Circuit Mess DIY STEM for kids!

My kids have always loved hands-on crafts, activities & projects that they can either do by themselves or with their dad & I. So when I was offered the chance to check out one of the DIY STEM projects from a brand called Circuit Mess, I couldn't refuse. We were sent Spencer to put together & do a review on, Spencer is a personal voice assistant that you are able to build & code on your own. Something that is good to know before hand is that some of the kits they have require the use of a soldering tool, if you do not have one they can be picked up at a number of stores locally & for younger children they may need assistance with the project. This specific kit is recommended for ages 11+. We were also gifted one of their shirts which features their Batmobile that you can put together. 

Everything you will need for this project aside from the soldering tool & a screwdriver are included in this building kit. It was well packaged so everything arrived safely for us to start working on. There is quite a bit of information packed into the building guide, so you won't find the guide inside of your building box. Instead you will need access to the internet on a phone, tablet or laptop that can be placed near you & is easy to look at during the build. The building guide not only has instructions on how to build Spencer, but it also includes information on all of the tools you will need for this, links to helpful guides and tips on soldering incase you've never had to solder before & more. I found the build guide to be quite detailed & very helpful, they even have plenty of photos in full color for the visual learners. 

I think that these kits are great not just for teaching your children practical skills such as coding or using the various tools you will need, but also life skills like patients and staying calm & collected while working with small detailed parts. You can purchase a one time box, or subscribe & you will get a new project to work on every one to three months (depends on your plan). Spencer is part of the STEM box which is for ages 11+, but if that is a little too advanced for your child they also have the Wacky Robots line which is for ages 9+ along with working on two other lines that are for younger children as well. The STEM box is $80 per box & is a once per every three months subscription, the Wacky Robots are $28 a box and are delivery once a month. They also sell bundles which have set prices and show you exactly which buildable you will receive, so if you've had your eye on a particular build of theirs then the bundles might be the right place to look for you.

My husband & Son enjoyed doing this project together, this fun to do together and the end results are something your child will be able to work on, adjust and play with for quite some time to come. They have a number of apps and more available on their websites and guides that will allow you to update and create your Spencer how you would like. With summer coming up these kits are a great way to keep your child's mind engaged & entertained over the summer break. My son is looking forward to checking out all of the various apps Circuit Mess has & playing with his voice assistant more. I think this would be a great subscription as well for adults who want to know more about coding.

Is this something you think your kids will enjoy as well?

Disclaimer- Circuit Mess provided the product above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Sprout & Blossom Kids Gardening Subscription Box!

Sprout & Blossom is a company based out of Redlands, California that offers a monthly gardening activity class for anyone who lives in the area & even if you aren't in the area, you can still participate by signing up for their monthly subscription box that allows you to complete the activities in the comfort of your own home. Each box comes with five to seven activities & is geared towards children ages three to ten years old. You can purchase a onetime box for $48.90 or get a small discount for buying a longer subscription. Every box includes a craft, a book, a gardening or science activity, links to educational videos, & a free gift from a small business/etsy shop. 

For this review my nine-year-old son was the one who used the box & completed the activities inside. One of the crafts had you make a worm "mud" pile by using the brown paint included to paint a paper plate, then use glue & nature items you've found in your yard to create a home or playground for the fake worms included in the kit. My son opted out of gluing the worms down so he could still play with them after. His only negative comment on that craft was that the paint being in a zip block bag made it a little difficult to get the paint out properly using the paint brush, we ended up cutting the bag in half & doing a smash paint type of motion with the baggie itself. 

Our gardening craft was to plant some peas! I love that everything needed for this is included we were given a baggie of soil, a planter, lava rocks to help irrigate the bottom of the planter, three pea seeds and a popsicle stick that says "peas" to use as a marker. My kids enjoy gardening so this was an activity he enjoyed & was excited to watch the peas grow to see how big we can get them to grow. As you can see above, it is already growing quite well. However, you may need to remind them to water it, my kids might like gardening, but they often forget to water the plants & I end up doing it to keep everything alive. 

The science-based project was to create some colorful wiggling worms/caterpillars using markers, water & paper towels. You'll need some markers, some water & a bowl or plate to place your critters. This is a fun little activity I have seen online before but haven't done with the kids yet, so we had fun with this. You'll wrap the paper towels around a straw, then scrunch it up & slide it off which will leave you with a small caterpillar looking critter. Once you add a few drops of water to it, the critter will start to expand and wiggle. This is particularly fun for small kids to watch & participate in. 

It also came with a number of paper activities to get your kids brains active & engaged while they learn and have fun. The book is a nice addition, I am always encouraging my kids to read more so I love that the owner includes a book that has to do with the theme of the month. Also included is one or more free gifts, our box game with some stickers that smell like cherries (it smells so good), a magnet that looks like corn & a stuffed veggie toy. 

This is a cute subscription that I think would be good for any kids interesting in gardening or for parents who do home schooling as this could help fill in some extra activities & hands on learning for the month. You can do everything in the box in one day or you can spread them out to get the most out of your box.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Sprouts & Blossom for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Girls Can! Crate Review.

If you've been a reader of my blog for a while, then you will know that I love children's subscription boxes that are not only fun, but also educational. I recently came across a subscription that is geared towards young girls providing them with interactive crates that also teach them about inspirational women throughout history such as Irena Sendler and Wangari Maathai. That subscription service is called Girls Can! Crate. They sell boxes that cover a wide range of interests so there is something for almost every girl out there from cooking to a mechanics box there is a lot of fun to choose from.

We were lucky enough to be sent a crate for a product review and we received the Creative Chief Crate which comes with a Girls Can! activity book, hands-on kitchen chemistry experiments, a apron you are able to paint, some paint, a cute button and more. The activity book has what you need to figure out the experiments with the ingredients they send you. The paints included are so you can use different food items such as celery as stamps to paint the apron, however my daughter wanted to add her own flair to the apron and pulled out some extra paints so she could really make the apron all her own.

She had fun painting the apron with some logos from her favorite shows and enjoys the fact that she now has an apron that suits her interests for when she is cooking. She loves to bake and cook whenever she gets the chance, she has also had a lot of fun making dog treats in the past so this apron will get a lot of use.

She also enjoyed using the different ingredients they sent in some interesting kitchen experiments, perfect for kids who like expanding their minds with hands on activities. For $34.95 a crate, it isn't a bad price considering the fact that your child will be entertained for a few hours while finishing the projects inside of the box. I also like the fact that depending on the age of your child they can easily complete the projects and activities on their own, if they are independent and prefer doing things themselves. 

Disclaimer- Girls Can! Crate provided me with the products mentioned above for the review + giveaway free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Having a dig with Excavating Adventures!

 

My son always enjoys doing dig kits whether they have fossils, rocks, toys or something else he loves getting his hands dirty and finding a surprise inside. When I found Excavating Adventures, I knew it was a brand my son was going to love and I was right! They have a monthly subscription where you can dig through a small kit and figure out which rocks you've just added to your collection. Kits are $19.99 a month, however the monthly cost lowers if you subscribe for six or twelve months at a time, and they are also offering a limited time offer of $10 off your first month's box using code Hello10. 

We were gifted a one-month subscription to check out for ourselves to write about here on my blog. When the box first arrived, we weren't entirely sure how many rocks would be in the kit as the actual "dig" portion of it is in a small tin container. That container packs a big punch though and had a surprising amount of small and medium sized stones to collect.

The kit can with some baggies, little glue dots, a glass bottle, and a small empty box with some stuffing so you could select which way you'd like to store or display the stones and gems you received in the pack. My son went with the small white box for the larger stones and the little glass jar for everything that was small and we didn't want to lose. 

Also included are collectable trading cards, a small hammer, some stickers and even a small surprise! We received a cute pink frog as our surprise. Everything was packaged nicely and arrived in one piece. My son had a great time digging out a hole in the center of the dig piece and then working his way our towards the outside. Kits like this can be a little messy so I always advise to do them outside.

Along with a monthly subscription box they also have a ton of different options on their website available for purchase that isn't a monthly box, I'd personally love to have one of their seashell themed dig kit.

Disclaimer- Excavating Adventures Adventures provided a box for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.