture.

The crate includes everything needed for all 3 projects.

Here are the materials for the Bird Wings project. It includes the wings and fabric feathers of varying colors and sizes.

Here are the materials to create the bird mask, which includes the mask, felt feathers, 3 different types of beaks, and other materials.

Here are the materials for the Clay Bird Sculpture project. It includes air-dry clay, more felt feathers, bird eyes and beak, and mini-sticks to help hold the feathers in place.

Let’s get started with the bird wings!

The first step was to find the buttons and attach the fabric feathers to the wings. My son couldn’t quite master this skill so big sister did most of the wing construction.

To keep my son engaged, I ask him to identify the colors of the wings and the fabric feathers. He instructed his sister where to put the feathers and what colors he wanted.

There were enough feathers to add multiple feathers to each button. The color combinations were really cute. My son tried again with the buttons and got a little frustrated but, at least he tried! We can use this after the project is complete to continuing working on this skill.

And finally, the bird wings are complete! Before trying on the wings, my kiddos wanted to move on to the next project–the Bird Mask.

The first step in this project is to arrange the felt feathers on the back of the mask and secure it with the mask strip.

The next step was to attach the elastic to each side of the mask making sure to measure the child’s head to ensure a good fit.

The last step was to secure the Velcro dots to the mask that would allow the kids to swap out beaks. The kids can choose the beak of a woodpecker, a kiwi, or a duck.

The mask is now complete! Time to try on the wings and mask and act like a bird!

Predictably, the kids enjoyed this step the best. They got to run like a kiwi, soar like an eagle, peck like a woodpecker and waddle like a duck!

Let’s complete the final project–the Clay Bird Sculpture!

First, we gathered all the materials and got to work on creating the bird body, head, and winds with the air-dry clay. This is far too advanced for my son, so my daughter took the lead on this.

Then, the project went off track. Apparently, the clay has the texture of “taffy slime” and my elementary schooler is slime crazy. She no longer wanted to make the bird but instead wanted to play with the “slime”!

But, I encouraged her to at least complete the project before she deconstructed the bird! Next step was to add the mini beak and eyes to the bird.

The last step was to add the feathers and all done!

It’s not perfect, but it’s pretty cute!

Koala Crate also sends a mini-magazine every month that goes along with the theme of the box.

It includes a story, additional fun activities, and even a DIY project using items that are not included in the crate.

My daughter read the story to my son, and he enjoyed it.

Verdict: This Koala Crate by KiwiCo was a lot of fun! We loved the “Birds” theme and had a lot of fun learning about and pretending to be different types of birds. I found some of the projects to be a little difficult for my son, but he’s not quite 3 so that was expected. I was surprised at how much fun my 7-year-old had with this crate. These boxes have a target age, but I’ve found that my kids loved each box regardless of the age determination. If you have children of varying ages, they’ll all love it! As usual, the materials in the crate were high quality and sturdy. The project instructions were clear and easy to follow. Best of all, my kids loved completing the projects, especially the bird's wings! Considering the great quality materials, educational content, and well thought-out projects, the cost of this box ($19.95) seems like a small price to pay!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, sign up now for the November box.

Check out all of our Koala Crate reviews and the Kids Subscription Box Directory!

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