The Preschool Box is a monthly subscription that sends preschool activities that encourage learning, reading, and creativity in children aged 3-6. Every box contains specific learning objectives that focus on phonics, reading skills, and basic math concepts with activities, crafts, and a book.
A portion of all proceeds for this subscription supports an orphanage for at-risk children in Uganda through Rafiki Africa Ministries.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About The Preschool Box
The Subscription Box: The Preschool Box
The Cost: $32.95 + $5.95 US shipping
The Products: Every box contains specific learning objectives that focus on phonics, reading skills, and basic math concepts and includes 16+ hands-on preschool activities, ready-to-go craft materials, and a book.
Ships to: The US for $5.95 and worldwide at varying rates
The Preschool Box February 2020 Review
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The centerpiece of the box is this parent guide and activity workbook. It has a welcome letter on the inside as well as the curriculum plan for this month. Each Preschool Box has 4 weeks planned out for your child to do so by the time you finish everything, your next box should be there.
The first 6 months of this subscription teaches your child the letters of the alphabet (letter recognition, sounds, and writing) and numbers; the second 6 months focuses on sounding out and reading words. At the end of the subscription, you receive a fun graduation box!
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Here's a look inside at the parent guide and workbook pages. Week 1's plan covers the letter A and the number 1; week 2 covers the letter B and the number 2; week 3 covers the letter C and numbers 3 & 4; and week 4 covers the letter D and the numbers 0 and 5. These worksheets also involve some colors, and at the end of the booklet is a reading log to track what books you and your child read each day.
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Also in the box was a folder of activity and craft paper materials.
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My son loves working through preschool workbooks so he enjoyed these pages! I also feel like he's at a really good developmental level for where this subscription starts. He's 4 years old. He knows his letters, numbers, and colors, so these pages are more practicing and application for him than learning from nothing.
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Here is a look at some of the crafts they sent. My son's favorite was the rainbow cloud that you make by assembling pipe cleaners into chains to hang from a paper cut-out cloud. Other crafts included gluing green squares and a googly eye to a sideways letter A to make an "A for Alligator," and painting a letter D with dots. Their website does say that you need your own crafting basics like a glue stick and kid scissors, which I had to go buy once I realized I was unprepared. They're essentials I should own anyway, so that's my bad. However, I think the watercolor paints they sent were really bad quality and hard to work with, but they worked well enough with the Q-tips to create dots for the craft, so I guess that's enough.
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One activity that really stood out to me was one that involved cutting out number cards and applying a corresponding number of soft velcro dots on the backs. Your child picks up a number card with his eyes closed, feels the number of fuzzy dots, and then says what number he thinks he feels. Then he opens his eyes and sees if he's right! It's pretty simple but was very different than things we've done before. Because counting things with eyes closed is a kind of abstract practice, I really didn't know how my son would do, but he surprised me and got them all right! He showed the focus and concentration needed to sit and figure it out with his senses, which was great for me to see. The second time through I could tell he seemed a little impatient and distracted and was guessing without taking his time, but for him to get through all the numbers correctly the first time was just really interesting and exciting to me.
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Here are some of the activities in our first box. One had gumball machines with numbers on them, and you cut out circles with dots (representing gumballs) and have your child match them to the corresponding gumball machine. Another had colorful bunnies and matching pom-poms for your child to name and assign the right "tail" to each bunny.
Our favorite, though, was a jar printed on paper, 6 different plastic bugs, and a foam die. The game was to roll the die, and put that many bugs in the jar. This was fun because, well, bugs are a big hit around here (as you can see from his favorite bug shirt), and also because every time he rolled I could ask how many bugs he needed to add or take away to get the right number in the jar. And this is also a game he can play on his own!
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The Naughty Puppy by Susie Linn - Retail Value $9.99
Every box includes a book to read together. I love that. We no longer receive any book subscriptions but when we used to, my kids loved getting new stories in the mail often. This was also such a sweet story that sends a message close to my heart: that even seemingly distracted and fidgety kids/students pick up more than you know and are capable of learning everything they need to learn. The story is about a little sheepdog puppy named Fidget that struggles to focus on training because he gets distracted with the world around him and likes to play and fidget. One night he hears the sheep in trouble and runs out to save the day from a wolf, herd the sheep back in, and prove that he is truly a good sheepdog after all, despite the farmer having felt unsure and discouraged.
Not only is this a good message for kids to hear - that they're not bad or naughty for sometimes fidgeting or getting distracted while trying to learn - but it's powerful to me as a parent, too. What a great reminder to me not to get frustrated or discouraged just because my child sometimes struggles with behaving and doing as he's told. It's normal, just part of being a kid, and absolutely doesn't mean he's not learning. I love this.
Verdict: This is our first Preschool Box and I am honestly really happy with our first impression! I've been talking about this box to my family and friends because it's just been incredibly helpful. My 4-year-old doesn't really nap anymore so he usually does quiet time, but since we got this box we've just been doing things from it while my two younger children nap in the afternoons. My son has been excited to do all the activities and I love that some are repeatable! I can easily put the bugs and jar paper in a gallon baggie or keep the sensory counting cards together to pull out later.
It's hard to put a concrete value assessment to this box because of its nature. I can say that it has totally been worth the cost for us this month! I know I could probably find resources for similar printables or projects online myself, but besides my 4-year-old I also have a 2-year-old and a 4-month-old, and I just do not have the time to be able to sit and plan and prepare all of that right now. There is just so much on my plate and I feel a little in survival mode from a new baby. Having everything in this box ready to grab and do together (or even to set him up with and have a few minutes to do something else!) with no effort, decision making, or internet hunting on my part has honestly made me almost giddy. I also find a lot of value in the fact that there are repeatable activities we can store and forever, be able to reach for when we need something quiet and educational for him to do for a few minutes, or even take to a restaurant to keep busy. Plus, a book in every box helps the value a lot for me as well.
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Yes, your subscription will start to teach your child from the beginning of the Preschool Box's curriculum.
Check out our list of the best kids subscription boxes for 2020, recommended by MSA readers like you!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
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