If you’re like most parents, you’ve heard the phrase “I’m bored!” a lot over the past few days. But boredom doesn’t have to be a daily occurrence in your house. KiwiCo creates interactive crates that are both entertaining and educational, and keep kids engaged without screens. They’re perfect for learning at home and staying indoors.

Every month, KiwiCo delivers a craft kit that includes different activities and projects. KiwiCo has eight unique subscription lines​ to fit different ages and interests, and each kit is designed by experts and tested by kids. So if you have an 8-year-old budding Picasso artists, rest assured another young artist helped test every activity in the crate to make sure they are engaging and fun. Let’s face it— what’s the point of having an enriching project if the kid doesn’t want to do it? And the best part? All of the materials are provided in each crate. So busy parents don’t have to make dozens of trips to the store to buy craft supplies.

Here are the different crates available and their themes:

Panda Crate (0 – 24 months) — Even the littlest minds can explore and discover with this kit that includes age-appropriate kit subscription options.

Koala Crate (2 -4 years) — Kids will play and learn with high-quality materials and activities to inspire creativity at a young age.

Kiwi Crate (5-8 years) — This kit is focused on science, art and engineering. Kids create their own pinball game, kits and more.

Atlas Crate (6-11 years) — This geography and culture kit helps kids get globally inspired with projects and activities to explore different cultures. The Atlas Adventure books comes with the crate and includes collectible cards and stickers for a passport keepsake book.

Doodle Crate (9 – 16+ years) — Kids create and craft awesome projects such as a DIY clock, soap and stained glass stencil kits.

Tinker Crate (9 – 16+ years) — This awesome create includes all the materials and supplies to create science and engineering projects. Kids learn and make the science of slime and create their own animation.

Maker Crate (14+  years) — Using art and design, kids create amazing projects that are unique and useful. Past projects include pillows, hanging plants and sewing projects.

Eureka Crate (14+  years) — This kit includes an engineering project with high-quality materials and step-by-step instructions. Kids also receive a Maker’s Guide that lets them explore the science and technology behind the design.

How does KiwiCo work?

To order your KiwiCo crate, here’s what you need to do:

1. Pick a line based on your kiddo’s age and stage.

2. Your crate will be delivered monthly. And your first kit is shipped in two days! And you pay no shipping fees.

3. Have fun! Watch your kiddo enjoy their create and see their imagination grow as they start exploring immediately.

You also have the option to skip the subscription and shop directly from the KiwiCo store.

Ready to give KiwiCo a try? You can cancel or pause your subscription anytime. Save 30% on your first crate with code REDTRI!

—Leah R. Singer

 

Daily
Today Is National Crayon Day
That was an off-color remark.
1

Before you banish all the broken bits to the trash, try one of these 3 places to recycle your old crayons for a good cause.

2

If you’ve held on to a handful of stubs
transform them into a stained glass work of art.

3
Read one of our favorite crayon-themed books
and then live la vida Crayola. Here’s how

{ Today’s ideas brought to you by Primary Colors }

There’s just something about rainbows—Kermit the Frog knew it and we do too. With a certain lucky day fast approaching, it’s time to celebrate! Instead of going green this year, it’s all about the most clever (and colorful) hiding spot of all (never could find that pot of gold!). From melting crayon art to watercolors and windcatchers, scroll down to discover cool ideas for helping those little leprechauns of yours discover a real rainbow connection.

 

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photo: Meg Duerksen via Meg Duerksen

Melting Rainbows
It’s a science experiment and art class all rolled into one. Meg Duerksen and her crew tried their hand at the colorful creation and the results were awesome. With just a little hot glue (to keep the crayons on the canvas) a hair dryer and a steady hand, watch the oozing and goozing turn into amazing. Don’t want to buy a whole new box of Crayola? Downsize and use broken crayon bits instead. Find out why it’s best to leave out brown by paying a visit to Meg Duerksen.

 

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Photo: Mess for Less

Rainbow Watercolors
We think this black-glue-salt-rainbow from Mess for Less is so cool looking. The key is of course, the glue—once it’s dried, set your watercoloring kids free to fill in the blanks. Find out what happens next (and how to make black glue) over at Mess for Less.

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photo: Arena Blake via The Nerd’s Wife

3D Rainbow
A 3D rainbow, so neat-o and so simple to boot! Creative mama Arena of The Nerd’s Wife provides an easy tutorial even a preschooler can master. We love how with just a swipe of the glue stick, your kids can create a colorful crescent. Got a kid who likes to mix it up? Tell them to arrange the strips of paper in their own rainbow form. Get the low-down from The Nerd’s Wife.

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photo: Allison McDonald via No Time for Flashcards

Cork Painted Rainbows
This is your chance to pop the top on that Pinot Noir you’ve been saving. After all, how else will you collect enough corks for this super creative and very easy art project? We love the easy handling corks offer little artists! Simply drop paint on a tray, add a cork (or six) and let the littles have at it.  Get the low-down on this adorable project over at No Time for Flashcards.

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photo: via Mom on Time Out

Rainbow Stained Glass
You know you keep every piece of tissue paper hoping to reuse it one day. Well your day and your art project has come! Pull out the whole supply, add wax paper, glue and let your kiddos get crazy. Your super littles can help by ripping up the paper, and older kids will enjoy creating a colorful window design. For tips and tricks from smoothing paper to hanging it right, skip on over to Mom on Time Out.

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photo: Krystal Underwood via Growing a Jeweled Rose

Fruit Loops Rainbow
Talk about an awesome project for keeping kids entertained, not to mention a fab way to clear out the remains of that sugar cereal you bought to keep the kids quiet in the grocery store. Add paper, glue, and cotton puffs. See why art master-mama Krystal suggests tracing the rainbow before adoring with sugary circles over at Growing a Jeweled Rose.

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photo: via B-Inspired Mama

St. Patrick’s Day Crown
She’ll be queen of St. Patrick’s day with a pipe cleaner crown. If you’ve got straws, pipe cleaners, foam shamrocks (may we suggest the Dollar Store?) a hole punch, it won’t take much arm-twisting to get your kids to create their own headpieces. Krissy of B-Inspired Mama shares with us why it’s not just art, it’s a fine motor skill workout too!

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photo: via Crafty Morning

Rainbow Wind Catcher
A project requiring very little in the way of supplies but providing a lot of creativity time, these paper towel wind catchers designed by Michelle of Crafty Morning are almost as clever as little leprechauns. If you’ve got paint, floss, and green ribbon (Christmas leftovers!) you’ll be good to go. Check out the entire project over at Crafty Morning.

— Gabby Cullen

 

When did Valentine’s Day become synonymous with candy and sweets? While your kids love that this holiday is the second best to Halloween, the idea of your kiddos hopped on sugar with chocolate-stained teeth is enough to make any parent moan and grown (except dentists, of course!). So this year instead of feeding your kids need for sweets, get crafty with these oh-so-sweet Valentine’s Day crafts. Each DIY project is designed for both the younger and older sets in mind, take just a handful of objects, and produce some really awesome creations. Spread the love and let us know in the comment section below how your crafts turn out.

 Valentine’s Day Felt Mice:
This is probably the only time you’ll welcome mice into your home with open arms. These little critters are super cute (ok go ahead, say, awwww). The felt mice are made with colorful felt and kids will have fun affixing the eyes, nose, and tail, which can consist of any extra pencils lying around the house or if you want to imbue a bit of sweetness into the craft, you can also use a lollipop.

Wax Paper Stained Glass Hearts:
Raise your hand if your fam has those annoying extra crayons around the house. Yep, we know there are a lot of you scrap crayon-adverse parents out there, which is why we’re passing along some secret info: those extra crayons can be used to make this wax paper stained glass craft. Make it extra special by cutting your final creation into a heart and hang it up in your window for all to see.

Clay Heart Pendants: 
We challenge you to find us any kid who doesn’t like to play with model magic. Stumped you, didn’t we? We love this Valentine’s Day craft because kids can get hands-on with model magic, making heart shapes and using rubber stamps or really any small objects around your house to personalize the pendants to their liking. Got a heart-adverse kid? Use any shaped cookie cutter for to make this sweet craft.

Candy Heart Pops:
Sometimes (ok ok, most of the time) the best part about DIY arts and crafts is the end result. With that in mind, we couldn’t help but love this Valentine’s Day project for candy heart pops. While it sounds complicated, believe it or not, it’s quite simple and appropriate for kids of all ages. Candy heart pops requires only a few ingredients and you and the kiddos are left with a sweet treat when all is done.

Cupcake Headband: 
Make your very own cupcake headband for your little princess with this fun craft. If you want to make it Valentine’s Day themed, use red or pink ribbon and festive felt fabric. Your kiddo will be showing off her creation at school in no time.

And, if you’re looking for more ideas, check out this post from our friend and craft goddess Kelley Moore, who has some great insider tips on how to get the kids involved this Valentine’s Day.

— Erin Lem

For more fun Valentine’s Day craft projects and activities for kids, click HERE.

This easy kids craft project is for those moms and dads with oodles of broken bits of crayons laying around the house (sound familiar?). Instead of letting the broken crayons decay and mark up your drawers, we suggest using them to your creative advantage by making this super fun stained glass craft, which only requires four items. Your kids will beam with pride at their handmade craft and the activity is likely to keep them focused and not jumping off the walls on these long winter days.

What you’ll need:

broken bits, pieces or shavings from crayons

wax paper

a dish towel

an iron

Directions:

1. Cut out two large pieces of wax paper each about 12″ long (or however big you prefer). Take all of your leftover crayons and make a pile of colorful shaving.

2. Lay one piece of wax paper down and place the colorful pieces of shaved crayon onto the wax paper shaped to your kid’s liking. Suggestions: a heart, a butterfly, a bird or anything you or your little one can imagine.

2. Cover the pile with the second piece of wax paper.

3. Plug in the iron to low and let it get toasty (careful for little ones pulling iron cords or touching the iron at all for that matter). Cover the wax paper with a dish towel (if you put the iron directly onto the wax paper itself it will burn). Iron over the shape until it feels melted.

5. Let cool and then take off the protective dish towel and ta-da, your wax paper stained glass creation is made!

6. You can cut your stained glass creation into various shapes (hearts for Valentines Day or shamrocks for St. Patty’s Day) and punch a hole in the top, string some twine through, and hang your stained glass creation from any windowsill.

Photo credit “Year in Blue” Blog