August 2018 Kid Wonder review time!
If you haven’t heard, Kid Wonder is a monthly subscription box for children (ages 3 to 6) that encourages them to learn through play. Each box will consist of 5 individual activity kits that are all centered around a specific theme. It will also include an educational booklet based on that theme, along with a dress up costume and all of the materials needed to complete each craft/activity. Every theme is approved by an advisory board of parents, grandparents, care providers, and educators interested in encouraging play-based learning, and quality family time. (Note: Boxes for older kids are coming soon!)
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 $24.95/month or less with multi-month subscriptions. Shipping is $5. — For a limited time, you can save 30% on your first box with coupon code “CRATEJOY30“!
Let’s see what’s in the August 2018 Kid Wonder box!
Everything was shipped in a colorful box that matched August’s theme — “Pirates and Mermaids”!
The side of the box listed its full contents.
A peek inside! — Once again, it was packed FULL of activities.
On top was a welcome note from the Kid Wonder mascot pup, Scout.
Activity Book
A full color activity book featured fun facts about pirates, games, reading practice, and more. A great introduction to the theme!
All of the activity kits were divided up into their own bags with instruction cards and materials tucked inside each one.
Kit 1: Dress like a Pirate!
Each kit came with a 2-sided instruction card with step-by-step directions for every activity. The first kit included activities to help your child look like a real pirate — parrot and all!
Let’s Make Polly the Parrot!
The first activity was to make your own pet parrot using the materials provided. First, your child was to paint the cardboard tube. Once dry, they could attach the eyes, stomach, beak, feathers, and wings. The final step was to thread the pipecleaner through the pre-cut holes on the tube so the completed parrot could be secured around your child’s wrist.
Painting the “body”.
Adding some feathers.
Wearing her new parrot friend!
Let’s Make a Pirate Hat and Eye Patch!
What’s a pirate without the proper hat and eye patch? Supplies were included to decorate a black foam pirate’s hat and matching eye patch. There were plenty of foam stickers and colorful feathers to personalize each item to your child’s liking.
Decorating the pirate hat.
Decorating the eye patch. — She included both the pink AND the blue skull & crossbones stickers because she “wanted them to be with their friend”. 😉
Arrrrrrrr!!
Pirate Name Card
Your kiddo could pick out their own “pirate name” using the sheet above. — Chloe went with “Puffy Pants Stinky”, while Evie chose a rather fitting “Smelly Booty”.
Talk Like a Pirate
Learn real pirate terminology to sound like a true pirate!
Kit 2: An Arrr-Mazing Show!
The second kit had us creating mermaid and pirate puppets, as well as a stage for them to perform on.
Let’s Make a Mermaid!
Following the instructions on the info card, your child was to attach the self-adhesive felt pieces to the wooden spoon to create their mermaid friend. A dry erase crayon was provided for drawing her face.
Drawing the all-important eyelashes.
Let’s Make a Pirate!
Follow (basically) the same instructions as in the mermaid craft to complete the pirate.
“Can I make the pirate a girl?” — Yes. Yes, you can.
Let’s Make a Puppet Stage!
Easily assemble a stage for your new puppet friends by bending the sides of the base and inserting the stage.
Our new friends were a little too tall to fit behind the stage, so they performed in front of it. “Black crayon” was an integral part of the show as well.
Sink the Ship!
Sink the enemy ship using black pom-pom “cannonballs” and the power of a paper straw.
Both girls had a lot of fun with this and giggled the whole time.
Kit 3: Treasure Hunt!
The third kit involved official pirate training, gaining permission to be a pirate, and a real treasure hunt.
Let’s Train Like a Pirate!
Using the training sheet above, your child could learn some of the important duties required of a pirate. After acting each one out, they were to check it off as complete. Next, an adult was to call out multiple duties in a row and have their child act them out as fast as they can.
Once training was complete, they would earn an official pirate certificate.
Let’s Hunt for Treasure!
Using the 5 included cards, an adult helper was to hide each clue and plant the bag of treasure at the final specified location for the child to find.
I was too busy chasing the girls around during the hunt to take photos, but I snapped a few once they found the treasure. They absolutely LOVED running around the house to find each of the clues and asked if we could do it again when it was finished. This was clearly a hit!
Mermaid Game
Using the mini shells, a die, and the instructions above, move across the game board. — The first person to get the mermaid to the castle wins!
We colored the white shells with gel pens so we knew who had which piece.
Kit 4: Pirate’s Booty Slime!
The fourth kit was the one that my girls were the most excited about — making pirate slime!
Let’s Make Pirate Slime!
All of the materials needed to make the slime were provided, along with a note about handling the “ingredients” with care (not for children under 3). There was also a pirate-themed ziplock bag for storing your completed slime. 🙂
All mixed up.
It was super stringy and wet, even after kneading it for over 5 minutes. I gave it to the girls anyway, and after 5 or so additional minutes of them playing with hit, it turned into the perfect slime!
Hiding coins inside.
So stretchy! — They both played with this at the table for at least an hour. No joke. 😀
Trace and Match
Tracing practice! — Trace the word, sound it out, and match it with the correct image.
Letter Circle Cards
Circle the specified letters on each card. — “M” for mermaid, “P” for pirate.
They love anything involving letters.
Kit 5: Design a Pirate Ship!
The final kit gave your child the opportunity to build their own wooden pirate ship.
Let’s Build a Pirate Ship!
This project was a little more involved/time-consuming than the others. It required you to cut out the fabric sails, then follow the instruction card to build the wooden boat piece by piece, using glue to secure it as you go.
This project was a bit too advanced for my girls — and me as well — because I got annoyed with it and gave up a few minutes in. Ha. I just have no patience for these sort of things and I figured all of the other projects went over so well that I wasn’t going to stress over it. 😉
Nautical Directions/Parts of a Ship
Learn about nautical directions and the different parts of a ship using the illustrated sheets above.
Letter Sort
Practice working with uppercase & lowercase letters by cutting them out of the sheet on the right and gluing them into the correct spots on the sheet to the left.
August’s Kid Wonder box was SUCH a hit with my girls! I wasn’t sure how much they’d be into a “Pirates and Mermaids” themed box, but they had so much fun with all of the activities. The treasure hunt and pirate’s booty slime were their favorites, but everything else was great too. Well, except for that dang boat. 😉 Spoiler Alert: Next month’s theme is “Wilderness Explorers”! — Remember, for a limited time you can save 30% on your first box with coupon code “CRATEJOY30“!
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