Girls Can! Crate is a monthly subscription box that inspires girls ages 5-10 to believe they can be and do anything by introducing them to fearless women who made the world better.
Each box will include a 20-page activity book telling the featured woman’s unique story (as well as games, experiments, & more), 2-3 hands-on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math) activities related to her field, a creative play prop, a featured character trait that helped her succeed and 2-3 practical tips for parents to easily foster that trait, and more. The boxes are designed to encourage a love for STEAM, to foster creativity, curiosity, and support literacy development. With every box purchased, Girls Can! Crate donates 10% of the proceeds to nonprofit organizations working to empower women and girls.
Disclosure: I received this box for review purposes. I was not compensated in any way. All opinions are my own. Post may contain affiliate and/or referral links.
Subscriptions are $29.95/month or less with multi-month commitments. Shipping is free within the US.
Let’s see what’s in my May 2019 Girls Can! Crate!
Everything was shipped in a bright red box with the Girls Can! Crate logo on top.
A peek inside!
May’s featured “fearless woman” was Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who spoke out against the Taliban, who sought to completely ban all girls from attending school. An information card listed all of the activities in the crate and the order in which they should be completed. The reverse side included tips for parents on how to encourage Malala’s passion for learning.
Activity Book
A 20-page, full color activity book included the story of Malala Yousafzai and how hard she had to fight simply to attend school, as well as the dangers she faced in opposing the Taliban. It also included additional information on geography, puzzles, games, recipes, and more. All of the activity instructions were printed in the booklet as well.
Activity #1: Geography Class – Make Your Own Globe
The first activity had us making our own globe with deep blue water, green continents, and a wooden stand. Materials provided were two styrofoam halves, a wooden dowel, blue & green tissue paper, glue, a plastic cup, a foam brush, continent outline sheet, a thumb tack, and wood stand.
To begin, we first had to fill the plastic cup with the entire bottle of glue, then mix in 2 tablespoons of warm water.
Next, we pushed the wooden dowel through the two styrofoam halves to form the globe.
We then coated the globe in the glue mixture and started applying the blue tissue paper, which we had cut into small strips.
We continued the process until the entire globe was covered, then set it in the wooden stand to dry overnight.
The next day, we used the included map template to “trace” the continents onto the globe using push pin holes and connected them with marker.
The continent tracing was a bit tedious, so we only completed a few. We used the glue from the previous day, along with crumpled balls of green tissue paper to create the “land”.
Activity #2: Science Class – Grow Your Own Crystals
The second activity had us growing our own crystals in the shape of our name. Materials provided were a packet of “particles” (borax), a rubber glove, pipecleaners, a plastic bag, a sticker, and a rainbow colored ribbon.
We were supposed to choose a name to create, but the girls decided on the word “love” to make it a little more fair to both of them. Forming the letters using pipecleaner was a little tricky, but we made it work.
Once the word was completed, we slipped it into the ziplock bag provided and filled it with a mixture of the included borax and one cup of hot water. (No photos because my husband did this part in the kitchen.) After keeping our pipecleaner creation in the borax solution overnight…
…We woke to find that the crystals had formed! Once it was completely dry, we attached the rainbow ribbon for hanging.
Activity #3: Language Arts Class – Make Your Own Story Blocks
The third activity had us building our own story blocks. The only materials needed were the 3 provided story cube templates.
The blocks were easy to construct and just required a bit of folding.
The girls each took turns rolling the blocks and making up silly stories using the objects, places, and people on each one.
Once all of the activities were complete, we had officially earned our Malala Yousafzai collectible button. 🙂
My girls and I enjoyed the activities in May’s Girls Can! Crate and learning about the bravery and determination of Malala Yousafzai. I love how this subscription introduces them to such strong women (and girls!) that they’ve yet to learn about in school. I feel like they’re getting a bit of a head start! 🙂
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