Preschool subscription smack down

I wasn't too impressed with day 1 of our "Berry Best Preschool" subscription.  I haven't looked ahead at all so I can only judge day by day....and today, day 2, was another bust.

It starts out so exciting, two activities organized into a little pouch with a theme...

Unfortunately,  the activities are just kinda dumb. The instructions say to have the adults cut out all the pieces - now I'm understanding why they sell a "pre cut" set for more $$$. I suppose I could try to have TC cut her own,  but scissors haven't gone well so far and I'm spooked. The learning activity was a worksheet - count the items and glue the number in the box. The cutting and gluing felt like unnecessary complications to make it a bigger activity. ..but it wasn't real educational or much fun. The artwork so far looks just like the mimeographed worksheets of my youth, these are NOT computer assisted I guess. Maybe that's whimsical.  It feels kinda slipshod.

Activity #2, the craft, was embellishing a snowy owl. Worksheet, 3 feathers, and a stick + feet to cut out and paste on. Eh. Meh. 

I felt like again this was more work for me than my preschooler, didn't occupy much time, and was very low quality.  It's not refrigerator gallery work. It came with just a couple facts about owls,  not enough to teach anything from, so I can't even really give it credit for being more educational. Carefree Crafts includes a set of facts about the month that are much more interesting and we'll curated.

and speaking of Carefree Crafts, they are KILLING IT this month. So much win. We're gonna do everything the first week and then be sad to wait for more. 

First up we stuffed a little teddy bear!  We were sent a bear "skin", fiberfill, and a little heart to stuff inside (like at build-a-bear workshop).  That went pretty smooth, then we didn't even have to stitch her up, it was velcro! Finally there was a little scrap of felt and a pattern to cut a vest, I did that and let TC color on it with markers for some additional mileage out of this craft. Her name is Pinky and she was a a hit:

2nd craft was to decorate a ladybug mailbox for Valentines.  This is exactly what I prefer in crafts right now for TC - stickers she can independently take the backing off (small motor skills + phenomenal practice with patience) nothing messy, no scissors or glue - and again TC loved it. Neither of these are projects we will keep forever but they will be played with some and ready to go once next month's projects come. 

If you are keeping track, Carefree Crafts is winning by a mile. I should be rationing the projects better since we only get 1-1.5 per week, but they are WAY more fun and interesting so far than the 6 per week we are doing with BBP. 

My Ipsy Glam Bag and Bijoux Box should arrive mid month, so we are just starting our subscription box odyssey.  Gotta do something to pass this long crazy winter! 

Carefree Crafts - subscription box update

Well I think we might be officially hooked on crafts. TC has become militant on getting at least one craft each day. Her policy is enforced with tears, temper tantrums, and what amount to toddler sit-ins. While a huge part of me LOVES that she took an interest in creative stuff, it's often not the most convenient. So I think the Carefree Crafts subscription is here to stay, since it means we have more easy projects on hand.

We have almost finished our January projects, and I'm bummed because it was really convenient to just grab a pre-packaged craft from the pile and jump in. Nothing required set up, or much clean up. I'm not sure if this happens every month, but everything also color-coordinated, so our little "gallery" was even cute. Here's a quick review:

Project #1 was a snowman "coaster." The coaster was silly, but it's fine as a wall hanging. We actually mailed it off to help decorate Lucy's hospital room, a little Midwest scene setting to go along with the hearts and princesses. Next we did the "stained glass" mitten sun catcher, which was the messiest because it involved glue, but not too bad overall. The snowflake lacing mobile was kind of over TC's head, but she colored the snowflakes and I did the lacing and she was not bothered by my contributions.

This little guy (well, below is a stock photo - ours is already missing in the tidal wave of toy mess that is our livingroom during this polar vortex) we assembled and were supposed to use to play "Huckle Buckle Beanstalk" which is a form of hide and seek where you hide an object, or sort of like "hot and cold." My favorite part has been listening to TC try to say Huckle Buckle Beanstalk, which she thinks is his name. Totally worth the price of the subscription. It comes out something like "hickle hickle beanpot" usually.


Then we did what was probably my favorite project because it was mostly peel & stick foam (no glue dots!), a little penguin measuring stick. This was also fun because we worked on counting when deciding which number to stick on which line, and TC decided that Huckle Buckle is the penguin's mom. So now they have earnest conversations and live together in a princess suitcase.

We have one more project that involves water colors, so I've saved that for when I feel particularly caffeinated and patient, though TC LOVES to paint, so I'm sure it will be a hit. We actually did the first step - coloring on coffee filters - and it was a bit of a mess, since TC decided she was going to give herself a "cat-too" and the so-called "washable" markers have decided not to wash off even after a soak and scrub in the tub. Oh well.

We went ahead and signed up for February's box, and I can't wait till it arrives! With the harsh cold we've had this month indoor activities have been particularly appreciated, I wish we had them today. We burned through several slapped together craft projects and could have used many more.

Verdict: feeling pretty good about Carefree Crafts, can't wait to get the next shipment!

Carefree Crafts Subscription Review

 My first subscription box came! Actually, it was a bubble mailer, but still. Very exciting. And very quick!  I'm impressed by the turn around time, as the other boxes I subscribed to I had to wait for February. Carefree Crafts was able to get me on board right away!

The package included a color page showing all of the projects, the theme, and some trivia applying to the theme at the bottom. This month it's "Winter Wonderland," which works for me. There are 6 projects in this package with a variety of mediums - one is lacing, one is a little figure to assemble, one is painting, etc.

Inside the package are all of the supplies needed to make each of the projects, separated into packages, so you can just pull out the bag for what you are going to make and not have to sort it yourself  (all time saving is good when toddlers are involved!)

We decided to start with a "snowman coaster." Apparently to put beverages on. So...I'd never use this as a coaster, but The Cupcake is unconcerned with such concepts as "practicality," so "Frosty" was quite exciting for her. This seemed like the simplest project, and we've been doing a lot of foam sticker work lately, so I figured we could handle it. We did...but it wasn't quite as easy as I had hoped. It relied heavily on Glue Dots, which I have to believe are made of pure evil. I generally can't get them off their backing without significant trouble, and I have some crafting experience, so I don't know anyone who would think a toddler could do it. That meant I had to place all the glue dots and just let TC assemble, which was okay, but neither of us really had the patience for it. But you wouldn't know it by the end:

I asked her what we should name him, and she replied "FROSTY" in an exasperated tone, it definitely would have been followed by "Duh, mom!" If she knew the word "Duh!" :) 

Later that evening TC begged for another "cwaft!" so we tried the "stained glass" mitten. It was an acetate sheet that you covered with glue, then tissue paper squares, and a foam border. When finished it is a mitten shaped sun catcher. It was one of the messier projects, so I should have known not to try it at the END of the day when I was already tired, but the glue was the least of the problems. The tissue paper tiles had to be separated from a stack, and the instructions warned that there were just enough to cover the project, so after my hands were covered in glue I spent awkward and tense minutes trying to separate thin layers. It turned out that there were plenty of tissues so I didn't need to be so precise, but still...after the glue dots, this experience left me wondering if these boxes were for me.

But someone is a big fan so far. 

We still have 4 projects left, and so far some positives are that the kits are all inclusive, curated around a theme, and sized for just one kid. A lot of the projects seem to come from Oriental Trading Co, which always has dubious quality, but it is somewhat of a plus to be able to make just ONE of something, rather than ordering at least a dozen through OTC. There are a lot more glue dots included...but I'm wondering if I could just switch those out for double sided tape or something. I haven't yet decided if the projects are a great age fit - TC seems very interested, but she also want's to jump right in and these crafts so far have required patience and sequencing, which can add stress to a messy situation. The foam stickers are way easier. 

I got a great deal on the first box with a coupon code, but I can't decide yet if this is worth a monthly renewal. If I took the same amount of $$ to the craft store, I'm not sure I could get 6 different projects (since usually things come in packages or fancy kits), and I do appreciate not having to think about the projects and just having them on hand, having the experience and displaying things for a while but not feeling like we need to save them forever, and having TC get excited about it. Oh, and getting mail. I totally love getting mail. But man, I hate glue dots :) 

Stay tuned for more!