Getting crafty doesn’t come naturally to a lot of moms (ourselves included). Sure it’s easy to break out the Crayons and Play-Doh and call it an art project, but when it comes to creating a really imaginative, hands-on activity for our kids, we have no shame in turning to the experts. Enter Kiwi Crate, a subscription service that delivers a box of science and arts and crafts projects that have been created by parents, reviewed by childhood developmental experts and tested by kids, directly to your doorstep each month.
We were able to get early access to this month’s box—a garden crate—developed with Catherine McCord, the mom behind the kid-friendly food blog Weelicious, and Lauri Kranz of Edible Gardens in Los Angeles. The garden crate, which is the first in a series of curated crates, lets children explore the idea of creating fresh homegrown food for themselves and their family. We couldn’t wait to tear open the box and get to work!
The first thing we noticed was the beautiful presentation. Our excited three-year-old accomplice just wanted to get to the goods under the lovely tissue paper, but we took a moment to appreciate the thoughtfulness behind the artfully wrapped project. Once we dug in, our little helper was transfixed. The garden crate is actually two projects in one, so we decided to tackle one and save the other for another day (a lifesaver since it was spring break and we had nothing but time on our hands).
Project number one had us decorating two mini flowerpots. The included accouterments were modeling clay, colored pencils, pipe cleaners and cutout flower and vegetable shapes. The kit also came with a pair of kid-friendly scissors, which were a total hit with our youngster and great for helping develop those fine motor skills. We created two snazzy looking pots and filled them up with our homemade flowers. After prominently displaying them on the mantle, it was time for dinner.
The second project was a little more down and dirty—literally. It was a very cool window garden kit, complete with soil pellets, bean and squash seeds, a water dropper and clear pockets, allowing kids to watch their garden grow. We had hours of fun putting this one together with very minimal mess! The best part about the window garden is that it creates another activity for you and your kids, since it needs daily watering. Once the seeds sprout, we plan on following the instructions from Edible Gardens on how to transfer it outside. Also included in the crate are great veggie recipes from Weelicious.
We fell in love with Kiwi Crate—as did our kid. The window garden has been a constant source of amusement for our little one. He is actually excited to start eating beans and squash—no small accomplishment and quite a step u from PB& J! Until next month, Kiwi Crate!