DISCLAIMER: This is a sponsored post brought to you by Kiwi Crate. All opinions are my own.
Do any of you hate the electronics as much as I do?
I mean…I get it…I am a blogger…I literally cry when the internet is on the fritz and don’t get me started on why every restaurant needs wi-fi….but for my kids it is a totally different story. I hate (and I mean HATE with a capital middle finger) the way my kids are just naturally drawn to movies and tv and video games. It makes me wanna throw heavy objects at my electronics. Or better yet…heavy electronics at my electronics. And there are no “good” outcomes.
Like for instance…the kids are having less than desirable behavior….so if I pop on a Curious George movie…it’s not like their gonna chill out and behave better afterwards. No. In twenty minutes, it’s full on code-red crisis mode after the theme song ends. Sure, I had a tiny break and sometimes desperation calls for it….but in general, it never works in my favor when it’s all said and done. So generally I avoid it. I force the kids outside a ton, we do lots of little trips and Jer and I attempt to get the kids involved in whatever they can be involved with…especially if it burns energy or keeps their little fingers busy.
Which is why I absolutely need to tell you about this awesome thing I got to do with the boys and my mom….it’s called Kiwi Crate and it’s a box of pure magic.
So we got these boxes in the mail and inside are all the materials to make little hands on projects. It’s a monthly thing so you subscribe and each month they send a different crate with a different theme (think gardening, dinosaurs, space, etc.).
We got our boxes this month and they were “farm fun” and ADORABLE. The boxes had two projects – one was finger puppets and the other was make-your-own-garden…complete with dirt and seeds.
It is definitely more geared toward Will’s age (and older) than Weston’s age but both boys were REALLY into it. In fact, the entire thing took the boys, me and my mom about an hour to do ONE activity. Granted that includes breastfeeding breaks and a diaper-changing break….but over all, an hour of creative and educational fun without them even mentioning electronics? yes please!
Both boys sat for the entire first project…making a garden. I should have guessed….it involved dirt so of course they loved it.
We modified the level of the adult involvement according to what each kid could do. Will had a hard time with peeling the backs off the stickers so we did that for him but for the most part, he did everything else. We could tell that he was missing the activities that he did in school and this was something he would have done there.
I loved seeing both boys when they focused hard…trying to get their little fingers moving and then when they finally accomplished their goal. It basically brought tears to my eyes. I loved how they celebrated the simplest of things…even if it was just picking up a mini popsicle stick and getting the radish seeds in the right container.
I honestly felt like it was a perfect activity idea for people that are grandparents or busy moms and dads…since each box has all the supplies needed and ideas for the activities PLUS Kiwi Crate’s explore! magazine filled with bonus activities, kid-friendly recipes and more surprises!
I liked it for us because I just don’t have the ability to get to the craft store these days. That’s a thirty minute drive…plus the screaming and crying that will ensue once we get out of the car and shop. Two hours of driving and shopping? No, thank you. And money wise – it’s a draw. These little activity packages at the craft store cost about five bucks a pop. There are 2-3 of them in the Kiwi Crate. Add that to the gas I would spend getting to the store and the time it would take me to shop and I am already at a wash. Plus…my brain doesn’t function these days. Seriously. It called a strike and is in talks with the union. Planning all these little details out would be inconceivable.
By the time we got to the second activity, Weston was ready for more running. So Will carried the torch during the second craft.
My mom is great at these kind of things. She is a music teacher and has that natural ability to teach kids while making it fun. Plus, she likes to keep her hands busy and this activity did just that.
Will loved it. He actually told me that we were gonna do it all over again tomorrow too. I told him that tomorrow we get to write down our seeds growth in the ‘tracker’ page and that maybe we could put on a finger puppet show for Daddy. That put a huge smile on his face. We are already practicing our animal noises.
So here are a few more details if you are interested in the Kiwi Crate:
- all the activities are developmentally appropriate and enriching.
- A test crew of kids make sure the projects are engaging, fun, and universally appealing.
- You can also shop for individual arts & crafts and party favors on the website
- Plans start at just $16.95/month (sibling add-on: transform your subscription to a “no fight” crate by adding materials for just $9.99/month)
- Free shipping on ALL subscriptions!
- See some of the most popular past crates.
Discount: Join Kiwi Crate’s Summer Adventure Series with projects to explore the great outdoors! Save 25% on your first month subscription with code BP25 (excludes sibling add-ons) click here!
So that’s what we have been doing lately to beat those electronics at their own game. What do you do with your little ones to keep them busy? Any one creating little crafting addicts? Or throwing things at their tvs lately? Spill it!
Awesome! Feel the same way about electronic devices (Mama! iPad PLEASE!!!) and will try anything to help curb that. Just placed my order and will give it a try. 🙂
Fun! I think any activity that comes prepared and ready to assemble, no matter what it is, is worth it. The 50 cent sun catchers at Walmart with some paint is fun for my daughter, I can only imagine these!
This year we invested in a family zoo membership. It’s $75 for the entire year and we go at least once a week. There is a ton of walking involved so it’s good for all of us. I think it’s one of my favorite things that we have done lately.
I have two 7 year olds and I often feel as though they’re behind on the whole electronic thing compared to the kids they go to school with. They both have Kindle Fire’s but we utilize Amazon’s Kindle Freeplay program which allows us to limit their usage and in order to be allowed to play them they must EARN time. We have a chore chart and each chore completed that week allots them 5 minutes of Kindle time for the following week..but there’s a catch. Misbehaving takes away time. So at the end of the week they usually end up with about 75 minutes of Kindle time to use over the next 7 days. It’s worked really great for us. They’re also limited to 60 minutes of TV time per day..which works out to each of them picking something for 30 minutes. But they have no computer knowledge and it seems like all the other kids their age have their own FB accounts! We are buying a family desktop for Christmas and we’ll use an earning system similar to what we use now.
I just covered our tv with a sheet. I can’t stand how my daughter is when she watches a show, or the aftermath. I’d love to do kiwi crates but can’t convince hubs that my sanity is worth the price. Boohoo.
Super fun, Katie!! Will is looking super grown up in these photos! Such handsome boys you have!
Just ordered the 3-month summer set! We’ve got a “craft” box at home, but it’s pretty much just glue, paint, and construction paper. Yeah. Looking forward to something bit more interesting!
This is awesome. I love the idea of stuff like this! My Dutch-ness (read: cheapness) still beats out my desire for ordering kits like this. I still think I can do it myself! But I only have one baby. If he keeps refusing to sleep, or once I add multiple littles into the mix, something like this could be a lifesaver!
we got these as a gift for a birthday present and they’re great. We usually just pick one craft at a time. Our subscription has run out, but we still have a couple more crafts to left to do. I was pleasantly surprised at the high quality and ‘exploration’ aspects of the projects- much more than just a craft you would do- and something you can go back to later and still use. To top it off, our son LOVED getting it in the mail with his name on it. I wish they had a ‘every other month’ subscription. if they did- we’d do it again.
Cute 🙂 My boys are in full blown lego mode right now at 6&7. Their Wii is the first thing I cut for bad behaviour 🙂 I always feel slightly hypocritical though since I am on the computer so much 🙂
The grandparents ordered kiwi crates for my daughter for Christmas 2012 for a year and she loved it. She loved getting her box every month and it was something she could do with the grandparents. I was hoping for it again last year for Christmas but they didn’t order it again 🙁
These look great! Do you think this would be age appropriate for a two-year-old? How old is Will? Thank you!
This is indeed a great concept. I can’t get over the fact how big Weston looks and how much he reminds me off Will (who looks all grown up). Enjoy your boys they are adorable.
LOVE this!! Well done!
Will is four. Weston is one. I can only go off the one box we did so far and it was a little advanced for Weston but it would have been fine for say, a 2 year old Will 🙂 I think it all depends. I did a lot more crafts with Will than I did with Weston so that plays a part.
xo – kb
Try orientaltrading.com…you can get craft activities dirt cheap through them
We do lots of simple activities at that age to keep my 4 and 3 year olds happy–shaving cream + Food color + paint brushes in the bathtub is a favorite, they love to “paint” the walls. As well as doing a “car wash” for their toy cars (water in a bucket, old tooth brushes. Lets face it, the water ends up all over the porch or wherever we’re doing it, but its good for some kid happy time). I’m amazing how happy they are to do something simple like “Cut straws” and put the straw bits on pipe cleaners, or cut out pictures from a magazine and glue them on paper. They loved it when I drew in white crayon on white paper, and then let them water color on it to find the “secret picture” (And they were super easy letters and things like shapes and a flower, nothing fancy!). Or buy some basic craft/pony beads and let them sort them by color and then put them on pipe cleaners or yarn. And the time I bought Fruit Loops and let them do that–they still remember that one! 🙂
I. LOVE. KIWICRATE! I put it on our Amazon wishlist and we started getting them last christmas when my daughter was 2 and she loves it! She loves getting the box with her name on it, she loves the crafts, I love the time together. It is our sunday morning ritual to take our latest box to the picnic table and do them until lunch. I have the “leftovers” from previous boxes as my back up resource and do some “extras” too. We love collecting the sticker and moving our Steve window cling around. LOVE LOVE LOVE this product!!! Best monthly box we get
Oh I love this! I am not crafty AT ALL and the craft section of any store just leaves me scratching my head. What in the world do people do with foam sheets anyway? This subscription thing just seems PERFECT for my personality. Were all these activities you showed in today’s post included in 1 month’s kit? I have a 5yo, 3yo and a 1yo. Do you think the older 2 could share without having to do the add-on options? Thanks!
Yes! as long as they know that they will be doing it together and sharing…it should be fine!
xo – kb
Okay, so I’m 48, single, no kids….and I might subscribe to this! LOL I teach 3 and 4 year olds in Sunday School, so I’ll pass this info on to their parents. =)
I got a crate once a while back and my son loved it. It was a lantern and a collection box geared towards finding nature items:) I love this concept and hope to get more in the future!
Love this idea! BTW, the picture with Will with a huge smile makes him look so old! I can’t believe how fast he’s growing!! I love that my two kids are W and W’s ages so the crafts that you post are perfect for my kids:)
Oh my goodness, I love this! My daughter is turning 4 at the end of the month and I hate the idea of getting her toys that will be played w/ once and never touched again (christmas last year- she wanted a dump truck SO bad- never played w/ it!) I think we are going to do a 3 month subscription! (it would be awesome if Kiwi would give a discount for that also 😉 ).
Thanks for introducing this!
These are some really good ideas! Thanks for sharing. I can’t imagine ordering a kit to do some gardening with my son–a perfectly easy cheap thing we do in our back yard almost daily.