What is a subscription box?
Subscription boxes are boxes of goodies delivered to your door usually once a month. There are may subscription box companies out there, so the goodies in your box, and the price you pay for it, will vary greatly.
How can Curious Little Classroom help you choose a subscription box?
If you are thinking about purchasing an educational subscription box for kids, then this site is all you need! I have become obsessed with educational subscription boxes. We receive many boxes per month and we review them all here on the site. Some of the boxes are given to us for free or at a discount, but others we pay full price for every month. Our reviews are 100% honest and we are not required to write positive comments about the products.
How long will each activity box take us to complete?
Of course this varies by the child and the box, but generally it takes us about a week to finish all the activities in each delivery. The attention span of a 2 and 5 year old is about 20-30 minutes at best so we do everything a little bit at a time.
Is there anything negative about the subscription boxes?
So far, the only thing I have found that is negative is that it takes a long time for some of the boxes to arrive, up to 5 weeks. This is fine if you are planning ahead but not good if you need a gift in a pinch. I purchased Little Passports for my nieces for Christmas well before December 25. I contacted customer service and told them when I wanted the subscription to start and there was no problem suspending the delivery until the holidays.
What comes in each box and what ages are each of the subscription boxes appropriate for?
Animal Trackers Club
Age- 3+
Description- A monthly subscription program specifically designed for your Pre-reader/Beginning Reader. Each month your child will “track” a new animal through age-appropriate instructional materials designed to encourage hands-on, creative learning.
Comments-This is one of Jack’s favorites, he asks all the time when our next Animal Trackers Club delivery is coming. Jack was just 5 in October and he is not reading yet, but he is starting. He loves collections, and this box has animal figures included with the theme every month. So far we have a giraffe, zebra, lion, and vulture. Jack is always guessing what will be coming next!
Junior Explorers
Age- 3-7
Description- Every mission starts with a kit sent home to prep kids for their adventure that month. Mission kits include lots of fun and natural science learning that gets kids excited to explore a new habitat.
Comments- This subscription box contains A LOT of materials for studying particular environments each month. It comes with a water bottle, stickers, activity guides and more. It also has an extensive online component. If you are looking for a subscription box with a great online adventure, this box is the one for you!
Little Passports World Edition
Age- 6-10
Description- Explore the world, once country at a time, with this fun and educational subscription
Comments- We love this one! So far we have received the introductory box and have taken virtual trips to Brazil, Japan, and France. Every box keeps us busy for days with projects, activities, and online games.
Little Passports Early Explorers
Age- 3-5
Description- Explore a new world theme each month with your preschooler.
Comments- Early Explorers is part of the Little Passports company. This box is perfect for three-year old children. Lila is two now and she is a bit too young for this. Jack is 5 and it is a little bit too easy for him. They both still loved it of course and had a great time doing the activities.
Space Scouts
Age- 6+
Description- A monthly subscription program designed to engage your child in fun learning activities, hands-on discovery, and exciting challenges. Each month your child will explore a new place in Space — stepping into the worlds of space exploration, space science, and astronomy.
Comments- This is a great box and has a ton of things in it that you really wouldn’t find anywhere else for this age level. Children’s wonder and amazement about space begins at these early ages. This is definitely for children who can already read. It is great for late K or early first grade.
Tinker Crate
Age- 9+
Description- Hands-on science and engineering experiments delivered every month.
Comments- I really, really wanted to do this one but it is way too complicated for Jack because he is only 5 years old. So, I recruited my Goddaughter Ashley to do the experiments. She is in third grade and it is absolutely perfect for her age. I love that she is getting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) experience and having a great time. Her mom, my good friend, Nadia, said she looks forward to the delivery and when we made the hand-crank flashlight she told everyone at school about it!
*Update! Jack is old enough now to do Tinker Crate (he enjoys it with a lot of help from me at age 7), so I ordered it for 12 months! Lila enjoys it as well at only 4 years old. Check out our Tinker Crate 12-Month Subscription sampler post to learn more!