Hi friends!
As many of you know, prior to staying home with C, I was a teacher to 1st graders! I also taught one year in 2nd grade, but was currently teaching 1st when we made the decision as a family for me to stay at home with her. I am still very passionate about education and teaching, so when I was approached by KiwiCo about partnering together, I quickly felt the product and purpose behind the brand would be a great fit for me to share with my followers… and I knew C would be all for it!
KiwiCo ‘s mission is to develop the next generation of innovators and creative problem solvers — by giving kids access to monthly hands-on projects that expose them to STEM and exercise their creativity. If you have never heard of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics), this type of teaching and lessons uses a mix of all of those four subjects by creating hands-on, experiential, and experimental learning experiences for the learner. I always loved these lessons that were integrated within our science curriculum, because not only did my students LOVE whatever it was the lesson was about… they were completely engaged! For all you teachers out their– HIGH engagement= HIGH learning experience. When children are completely engaged in a learning experience, the greater the actual learning and growing is.
C is a very observant child and notices the smallest of changes in something. Especially when it comes to something being added or changed around in a room! Ha ha! So, the night before I was going to introduce C’s KiwiCo “crate”, I wanted to set it out for her to see and explore on her own in the morning. Well, being the observant little gal she is, she immediately ran over to the box I had left out for her the night before and started digging in to all of the goodies inside the box! She was so excited about everything inside, that was the first thing we did together that morning, and we completed BOTH of the STEM-based projects in about 15 minutes flat, because she was SO engaged in what we were doing together! It was so much fun to watch her be so excited about BUGS and creating her very own bug outfit + ladybug pouch.
The crate itself was called the “Koala Crate” and it said the age range was 3-4, but C was easily able to do the activities with guidance and she is almost 2. After we read a little bit about bugs in the booklet they provided, we started creating a butterfly outfit! Each project that came in the crate had super easy to follow directions inside of the pamphlet they provided to make your project! Every thing in the crate they sent was also so organized and totally “kid friendly”. The teacher in me was sooooo happy to see all of the supplies ready and easy for little ones to use. I was always a huge “flow” teacher, and when the flow of the day or lesson wasn’t going as smooth or seamlessly as I had pictured it going, that totally makes a difference in how the overall learning experience will be! So, I was so glad that everything was set and organized so nicely to just start creating instead of needing to spend tons of time prepping. The wings for the butterfly outfit were already cut into the shape of the wings with velcro at the top for the wings to attach around her. All of the embellishments for the wings were stickers (YAS!), so as I helped C take the backings off of each sticker, she could easily place the stickers where she wanted to!
Her favorite part after creating the outfit was “flying” like a bug around the deck! It was such a sweet moment seeing her so happy and proud of what she had created ANNNNND (here’s the teacher in me!) seeing her build connections with what she learned + what she already knew about butterflies/other flying bugs she’s seen in real life! That to me was the most special moment, and it was such a wonderful way to begin our day together. She was so happy, flying like a little bug, and that made me happy.
After we created her butterfly outfit she was all in and wanted to do her lady bug pouch. The parts and assembly for this were just as quick and easy to do as the butterfly outfit was. C loooooved the sticker googley eyes the most for this project (cause, of course!). Those may or may not have come off of the lady bug a few times and be gone for good now, because someone likes taking them off and looking at them a little too much! Ha!
Her Koala Crate came with a few more items- one being this little kaleidoscope in the shape of a mushroom that when you peek into it resembles the vision of a bug. She loved this part too! The crate also came with a bug matching card game, and the booklet that the crate came with was all about bugs. It had a short story at the beginning that we read together one morning, a few activities to do together inside, and some books to find at your local library that are all about bugs! Total package right there for some extension of learning all about bugs.
We received three different newborn crates, called “Cricket Crates” (ages 0-36 months) in the mail about a week later for baby boy… and I am so excited to get to use those with him in the future! C was super excited about another crate we received… and then not as excited (but still enthusiastic for baby brother haha!) when we opened up the package and saw all of them for him. I am eager to see how a newborn STEM-lesson will go, too ;). KiwiCo is a brand I would totally recommend giving a try if you’re looking for something fun to receive every month in the mail for your child that is education-based, or even if you’re a teacher yourself! This would be such a fun thing for your classroom to receive and could be an independent station or “choice time” item to have in the room. I was also thinking of all of my homeschool or childcare provider mommy friends from church. This would be such a great way to add a little excitement to your teaching days as well! KiwiCo offers a variety of crates that are age appropriate all the way from newborn to high schoolers and vary in subject each month, so there really is a seat at the table for everyone when it comes to this brand. 🙂
If you’ve hung with me this far… you might be interested to give KiwiCo a try! By using this link you can do just that! FOR FREE! 🙂 KiwiCo has partnered with me to offer all of you a free trial of this product. If you end up trying a crate out, I would LOVE to see you share about it on your own blog or by tagging me in your Instagram post or stories of you and your little ones enjoying your crate!! I know KiwiCo would love to see them, too! I have a story series saved in my Instagram highlights of the morning we did our projects if you’re curious about seeing how it all went down. There’s even some time stamps to show how quick, simple, and FUN they really were. 😉
I hope you enjoyed this review on KiwiCo and that you’ve found something new (and super fun!) to do together with your little ones that will give them a STEM-based learning experience at any age. 🙂
with love,
from courtney
withlovefromcourtney.com 