Kiwi Crate: The Cure for a Hot Summer Afternoon

I received a Kiwi Crate for free and was compensated for my time. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own.

I have a confession to make. Kiwi Crate has been on my “to try” list for a long time. I even put it on a birthday wish list for one of the kids, because it just looked so cool. But as is my usual wont, I procrastinated purchasing. Now I am kicking myself.

So in an effort to save you some bruising, let me encourage you to stop procrastinating and try a kit. This thing was awesome!

Summer days in Alabama often get to 100 degrees with a feels-like temp of even more. Hot afternoons being stuck in the house are long and boring and the siren’s call of television (especially when a couple of not-yet-independent readers) is often hard to resist. Enter the Kiwi Crate and cue the angels singing.

What’s In the Kiwi Crate

The kids were super-excited to open the crate. We received the Wonders of Water crate which included two fun crafts: floating sailboats and watercolor animals. There were also a few science experiments, plus all the supplies needed to complete them — down to plastic cups — inside the crate. The only thing we had to supply were pennies, water, and our creativity.

We received a starter crate which had two pairs of scissors and two progress charts for the kids to chart their Kiwi Crate adventures. There are stickers inside each crate to put on the chart.

I was impressed with Kiwi Crate’s creativity. The inside of the box was a puppet stage setting to color and the back side of the title card included two puppets to color and cut out for the stage.These are people who understand kids and that that box is half the fun!

Olivia and John (ages 9 and 7) were able to work almost totally independently to complete the projects and science experiments. That is awesome for a non-crafty mom like me! The only time we had a mess was when we *ahem* didn’t properly follow the directions and sprayed the watercolor animals inside on the table instead of outside or in the sink as Kiwi Crate suggested. No worries, the washable marker came right off of the table.

The only time we thought we had a “fail” was with the clay boats. The clay was a bit hard for the kids to work with. We worked with Sculpey on a project at co-op this past week and were expecting it to be as easy to handle as that. It was some pretty tough clay.

Even after getting it to soften a bit with much kneading, Olivia was afraid that she would never make a boat from it that would actually float. As you can see from the video, she was finally successful. I love her perseverance and that she continued to try until she made it work.

The crates are designed for two kids, so I was a bit worried that there would be fighting over the supplies. I was pleasantly surprised to find that with a little bit of sharing and taking turns everyone was able to participate with the one kit.

There were multiple animal cutouts and multiple sailboat sails. We took turns with the spray bottles and clay, as well as the boat bottoms, so that everyone had a chance to play. We also had supplies left over — markers, scissors, paper, that I can throw into a fun craft box the kids can use later for even more creative projects.

Try Kiwi Crate for Independent Fun!

Kiwi Crate is perfect for moms like me who aren’t horribly crafty, but who have kids who like to do crafty things. The big guys are able to work independently and enjoyed the activities. I did have to supervise Thomas (age 4.5) who had trouble with not glopping on the squeeze paint, but he was able to do most everything else alone. I love that everything came in the box — all I had to do was hand it over, and they were off!

Be sure to connect with Kiwi Crate on social media to get special offers and even more fun ideas.

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You can find the complete line of Kiwi Crate here.

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Pam

Pam is the author of The Your Morning Basket Guide and Plan Your Year: Homeschool Planning for Purpose and Peace. She also is the host of three popular podcasts -- The Homeschool Snapshots Podcast, Your Morning Basket, and The Homeschool Solutions Show. She lives in the Deep South with her husband and three kids, where she is the go-to lady for great curriculum recommendations or a just a pep talk on a rough day.