KiwiCo Review: Our First Koala Crate Box

Kids subscription boxes is the new thing among parents and I have always wondered how fun it would be to try one.

I would see boxes filled with projects and craft activities to complete and there would be so many new things to discover.

Although I don’t often do subscription boxes, the idea of receiving a box filled with fun things each month sounded fascinating.

My daughter, who is now 3 years-old, is a big fan of all things related to crafts and activities.

Her #1 most favorite thing to do is paint. With her brush and paint palette, she would happily paint a big picture of colors, which would later turn out as a blob of brown and orange all mixed together. You can say – this was often her final masterpiece.

She also enjoys building things, whether it involves wooden blocks, clay, or play dough.

For example, our most recent activity was building with these Mixy Squish Textured Air Dry Clay.

My daughter shaped the clay into balls and used the molds to create ice creams and donuts.

With her having such a curious mind, I decided to try a 3-month subscription with KiwiCo, a popular subscription box service for kids.

Disclaimer: I have not received any compensation for writing this product review nor do I have any material connection to the brands, products, or services mentioned. This post is for informational and entertainment purposes only and everything presented is based on my personal experience and opinions. Some links may be affiliated links, in which I earn a commission from each
purchase you make through the link but is at no additional cost to you. For details, read more here.

What is KiwiCo?

KiwiCo, a company that offers a subscription box service, delivers fun and innovative boxes to individuals from ages 0 to 104 years old. Yep, you read that right. 104 years old!

That means that if you also have grandparents at home looking for interesting things to do, KiwiCo can be the perfect gift to keep them companied.

There are eight different boxes (or crates) you can choose from:

• Panda (Ages 0-2)
• Koala (Ages 2-4)
• Kiwi (Ages 5-8)
• Atlas (Ages 6-11)
• Doodle (Ages 9-16+)
• Tinker (Ages 9-16+)
• Maker (Ages 14-104)
• Eureka (Ages 14-104)

Each crate includes a kit with supplies and items to complete mini projects. These projects were created and tested by in-house professionals and child development professionals before distribution.

I love that these crates are designed to help children explore STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, math) topics.

If you’re familiar with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math), then STEAM is not much different.

According to the STEAM Educational Movement 2006, the “A” was included to integrate liberal arts that shapes the development of the STEM fields.

By learning STEAM, children can discover and understand how all subjects overlap one another in a personal and global environment. It helps children develop problem-solving skills and critical thinking so they can prepare for real-world situations.

Since the Koala Crate fit perfectly with my daughter’s age, I opted for this option.

Our First Koala Crate Box

The first box we received was the Rainbows crate.

The Rainbows crate included:

• A black frame
• Black paper shapes
• Rainbow squares
• Clear sticky sheet
• Tote bag
• Water dropper
• Cloud stickers
• Cloud pillow
• Fluff
• Rainbow stickers
• Instruction book
• The Koala Crate Imagine Magazine

Our goal was to complete three different projects related to rainbows: a cloud pillow, a stained glass art, and a rainbow tote bag.

The Cloud Pillow

Supplies required: cloud pillow, fluff, and rainbow stickers

The cloud pillow was a fun and simple activity that involved stickers and stuffing. There is an opening at the bottom of the cloud with a hook and loop fastener where you can stuff the fluff inside.

After we finished stuffing the pillow, we applied the rainbow stickers and placed them on top of one another to create our final look.

My daughter’s favorite part about this activity were the stickers. 

She loved peeling the back of the stickers and then placing them on top of one another to create her perfect rainbow.

Although the rainbows were not quite aligned, I like that she enjoyed each moment putting it together.

Stained Glass Art

Supplies required: black frame, black shapes, 1/2 rainbow squares, clear sticky sheet

Our next project was the stained glass art.

By using the black shapes and the rainbow squares, we created a mountainous landscape with triangles, circles, and rectangles.

The black frame came with a sticky peel on the back, which was removed, and then we created our sun, clouds, mountains, and trees.

Afterwards, we applied the rainbow squares to create our colorful background.

My daughter’s favorite part about this activity was punching out the black shapes.

The black shapes came in a template-like sheet where the shapes were pre-punched for removal. She concentrated on each individual shape and made sure all shapes were removed so that we can create our landscape.

Do you see the clouds roam above the sky on this sunny day? (picture below)

Rainbow Tote Bag

Supplies required: tote bag, water dropper, cloud stickers, 1/2 rainbow squares

Our last project was to create our rainbow tote bag.

With a water dropper and some rainbow squares, we successfully created our first dyed, tote bag by soaking the squares with water.

This happened to be my daughter’s favorite part about this activity.

She spent a good 15 minutes soaking the rainbow squares so that each color can beautifully transfer onto the bag. Once we finished, the bag was placed aside for drying.

Here’s the finished look!

Beautiful right?

Thoughts and Opinions

Our first KiwiCo subscription box was a success and it turned out better than I expected.

Learning about rainbows was fun because of the beautiful colors involved and it’s even better that the things we created could be used for a purpose.

In this case, the cloud pillow has been placed inside our bedroom for decoration, the stained glass art is hanging on the wall, and the tote bag has been set aside to store my daughter’s toys and craft supplies.

In addition, I love that the projects each have a different level of “difficulty”.

On a rating of 1-3, with 1 being the easiest and 3 being the hardest, I would rate the activities as follows:

• 1 – Cloud pillow
• 2 – Rainbow tote bag
• 3 – Stained glass art

The cloud pillow was the easiest because it required less effort but the stained glass required more focus and imagination. Not to mention that it also involved working with several little pieces (the black shapes).

The projects were interactive and required a lot of hand movement, an essential part in improving fine motor skills. With each project we completed, I could tell that my daughter put a lot of effort to complete the tasks.

I also like that all of the materials were well-made and easy to work with. The instructions were easy to follow and each step showed a visual guidance.

The magazine we received shared cute illustrations as well as helpful tips and information on rainbow formation. Did you know that water needs to be in the air so that the sun can shine through to create a rainbow?

However, I did expect to spend more time completing these projects.

Perhaps more engagement and learning such as video links or ideas, while working through the projects, but the instruction pages did have a few listed on the page.

Overall, I believe our first subscription box was worth it. 

For our 3-month subscription, we paid around $60, making it ~$20 each box.

If I had to purchase the same supplies to do the same activities, the cost may be around the same or even more depending on the store I go to.

Plus, it’s much more fun to receive a mystery box in the mail each month – just like a present you can’t wait to open.

Have you tried KiwiCo before? If so, share with us your experience in the comments below.

Want to try a crate? Get 50% off your first month using my link here.