Koala Crate is the toddler subscription box offering from KiwiCo, designed for hands-on learning and fun every month!
KiwiCo offers boxes for different age groups:
- Panda Crate for 0-24-month-olds,
- Koala Crate for 2-4-year-olds,
- Kiwi Crate for 5-8-year-olds,
- Atlas Crate for 6-11-year-olds,
- Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds,
- Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up. There really is something for every age with this company.
This review is of the $19.95 a month Koala Crate, for Pre-K kids ages 2-4.
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 Koala Crate from KiwiCo
The Subscription Box: KiwiCo Koala Crate
The Cost: $19.95 a month + free shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: 2-3 fun DIY projects for you to do with your preschooler!
Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $3.95 per month, worldwide from $4.95-$6.95.
Koala Crate "Reptiles" Review
My kids get so excited to see the yellow Koala Crate box arrive in our mailbox each month! While the recommended ages for this particular box are 2-4, my 7-year-old and 4-year-old make the cutest team in reading and completing this box all by themselves. It's so rewarding to sit back and watch them work on their own!
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This month’s theme featured "Reptiles" and my boys couldn't have been more excited! Not only did we get to learn about what a reptile is, but we also were able to make a stuffed snake friend, a color-changing chameleon, and a turtle box! This box always features high-quality supplies, and easy to read/easy to follow instructions that guide you through the entire process. They really make learning fun!
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Each month, a copy of the Koala Crate "Imagine!" magazine is included. This colorful booklet includes photos of real reptiles, a story, a fun "move" activity, trivia about reptiles, a fun maze, a craft, and suggested books based on each month's theme. As Charlie is learning how to read, it was really fun watching him sound out the words and do the games on his own!
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We love that they use the same animals in each story! Kellan the Koala is Charlie's favorite!
Stuffed Snake Friend
For this month's project we received this bright coral fleece snake body. It's so soft and cuddly- exactly how I like my snakes!!
No stuffed snake is complete without the stuffing!
We received a little package full of our animal's eyes! To make our snake extra cuddly, they sent felt eyes.
We have been working on shapes in pre-school distance learning, so these hexagon stickers were perfect to create patterns with!
Our last component of this project is a party horn....what for you ask? Read below and you'll find out!
I love how easy these projects are! Charlie is always excited to do them because he knows it is something he will be able to complete and the finished product will look awesome. This activity involves no sewing, so you just flip up the ends of the snake and start stuffing! We stuffed both ends and used a pencil to even out the fluff.
Once stuffing was complete, we just flipped over the ends and added the felt eyes. Easy peasy!
Using 3/4 of the felt hexagon stickers, Charlie decorated his new pal. We started out working on patterns, but then he asked if he could decorate it as he pleased, so I let him have at it.
Last but not least, we added the party horn! There were 2 small slits on the backside where the horn slide through so when he is wrapped around your neck you can blow the horn and the snakes "tongue" will come out! Clever!
Isn't that the cutest snake you ever did see? Charlie asked to have a pet snake last week, so this box came at the perfect time!!
Color-Changing Chameleon
Our next activity involves a game! Here we received a color-changing chameleon body!
Next up were the eyes - this time we were able to use the green and black wiggle eyes!
Do we have another tongue coming?!
Last up were these bug stand pieces!
Our first step in this project was to punch out the cardboard bug stand pieces. I love how easy they are to detach from the cardboard! No tears or ripping, just perfect pieces!
Stands were included for each piece. They are wobbly, but they are that way on purpose - it makes it easier for the chameleon to "catch."
All we had to do for the chameleon was to stick the eyes on each side of his head, and insert the party horn through his mouth. Getting the horn in his mouth was a little tricky...Hank was worried I was going to wreck it, but we managed to squeeze it in. Phew!
Once everything was built, we got to play the game! How many bugs can the chameleon get?! It was super fun, and very loud. Mr. Chameleon had to take a time out in the sun (to watch him change color, of course) after about 20 rounds of this!
Turtle Box
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The last craft used this adorable felt turtle! One side is straight up felt, and the other side has a sticky circle on the back. More on that below!
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The "shell" for our turtle is this sweet cardboard box! The lid pops off, and can hold all sorts of little trinkets and treasures!
Because we only needed 3/4 of the felt hexagon stickers for the snake, we had a few left to decorate the turtle shell!
Here we needed the green and white wiggle eyes, and the velcro sticky dots.
The first step in this project was to take the backing off of the felt turtle and stick it to the bottom of the cardboard box.
Looking good so far!
The next step was to add the wiggle eyes.
Using the hexagon felt stickers, Hank created a pattern on the "turtle shell."
We then flipped the turtle onto his shell and stuck the velcro sticky dots to the bottom of the flippers and his head.
The reason for the velcro is so you can hide your turtle in his shell, but as you can see in the picture this didn't work very well....The legs barely stuck, and the head wasn't even close...
I think he looks cuter out of his shell anyways! Hank was proud of his little creation, and ran it up to his nightstand as soon as he was done so he could put a few of his special rocks in it!
Verdict: This Koala Crate was really fun! Our family is obsessed with crafts, and when we can find ones that match our interests, we are thrilled! Reptiles are a big deal in our house, so this month was an absolute hit. Charlie was so proud to tell daddy that snakes are cold-blooded AND they use their tongue to smell! It's really fun to watch my boys work together on this box and learn so many life skills along the way. I can't wait to see what theme we receive next month!
All of the included projects came with high-quality materials, were very well-curated, and were educational as well as fun. My kids learned about teamwork and facts about reptiles, all while having fun. I feel this is extremely important and worth the $19.95!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? From KiwiCo:
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 the best subscription boxes for toddlers!
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