Reviewing Koala Crate: the Reptiles box

Before we get into this month’s Koala Crate, I have to give you a little update on last month’s project. One of our tasks was to decorate a little cup and plant grass seeds that would grow to look like crazy hair. And GROW it did, we came back from vacation and the grass was almost a foot long! I told Jack that I planted it outside, but in reality I threw it away. Shhhhhh!

As a quick refresher…

What is Koala Crate?
Koala Crate is a subscription box specially designed for children ages 3 to 4 that includes all the materials and inspiration for projects related to a monthly theme. Crates are designed to give preschoolers exposure to new materials and new concepts that encourage hand-on learning and fun. Monthly subscriptions cost $19.95 per month.

The August Crate theme was reptiles, which sounded pretty fun! Here are the three projects included in the box:

Project #1: Stuffed Snake Friend
Items in Crate: fleece snake body, stuffing, felt hexagon stickers, eye stickers and party horn.

Within about 7 seconds of opening the box, Jack was ALL OVER the party horn. He had just recently read about party horns and had been asking for the last few days that we buy one for his birthday. Which is in February. So, to open his Koala Crate and have a bright red party horn just waiting for him… well, let’s just say, it was a winner.

This snake project was also a total winner for us. Jack handed me little tufts of stuffing and I stuffed each bit into the fleece snake body. Then, I just flipped the ends upon themselves to keep all the stuffing inside, no sewing required. Jack added the eye stickers and then carefully placed the hexagon stickers exactly where he wanted them. The party horn slipped into a little hole under the snake’s chin so that it looked like a tongue when you blew it. But that only lasted for a minute or two before Jack decided he liked snuggling with “Snaky” better without the horn.

It’s been a week since we made him and Snaky has been a constant companion ever since.

Project #2: Color Changing Chameleon
Items in Crate: color changing chameleon, googly eyes, party horn (the same one) and big stand pieces.

First off, you have to re-use the party horn from the first projects… so that’s kind of cheap. I mean, they couldn’t throw in a second party horn? Other than that (which only bothered me, not Jack) this project was also a hit. Jack removed each bug stand from the cardstock and I helped him fit the pieces together to make them stand up. Then, I inserted the party horn in the chameleon’s mouth and Jack blew the horn to knock down each of the bugs. Oh, and I totally forgot to take a picture of this project because Jack was too busy knocking all the pieces down!

Project #3: Turtle Box
Items in Crate: box, felt turtle, felt hexagon stickers, googly eyes and sticky dots.

For the last project in the box, we made a turtle box as a snazzy place to keep Jack’s special treasures. The turtle was already cut out and we just had to remove the backing and stick it to the underside of the box. Then, Jack placed the googly eyes on the turtle’s head, followed by sticking on some of the hexagon stickers to make up the design of the turtle shell. The very last step was to put a few sticky dots on the bottom of each appendage so that when the turtle was ‘scared’ he could duck everything under his shell. Well, this was RIGHT up Jack’s alley and he totally made me scare the turtle by shouting “BOO!” over and over and over again while he laughed hysterically.

Was Koala Crate Worth It?
After our July experience with Koala Crate, I was really torn on whether it was worth the cost of $19.95. However, there is no question that this month’s box was worth it! We had so much fun with each of the projects and a week later all three are still in rotation around our house. I can’t wait to see what the September box contains!

Do you want to try Koala Crate?
If you are interested in trying out Koala Crate yourself or giving it as a gift (they have 3, 6, and 12 month gift subscriptions), I have a special code that gives you $10 off. Just click through here when you sign up.

Do you like subscription services like Koala Crate or would you prefer to create your own fun? Are you interested in seeing what we get in our September box?

Disclosure: This is NOT a sponsored post. I just decided to try out Koala Crate (with my own money) and thought you might be interested in my thoughts on the service. If you choose to use my special code, you will receive $10 off your order and I will receive a referral benefit as well.