Granny_Weatherwax Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 I've recently been getting ads on FB for Tinker Crates. The videos are encouraging and the activities look like they would be fun. If you've purchased any of these, are they worth the $20 per month? I have a 5 year old and am wondering if the activities in her age group will interest her. Are there any other monthly mailed activities that you can suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 My kid loved them. The price is high, but I doubt I could gather the same materials for less. Plus the convenience of having it all planned out and ready to go is nice. They were some of the best and easiest to use science activity kits I've encountered. And geesh I think we tried everything out there over the years! We also enjoyed the art ones. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 11, 2017 Share Posted March 11, 2017 We got those for a while. My kids did them in spurts. It was expensive, so once they started piling up I cancelled. A few weeks later they did a bunch. We've used a few for demonstrations as the topics came up later in science. Your 5yo might need assistance... Would make a good relative's birthday present, if that works in your family. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeking Squirrels Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 We get Koala crate for my 4yo and Kiwi crate for my 8 yo. They both love them! 8yo is pretty independent with hers and they always seem worth the money. 4yo does hers with help from either parent or 8yo. I'm not quite as impressed with Koala crate as they sometimes seem a little light on content and not worth the money. But DD loves it and she's not quite ready for Kiwi crate so we still do it. And for the age group it's really not bad, it just seems light compared to the Kiwi box. For a 5 yo I'd get Kiwi but know she would need lots of assistance. I'm going to stick with Koala and Kiwi until about fall/after their summer birthdays and then bump little one to Kiwi and big one to Tinker. Oh and ours never sit waiting. They get so excited when they arrive and they get into them immediately. Last time they arrived when I was out for the day and they'd completed them with DH by the time I got home. Other subscriptions we have tried piled up until I cancelled and we would slowly catch up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 I ordered "Kiwi Crate" for my nieces, ages 5 and 7, and "Tinker Crate" for my daughters, age 10. They all love them! My kids do theirs independently, though I have plans to go over the stuff they skip at some point. :) I also get Little Passports - Science Expeditions for my 10yos. These are pretty good too, though not as big a thrill for my kids. I've worked with the kids on these so far, but actually they could do it on their own if I wasn't a control freak. :P Basically I want to know what they are learning and make sure they are not skipping any valuable activities. I view these as "afterschooling" and target 1 or 2 "experiments" per week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 My 10 year old gets the Tinker Crate (and often needs a bit of assistance from his 15 year old brother). My 17 year old daughter gets the Doodle Crate. Sometimes the art projects are even challenging for her. She absolutely loves her crates. The 10yo has enjoyed most of the Tinker Crates he's gotten. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 DS6 got a Kiwi Crate subscription for Christmas, and it is a HUGE hit! He loves waiting for his box to come "on the FedEx" every month. And I have been very impressed with the kits. The materials are high quality, not cheap and flimsy. He does need some assistance with reading the instructions, but he is generally able to carry them out with very little assistance. The steps are well thought-out and obviously designed with young children in mind. He likes the sense of accomplishment this brings. In addition to the main project each month, the booklet also includes ideas for further play, even for turning the shipping box into part of the fun. While they are not cheap, we definitely recommend them. We usually work them into our science time, since ds doesn't do much real science yet, aside from reading and tagging along for dd11's experiments. I hope Grandpa might extend the subscription next year, but if not I will definitely consider putting it into our school budget. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 We have a Koala, Doodle, and Tinker. They are one of our most successful gifts. I've found them to be worth the money. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 12, 2017 Share Posted March 12, 2017 Oh to add I just noticed you said 5 year old. I would hold off a bit or go with a kit for the younger age set. Not unless you want to put everything together yourself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 So, I am tempted by these crates but don't want to unnecessarily clutter up our house with all these projects. How do you handle that? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tangerine Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 So, I am tempted by these crates but don't want to unnecessarily clutter up our house with all these projects. How do you handle that? Not well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 So, I am tempted by these crates but don't want to unnecessarily clutter up our house with all these projects. How do you handle that? Each box is only about as big as a fat dictionary maybe 3" thick or so. Once the kids have opened the crates and used them, I put the remaining contents and the instructions in a ziplock freezer bag, which allows me to fit 2 or maybe 3 projects into one Tinker Crate box. I let the kids leave their constructed projects up for a while, but not forever. :) Then they get dismantled and stored. At the present, they are tucked away in a cupboard, but I do need to find a larger home for them as we get more. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 My kids had a year Tinkercrate subscription when they were 10 and 12 years old. The younger one did most of them, while the older did a few. I think it was a difference of frustration tolerance. Sometimes things don't work exactly right or have to be redone. That drove my older child crazy and he didn't want to do anymore. Because I bought the year subscription, I couldn't cancel so they kept coming and stacking up. We weren't homeschooling, so I couldn't require them as part of school. :) I would recommend buying a couple single sets and see if your child likes them before buying a big subscription. Storage is a bit of an issue because the finished projects don't fit in the boxes, and some can't really be taken apart and used again (I'm thinking of the lava lamp right now...). I think the projects are fun and the materials are high quality. I would have loved them as a kid (liked science and crafts). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Based on the posts above, I just bought a subscription for my grandsons. It looks like the subscription automatically renews unless I cancel, right? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 13, 2017 Share Posted March 13, 2017 Not well. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Granny_Weatherwax Posted March 13, 2017 Author Share Posted March 13, 2017 Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to order one or two for the younger group and see how she likes them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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