7 of the best educational subscription boxes for kids (tested by us)
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my whole disclosure here.
Inside: Discover 7 of the best subscription boxes for kids! We tested many boxes in the last 2 years, and I’m sharing with you our favorite choices. Hopefully, this list will inspire you to find the best subscription box for your kids!
It all started a little more than 2 years ago. My son was 3, and he was very curious to learn new things. We liked to do activities together at home, but I felt like I wanted to find more interesting materials and more exciting activities for him.
This is why I decided to try one of the educational subscription boxes for kids that I heard about from a friend.
My son was so happy with the idea of receiving a box just for him in the mailbox that I decided to try other subscription boxes and see what we like most.
Over the course of the last 2 years, we tested many different boxes! We had subscriptions that lasted more than a year, others that we only tried for a few months, and some that we canceled after the first box.
I know that finding the best subscription box for a child’s age and interests is not always easy, so I wanted to share our experiences to help other parents who want to try this but don’t know what to choose.
I’ve gathered here 7 awesome subscription boxes that I would happily recommend to other moms! Depending on your kids’ ages and the things that they like to do, I’m pretty sure that you’ll find some great inspiration on this list.
Subscription boxes for curious kids who love to learn new things
1. Kiwi Co
I decided to start this post with the Kiwi Co subscription box because it is our favorite! My son loves all the activities in these boxes! They provided us hours of fun and quality time together.
Each box includes creative materials for 2-3 activities, a guide for parents, and a small magazine for kids. Kiwi Co has created lines for kids all ages from babies to teenagers.
We tested Koala Crate for 6 months and then we switched to Kiwi Crate as my son grew up. We have this new subscription for more than half a year, and we don’t plan to cancel it anytime soon.
photo credit: kiwico.com
The only difference between these boxes is the level of difficulty of the activities. Koala Crate has easy and fun activities for young kids. Kiwi Crate has projects that need a little more involvement from the parent, but the results are totally worthwhile!
photo credit: kiwico.com
I am amazed by how many things my son has learned from these activities! We are big fans of the Kiwi Co boxes and we also have the Atlas Crate delivered to us every month, so we get to enjoy even more awesome ideas!
✔️You can find out all the details about the monthly boxes here: Koala Crate (ages 3-4), Kiwi Crate (ages 5-8), more boxes for other ages.
Here are some pictures of the activities from the boxes that we received during our subscription.
Click here to check out all the Kiwi Co subscription boxes.
Subscription boxes for kids to encourage a love of reading
2. Bookroo
This box is perfect for encouraging kids to get excited about reading. We had the Picture Book Box subscription (for kids ages 2 to 6, but Bookroo also has a Board Book Box for babies and a Chapter Book Box for older kids.
At first, I was reluctant to the idea of trying book subscription boxes. We use to read a lot of books from the library, and I also like to buy books for my son so I wasn’t sure if a subscription would benefit us.
But the Bookroo boxes surprised me in a very positive way! I realized that they gave us the chance to discover some books that I wouldn’t have normally bought and that my son loved!
The fact that each book comes beautifully wrapped as a gift made my son very happy. It was like receiving new gifts every single month!
A tip for you: If you subscribe to the Bookroo newsletter you get 15% off your first order.
Here are some pictures of the books that we received in the months when we had this subscription.
Click here to check out all the Bookroo subscription boxes.
Subscription boxes for creative kids
3. Green Kid Crafts
Green Kid Crafts offer hands-on science and art kits for kids all ages from toddlers to tweens. Each box has a specific theme like Space, Music, or Safari, and includes activities that make learning fun.
What I like is that besides the regular subscription you can buy specific themed box according to your child’s interests. Here are some of the themes you can choose from.
The best thing about this subscription box is that it focuses on STEAM activities and it combines art and science to encourage kids to learn new things.
Click here to check out all the Green Kid Crafts boxes.
Subscription boxes for young explorers
4. Little Passports
We chose the Early Explorers subscription because it was the one suitable for my son’s age (he was 3 years old when we started).
Each of the monthly boxes includes:
- a letter from Mia, Max, and Toby (the characters of the series)
- a little activity book
- the Flashlight Adventure activity (one of my son’s favorite activities)
- a luggage tag
- stickers to add to the map (my son wanted to keep them in his collection)
- a postcard
- a small gift related to the monthly theme (these gifts always brought excitement, and my son still plays with some of them).
You can find out more details about each of the boxes on their website: Early Explorers (ages 3-5), Wold Edition (ages 6-10) and Science Expeditions (ages 9+).
A tip for you: If you decide to try a yearly subscription, you can get 20% off with the code EXPLORE. This means that you get more than 2 months for free so it’s a pretty good deal!
Here are some pictures of the activities from the boxes that we received during our subscription.
Check out all the Little Passport boxes here.
5. Atlas Crate
When Kiwi Co announced that they were launching an Atlas Crate for kids we decided to give it a try even if they said that they are for kids ages 6-11 and my son is only 5.
This turned out to be a very good choice because my son enjoys discovering a new country in every box. Until now we explored Japonia, Nigeria, Peru, Sweden, Mexico, and Italy.
photo credit: kiwico.com
What I love about this subscription box is that the activities are very hands-on. The kids get to learn about each country in a very fun and playful way. I was surprised by how many details my son has remembered from what we read about each country.
Here are some pictures of the activities from the boxes that we received during our subscription.
Click here to check out the Atlas Crate.
For little chefs in training
6. Raddish
When my son was a toddler, he used to love cooking with me. After a while, he didn’t seem so interested anymore, and we didn’t cook together as much as before.
So when I first found out about cooking kits for children, I wasn’t sure if they were a good fit for us. Then at the end of last year, I received a sample kit from Raddish and decided to give it a try.
I didn’t expect for the activities in the kit to bring us so much fun! I realized how much my son enjoys being a “chef” when he is in charge of the recipe. I was just his “assistant” in the kitchen, and he felt very proud to do recipes on his own!
Raddish is a subscription kit for kids that features a new theme every month! Each kit includes 3 recipe guides with a complete grocery list, a kitchen tool, monthly collectibles, and a creative kitchen project.
Each kit combines culinary fun with creative activities that encourage kids to learn new things in a playful way. If your child would enjoy being part of a cooking club for kids, Raddish is a great choice!
This subscription box is designed for kids 4 to 14+, but they also offer Cook + Play Placemats for Preschoolers (2-5 years).
Click here to check out the Raddish kits.
For young scientists
7. Amazon STEM
One of the subscription boxes that we recently started to use is the Amazon STEM subscription. My son is a big fan of STEM toys, and I was confident that he would like this subscription!
I chose the STEM Club Toy Subscription for 5-7 year olds and the option to receive a box every 2 months because this was the best fit for our budget.
The first toy we received was a roller coaster building game with 40 STEM challenges. I loved it because it offered us many ways to play and it helped my son develop new skills. We enjoyed hours of fun building different roller coasters from the challenge cards!
This subscription is a perfect way to get high-quality toys at great prices.
The Amazon STEM subscription box is available for 3 group ages: 3-4 years, 5-7 years, and 8-13 years. You can also choose from 3 different delivery options and have the box delivered to you every month, every 2 months, or every 3 months.
Click here to find out all the details about the Amazon STEM subscription boxes.
We tested many subscription boxes in the last 2 years. It was a fun experience because it helped me discover what activities my son likes. Also, every month we get new activities to try, and this brings us new opportunities to connect and enjoy playful moments together.
If you want to try a subscription box for kids, I hope that this list will inspire you to make the right choice for your family!
