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Koala Crate
Cost: $19.95/month.
Ships To: United States and Canada.
Coupon Code: Use code “SHARE10” to save $10 off your first month.
Koala Crate is from Kiwi Crate’s new(ish) line of crates and is designed for preschoolers ages 3-4. The box includes all the materials and inspiration for projects related to a theme such as colors, transportation or safari. Crates are designed to give children exposure to new materials and new concepts that encourage hands-on learning and fun.
Koala Crate ships via FedEx Smart Post and took about a week to arrive. Sometimes they ship mid-month and sometimes they ship closer to the end of the month.
I actually didn’t know what the theme of this box was until I opened it up. It looked very fun though!
The November 2015 Koala Crate theme was “storytime” and included three projects “puppet theater”, “dress-up puppets” and “abc card games”.
Project #1 – Puppet Show
Puppet Show included all of the items needed to make a puppet theatre for your child’s stories! It was low on the messiness scale, medium on the grownup involvement scale and involved moving – fine and creating.
I tried to talk WB into helping me build this, but it was seriously over before it started. He did help stick the magnets to the back of the “scenes” though! The box included four different background scenes – city, snow, beach and park / outdoor! The magnets then attach to the whiteboard that is included in the box. The You can’t quite see it in my picture, but the theatre / stage also includes a curtain that rolls up and down. We had a bit of trouble trying to get it to stay up, but we managed. As you can see we cheated a little and skipped ahead to try it out with some puppets!
Project #2 – Dress-Up Puppets
The second project in the box was “Dress-Up Puppets” which included everything you needed to make puppets to help tell your stories. It was low on the messiness scale, medium on the grownup involvement scale and involved creating and communicating.
These were so fun! You picked a puppet to stick on a puppet stand (everything is magnetic) and then can dress them up with the magnetic clothes and accessories. The clothes don’t stick that great so you need to be careful not to knock them around too much or they’ll come on. Stronger magnets might not have been a bad idea. But they are adorable! You can also stick the accessories (like the sun and moon and cars) to your background to help make your story even better!
Project #3 – ABC Card Games
The final project in the box was ABC Card Games which allowed your little one to practice drawing and letters with colorful cards. It was medium on the messiness scale, high on the grownup involvement scale and involved communicating and discovering.
WB knows most of his letters, but has just started working on writing them. They use Handwriting Without Tears at his school so they start writing the easiest letters (I, L, T, etc.) first and then move on to the more difficult ones (G, R). Anyway, he loved practicing and is getting pretty good!
Koala Crate also includes the imagine! magazine. “imagine!” includes stories, mazes and other fun activities relating to the theme. It’s a great addition to the crate and allows you to continue with the theme long after you have finished the projects.
What do you think of Koala Crate? I love that Kiwi Crate branched out into some different ages groups because this one is just right for WB. We still love it! If you are interested in subscribing you can sign up here and use coupon code “SUB60” to save 60% off your first month (expires 11/30/15)! This is the best deal you can find on Koala Crate, so take advantage!
