Janeway Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 I would love to get a couple subscriptions or so. Maybe start with two and add another if they are a hit. All three kids this is for are bright on target for age kids, not advanced or behind. 4 yr old is a “me too” and wants to do everything his sister does. Sister loves crafts and 9 yr old loves science. What would everyone suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 (edited) I would so love to do this for the twins but shipping to Australia is just too much green with envy Edited May 25, 2019 by Melissa in Australia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 We love the Tinker Crates. My daughter actually does the doodle crates and my son does the Eureka crates. They almost never fail to disappoint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 We love tinker crate and the eureka crate. The doodle crate they have for the art loving kid has been very good. IMHO, Steve Spangler boxes are very over priced and are really for a younger age than they say. We got that one as a deal and canceled after the deal ended. One that I really liked and thought it was an excellent value was surprise ride. They had a neat assortment of science and art projects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted May 25, 2019 Share Posted May 25, 2019 Another vote for Tinker Crate (Kiwi or whatever for the younger - see their website for age recommendations). Looking forward to graduating to Eureka Crate soon. We did the passport science kits - not bad, but the kids had to be forced to use them. The passport geography stuff was not very meaty nor all that fun - really not enough bang for the buck IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My4arrows Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 I love Ivy kids for 4-5 maybe even 6 yer olds. It has been the one kit I’ve felt is worth the money. The books and activities are fun and easy to pull out for a child who wants to do hand son things. The activities can get repetitive though after awhile. We subbed for two years for a few kids and have several painted banks and other items around the house 😂. The games are all pretty much the same just a different theme. Still my 5 yo has enjoyed them a second year. We stopped and just reuse the activities when we want something easy to do. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 15 hours ago, SanDiegoMom in VA said: We love the Tinker Crates. My daughter actually does the doodle crates and my son does the Eureka crates. They almost never fail to disappoint! That's an interesting construction. I read that as "they almost always disappoint", but I think that's not what you mean 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SereneHome Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 My kids loved tinker / doodle / kiwi crates, but I don't think they are worth the money. And I usually got them during big sales. Out of all the subscription boxes that I've seen and we got the only two are worth the money, in my opinion are Ivy kids and Radish (that's a cooking one). @My4arrows gave a great description for Ivy kids. I was super excited about Passports one but that was a huge disappointment. What they sent was about a dollar worth of "stuff". And I am not just talking about physical items. There was very little info about the country and just a few "activities". I am officially done with subscription boxes. And this is coming from a person who LOVES the idea of subscription boxes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 15 hours ago, SKL said: The passport geography stuff was not very meaty nor all that fun - really not enough bang for the buck IMO. I really beefed up Little Passports when we did it. I found a Montessori blog that had all sorts of extension activities and I used several. My kid has fond memories of the program, but after a year I was done. The one thing I did like, though, was that we didn't have a lot of "stuff" collecting dust at the end. We had the trinkets from the program, and the letters/inserts, plus the little things I made (like foam countries in the same colors as on the LP map and 3 part cards), but it all fit in the little suitcase when we were done. I've been reluctant to try Tinker Crates because each project seems to stand alone and become leftover clutter. I'd like to find a monthly program like it that reuses parts or offers secondary instructions in future kits on how to take apart and reuse projects to build other ones. I keep looking on CrateJoy to see if they have anything like it. - CrateJoy is a curator(?) and offers several different companies' boxes on their website. You can search by nearly any parameters you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theelfqueen Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 We have done Tinker Crate and now Eureka Crate. As much as possible I recommend sticking with the recommended ages so that your kid(s) can do as much as possible of the project themselves. Yes, with adult assistance kids can do an older project but the Kiwi/Tinker line is really well designed with age appropriate support materials, directions and projects. I'm usually impressed by the design work. And the point of "tinkering" is really more "I DID IT!" IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, Tanaqui said: That's an interesting construction. I read that as "they almost always disappoint", but I think that's not what you mean Omg, I was totally trying to type this while my son was telling me a long story about the new SuperMario Maker game coming out for the Nintendo Switch. In fullest detail. Yes, I meant they almost never disappoint, lol. Eta: They have at times, been not as satisfying, or fallen apart soon after, or just gotten put in the pile of ones to work on later (usually my daughter's doodle crates have a backlog). But on the other hand my son was trying to build the electric pencil sharpener and broke the motor, and they sent a new one free within two days. I offered to pay since it was our fault but they just sent it for free. Also my standards aren't super high -- they are engaged and happy building or decorating and it's meant to be just a fun surprise, not a teaching tool. If I expected more than that I would be disappointed. Edited May 26, 2019 by SanDiegoMom in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clemsondana Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 We do tinker crates and geography crates (by the same company) and also history unboxed. Only one of my kids likes them (the other thinks that hands-on projects are a horribly inefficient way to learn, and for fun would rather play ball or read). But, for hands-on kiddo, there are times when I wonder if these projects are the only way that kiddo cares about 'useless facts'. 🙂 Tinker and geography are the favorites, and the history unboxed ones are hit and miss- when they're good, they're really good, but some are just OK. But, knowing that kiddo loves hands-on, and that I'm never going to be pinterest mom gathering supplies, it works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootAnn Posted May 26, 2019 Share Posted May 26, 2019 7 hours ago, theelfqueen said: We have done Tinker Crate and now Eureka Crate. As much as possible I recommend sticking with the recommended ages so that your kid(s) can do as much as possible of the project themselves. Yes, with adult assistance kids can do an older project but the Kiwi/Tinker line is really well designed with age appropriate support materials, directions and projects. I'm usually impressed by the design work. And the point of "tinkering" is really more "I DID IT!" IMO. I have experience with the Kiwi, Doodle, Tinker, and now Eureka crates. They used to pile up when I (or DH) felt we had to help. Then, at some point, we didn't help at all & they are done very quickly. (If they were cheaper, I'd get two Eureka crates a month.) None of my kids like the Kiwi crates. My artsy kid disliked the Doodle crates (soap making, yarn baskets?) we got. Tinkers (arcade catapult, ballista, paper circuits, planetarium, etc.) were pretty popular, but we found them to be something that was built, investigated, then got smooshed into a corner & then tossed (except for the motor they sent & the draw bot). The Eureka crates have (almost) all been hits. They are more expensive, but absolutely fabulous. (The Ukelele was not a favorite.) Specifically on the age thing, I think it depends. My youngest did Tinker crates completely on his own once he could read the directions. Tinker crates are for 9 & up. He did them at 7. He's 9 now and has done 4 Eureka crates (desk lamp, Ukelele, Perpetual Calendar, Stereo Headphones) without any assistance (except for help accessing the troubleshooting guide for the headphones as one side didn't work when he was testing them - he fixed the issue by using their web troubleshooting guide once I got him to the right web site). Could any of my other kids have done that? I don't know. But, I did not have any concerns ordering a crate designed for 14+ yr olds. Know your kid. OP - if you order a crate subscription for one type & find that kid didn't like it, you can switch the subscription to a different type for future months. You'd have to pay more to bump to Eureka since it is more than the others. We did this at the beginning both because we had kids sharing the subscription and because we wanted to figure out what they want. We did not originally like the Kiwi Co's line of crates, but once I found a match for kid & crate line, they've been great. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted May 27, 2019 Share Posted May 27, 2019 On 5/26/2019 at 6:55 AM, Melissa in Australia said: I would so love to do this for the twins but shipping to Australia is just too much green with envy I know right. I have looked and looked at kiwicrates but there is no way to justify the cost of getting them in Australia. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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