Kiwi Crate is a subscription box for kids ages 5-8 from the parent company KiwiCo. It arrives every month with all the materials and instructions needed to complete 2-3 crafts centered on a theme, plus additional materials to help educate young learners!
This review is of KiwiCo's Kiwi Crate (for ages 5-8), which costs $23.95 per month.
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.)
What's Inside This Box
1 of 5
As always, the materials included for this month's Kiwi Crate project were topped by two pieces of literature: a detailed instruction booklet for kids and adults to use together, and a magazine/activity book called Explore! This was the third month of Kiwi Crate that my daughter, L, and I enjoyed together, and while the first two boxes we tried contained two activities, this Race Day box had one more detailed project. In the second photo above you can see a sampling of all the pieces we were provided.
Instructions Booklet
1 of 6
The instructions booklet KiwiCo provides in all their boxes is always impressive. They manage to make it age-appropriate for younger kids in this 5-8 age group to follow along while a grown-up reads the words, though someone at the older end of the age range could likely follow the instructions on their own. Beyond the step-by-step instructions and accompanying visuals, there are also blurbs offering introductions to the engineering concepts featured in the month's project.
Explore! Magazine
1 of 6
The Explore! booklet is filled with facts, activities, and additional projects that are on the theme, but for which you'll need to supply your own materials. This month the bonus project uses the box everything came in, which is a fun way to recycle it.
Race Day Race Cars
Part 1: Airbrush Art
1 of 2
There are a lot of steps to making these balloon-powered cars, the first being the ever-important decorations. We do a lot of crafts in our home, but we've never tried airbrushing, and we thought this air-puff-style marker airbrush contraption was really unique.
We gave it some practice runs on scrap paper, then decorated our cars in the areas the instructions suggested. L is at the young end of this box's suggested age range, and she needed some help stabilizing the airbrush dome while she puffed the air down. We had a quick bonus lesson on leverage in the process—she learned she had better leverage if she knelt on a chair vs. standing on the floor.
Part 2: Build Your Cars
1 of 2
After the cars were decorated, we were to delve into the multi-part building process. The two images above show items needed for parts C, D, E, and F of the build.
1 of 2
Since two cars were provided, we each built our own. I followed the instructions and modeled how to do each step to L, which she was mostly able to do on her own. There was a lot of folding and sliding paper flaps into slots. There was also a little bit of getting ahead of ourselves, then undoing and redoing certain parts—like in the second photo above, where we got a little overeager with our rear wheel dowels, initially adding it two steps too soon. Therein lies the second bonus lesson: actually following the instructions, rather than trying to anticipate them!
Part 3: Race Your Cars
1 of 3
Once our cards were constructed, we blew up the balloons and let 'em rip! We had a few laughs sorting out the technique, with some puffs of air blown back in our faces. After getting a load of what we were up to, L's little sister wanted in on it. She surprised us by managing to get enough air into her balloon to make her car go!
Value - Was This Box Worth It?
The Cost: $23.95
We had so much fun with the Race Day box. It was a nice change of pace to dig into a more complicated, multi-part build after a couple of months of smaller projects. It was incredible to see my young daughter's mind (and fingers) at work, patiently figuring each step out and feeling the satisfaction of having built, decorated, and been able to function her car mostly on her own. The details of this box are very well thought-out, and the box is very worth the cost to me!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? It is possible you might get this crate, but it is not a guarantee. From KiwiCo:
Crates are assigned each month based on availability and your crate history - not all subscribers receive the same theme each month.
What do you think of Kiwi Crate? Click below to write a review!
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.