Buying children’s toys is deceivingly challenging. There is no shortage of gadgets and gizmos on the market. But it can be nearly impossible to anticipate how interested a kid might be in any new “thing.”
Sure, it could be their new favorite toy. Or, it could also sit on the floor to remain untouched and unused. Considering how expensive these toys can be, it’s nice to have some reassurance that the child in your life will enjoy them.
KiwiCo thought so, too. So, when the time came to test their fun and educational activity crates, they created a panel of the highest qualified toy experts: kids.
What, Exactly, Is KiwiCo?
KiwiCo’s founder, Sandra Oh Lin, is Mom first and CEO second. In fact, she created the company in response to her own dilemma: how to provide her children with creative, hands-on projects that encourage learning and build confidence.
“As a parent, I often found that my best intentions fell short,” Oh Lin wrote. “It was tough to find the time to do the research and come up with a great idea, let alone gather all the materials.” Thus, KiwiCo was born.
KiwiCo is a subscription service that delivers age-appropriate activity boxes to your doorstep. The crates cater to all kids, from newborns to 18-year-olds, and come in a wide variety of subjects.
KiwiCo has designed over 1,500 projects for all ages, sold 30 million crates, and ships to 40 countries. The KiwiCo team of engineers, educators, and artists spend over 1,000 hours developing each crate. Part of that process involves an expert panel of kids and their parents.
Kid-Tested, Parent-Approved
After rigorous research and development, youth panels of all ages test the new KiwiCo crates. KiwiCo hosts multiple kid-testing sessions a week. Additionally, KiwiCo’s website states that “every project goes through multiple rounds of gathering frank feedback from lots of kids.”
KiwiCo calls their youth panels their “toughest critics,” and their feedback is KiwiCo’s top priority. According to their website, “no crate leaves The Innovation Factory without a wide-eyed, ‘WOAH, AWESOME!’”
Parents get to have a say, too. For example, the Panda Crate is designed for newborns to 24 months. To get the best feedback possible after being developed in partnership with the Seattle Children’s Hospital, parents and their babies test the KiwiCo crates together to ensure the activities are “age-appropriate, engaging, and universally appealing.”
No one is better qualified to test kids’ toys than kids themselves. So, you can rest assured that your kiddo will love their KiwiCo crates (just take it from their peers).
Thanks to KiwiCo’s vast array of crate subjects, you can tailor each delivery to the child’s interests. (And when they inevitably find a new interest in a week, you can tailor a crate to that one, too.)
Development, Exploration, And Play
Starting with the Panda Crate for newborns, KiwiCo has several options for the littlest ones in your life. The Panda Crate comes in five age ranges that follow a newborn’s development from zero to 24 months, helping them play and explore while interacting with the adults in their lives.
Next, the Koala Crate is perfect for ages two to four. These crates encourage hands-on learning and fun through enriching exposure to new materials, tools, techniques, and concepts.
Finally, the Kiwi Crate was designed to spark the natural creativity and curiosity of kids ages five to eight. These hands-on activities use high-quality materials and kid-friendly instructions so that children can explore confidently and independently.
Science, World Studies, And The Arts
As kids age, they begin to fine-tune their interests. KiwiCo caters to these new subjects, too. Children as young as six can enjoy activity crates in the science, geography, and culinary and visual art fields.
The Yummy crate helps kids unlock the science of cooking and gain confidence in the kitchen. While the Doodle Crate fosters emerging artists with engaging DIY projects and interesting techniques.
For young ones eager to explore, the Atlas Crate offers the opportunity to become a global citizen and discover new world cultures. These crates include eye-opening, kid-friendly information that encourages empathy, curiosity, and respect for other cultures.
The Tinker Crate is an excellent introduction to STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). The activities developed and tested for these crates lay the foundation for future success in STEM education.
The Eureka And Maker Offer Lifelong Learning
When KiwiCo says its products are parent-approved, it isn’t from a caregiver’s perspective alone. The company’s last two crates, the Eureka and Maker, aren’t just for kids. These crates’ can be enjoyed by anyone, aged 14 to 100.
The Eureka Crate inspires kids (and kids at heart) to explore engineering and design principles behind everyday objects. These crates allow the user to create various objects, from desk lamps to pencil sharpeners to a wooden ukulele.
If the Eureka caters to the logical left brain, then the Maker caters to the creative right. The Maker Crate lets users discover art and design tools. These projects develop creative confidence and turn artistic visions into design realities.
Start Exploring Today
Setting up a KiwiCo subscription is a breeze. Simply enter the child’s name, select the appropriate age range, and KiwiCo will find their perfect crate. Next, you can choose your subscription length.
Pay as you go with a monthly subscription or pre-order up to 12 months’ worth of crates. The more crates you buy at a time, the more you save. KiwiCo’s best value is its yearly subscription, which lops hundreds of dollars off the final cost.
You can also opt to send a KiwiCo crate as a baby shower gift. Or, you can choose a KiwiCo gift card to give your giftee the freedom to choose their own crate. If you are an expecting parent (or excited grandparent), you can order KiwiCo crates at any point of the pregnancy. The company won’t ship your child’s first crate until the month of its due date.
Take the guesswork out of giving gifts to kiddos. Parents love KiwiCo for its educational, functional projects and convenient delivery. Kids love KiwiCo because it’s fun, plain and simple. KiwiCo is kid-approved, parent-approved, and it’ll be you-approved, too.