We didn’t review an Ivy Kids box last month, so my kiddos were super happy when their big green box arrived for October. “Craaaafts!”
If you’re new to them, Ivy Kids is a monthly activity box for children aged 3 through 8. It was founded by a certified early childhood educator, turned stay-at-home mom who had begun creating her own activities in order to entertain and educate her kiddos.
Every Ivy Kids kit contains more than 10 activities, along with a book which all of the activities are based upon. The games, projects, and crafts are all designed to “develop fine and gross motor muscles, build math and literacy skills, encourage reading comprehension, and promote scientific thinking”. All of the materials you’ll need are included right in your kit, as well as instructions and age modifications for each project.
Subscriptions are $38.95/month, or less with multi-month commitments. — You can save 20% on your first box with coupon code “IVY20“!
Let’s see what’s in the October 2015 Ivy Kids box!
As always, all of the activities were listed on the inside of the lid along with photos of the materials included for each one.
“Make Way for Ducklings” by Robert McCloskey – The featured book for October was a classic tale about a family of ducks meandering their way through the streets of Boston. It was a little longer than most of the books Ivy Kids has chosen and since a 3-year-old’s attention span isn’t the greatest, I gave them the Cliff Notes’ version. 😉
Every box includes a personalized item for your child/children. This month it was a “Make Way for (child’s name)’s Ducklings” coloring sheet. Cute!
Blow-Up Mallard Duck – The box included an inflatable mallard duck, along with fact sheets to learn more about them.
Evie was quite the fan of Mr. Mallard. 😉
Draw Like Robert McCloskey – Charcoal sticks were provided for your child to use to draw a mallard duck like the ones in the book (which McCloskey illustrated with charcoal as well). I’m not quite ready to put notoriously messy charcoal in the overzealous hands of my 3-year-olds, so this will be saved for another time.
Your Favorite Part of Make Way for Ducklings – Using the charcoal (or another medium), your child can draw their favorite part of the book, as well as writing a description of it in the space provided.
Paint Your Own Duck – White rubber duckies, paints, and brushes were included for your little one to decorate their own duck friend. This was definitely the activity that my girls enjoyed the most.
Paint, paint, paint!
Feather Observation – This activity involved using your sense of touch and sight to observe the mallard feathers. To be honest, I wasn’t comfortable doing this activity because I wasn’t sure how the feathers were obtained. It kinda just made me sad to think of the fate of the ducks whose feathers these once were. 🙁 I get that it’s for educational purposes, but still. Sad.
Feather Painting – There were two options for this activity: To paint the feathers with the included paints, or to paint with the feathers. Or both.
Eight Ducklings – Your little one can use the provided name labels to stick on each duckling, then line them up in alphabetical order just like in the book. They can also be used to retell the story or just for pretend play.
Eggs in the Nest – This was a simple game that was played by rolling a die and placing the corresponding number of “eggs” into your nest. The player with the most eggs at the end is the winner. My girls had fun with this until they realized that all of their eggs wouldn’t fit into their nests. We tried to tell them it was okay to have some of the eggs sit outside of the nest, but they weren’t buyin’ it.
The first couple of rolls were successful, anyway. 😉
The Ducks’ Walk to the Public Garden – Using the book and the included map of Boston, your child can follow the path the ducks took from the Charles River to the Boston Public Garden. Real photos of the park, ducks, and swan boat are also included.
Map of the United States – Labels are provided for you to mark the Mallard family’s home state and your own. Additional labels can be added to places you’d like to visit or have already visited.
Duck Race – An easy game that involves lining up all of the ducks on a board covered in various shapes and using a spinner to see which shape the ducks get to move up on. The duck who moves from their nest to the pond is the winner. We had the girls play this for a bit, but they were more interested in making the ducklings talk to each other. 😉
Make Way for the Ducklings Board Game – A basic board game that involves getting your duckling to the pond while facing setbacks and obstacles on the way.
Another solid Ivy Kids box packed full of fun (and educational!) activities. My girls loved playing with the inflatable mallard and painting their own rubber duckies. We’ll try the games again when they’re a little more focused. 😉
If you’re interested in signing up for Ivy Kids, you can save 20% on your first box just by using the promo code “IVY20” at checkout. Plus, new subscribers will also receive a free gift and a monthly personalized item for their child!
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.
Leave a Reply