Kiwi Crate and the Right Brain Thinker

Kiwi Crate and the Right Brain Thinker

My son is a right brain thinker.  He excels in music, art, and literature.  If I ever need him to memorize something, we could drill it and flash card it until he is blue in the face...and while some of it sticks, it's never a permanent memory.  However, if we create a song or if we create pictures full of vibrant colors with his multiplication tables, he picks it up instantly.

Unfortunately, with our educational system (and he is in a private school, mind you) not designed for independent right brained thinkers, many children get frustrated and lack motivation.  The great teachers (bless their hearts) with all their efforts still can not go against the system that employs them.  I have realized (long before he was born) that  most of his education would be up to me and my husband.  While I was fully aware of this, I admit I have become complacent.  Yes, private school forces you to become this crazy "Tiger Mother", (even when your inner hippie is trying to rebel with every fiber of your being) and you find yourself in an endless sea of flashcards and 2nd grade homework that is more time consuming than your junior thesis...and in between the fog of math drills...you realize, I am forcing my child to be a sheep...a non independent thinker.  Furthermore, this is not the way he learns and forcing him into this box is just causing him (and I) to be frustrated and weary.

I remember my sons first day of kindergarten.  He was freshly dressed in his school uniform and was excited to go.  We walked him into class (me, my husband and my mother in law.  Yes, the first day of kindergarten is a big event in our family) and watched him for a moment while class started.  My son was so excited, all the other students were fidgeting and staring into space, but not my son.  He was at full attention, with his hands folded on his desk, hanging on to his teachers every word.  Slowly as the days and weeks passed, he went from loving to do his homework and going to school to absolutely loathing  homework (he still wanted to go to school to play with his friends, however).

Unfortunately, school is a necessity and apart of life and I don't see myself homeschooling anytime soon so I have to find activities for my son to nurture his artistic and creative side.  Recently I wrote about Kiwi Crate, you can check out my post here http://www.iheartretailtherapy.com/2014/03/do-good-x-family-traditions-x-kiwi-crate.html  From my post: 

"With all this pondering and trying to  find fun (fun for me too!) and educational  activities, I was delighted to find Kiwi Crate.  Every month Kiwi Crate sends a crate with fun activities for children ranging in age from 3 - 8 years old.   Each month, subscribers receive boxes filled with fun and engaging kids' projects. Each box includes plenty of materials and inspiration for 2-3 projects in arts & crafts, science activities or imaginative play. Previous crate themes include Dinosaurs, Gardening, Colors, Space and more. Kiwi Crate projects are designed to encourage discovery, exploration and expression. Each project is designed by moms, reviewed by child development experts, and, of course, tested by kids. Every month is a new adventure and opportunity to do fun and creative things with my children."

The wonderful thing about Kiwi Crate is every month you have a new activity crate with each one geared toward another subject to explore.  Here are some of the crates available:

Wild Safari

Overview

Create your own stamps to decorate safari animals. Play a round of safari bingo and build an off-road jeep that actually rolls! 

Everything needed, from materials to illustrated directions, is included, along with bonus online content specially created for this crate.

All the materials are included to create:

Safari Animals

Make your own stamps to decorate animals. Hide them and send a friend on a safari bingo hunt.

Off-Road Jeep

Everything you need to build your very own safari jeep that actually rolls!

Animal Drawing Booklet

Learn more about your safari animals with an explorer booklet. Plus, create a savanna scene from your crate.

Space Hero

Overview

Up, up and away! Explore outer space in your very own hero cape and mask, and create a special flying ball for a game of comet catch. 

Capes are 25" long with a 16" velcro-closure neck circumference.

All the materials are included to create:

Hero Cape

Customize your very own cape with sticky felt shapes.

Hero Mask

Complete your disguise and decorate a mask with metallic markers.

Comet Catch

With bright fabric and ribbons, make a special ball for a game of comet catch .

Secret Agent

Overview

Go on a secret agent mission! Gather your gadgets and disguises to discover clues and solve a mystery.

All the materials are included to create:

Periscope

Build your own periscope to hide, seek, and spy.

Disguise Kit

Create your own secret disguises and play pretend.

UV Light Pen Kit

Use this special pen to write and decode secret messages

And there are many many more crates and themes to choose from!  Every month my child will do fun activities designed around themes that are interesting to him.  Furthermore, besides peaking his interest in the arts, each activity works on a specific cognitive skill such as problem solving and critical thinking.  These activity crates also will help build upon some of the things he is learning in school in a fun and imaginative way.

With Kiwi Crate you can choose to buy one crate (or a few) or sign up for their monthly subscription and get a fun filled activity crate to your door every month.

For more information visit Kiwi Crate here: http://www.kiwicrate.com/.  

Now Kiwi Crate isn't just for the right brain thinker.  The activities and projects are designed for all kids left or right, and designed to spark their inner creativity and imagination, while educating them.  My BFF homeschools her little ones and subscribed to the monthly subscription.  She says it really adds to her curriculum and helps them stay engaged.  Furthermore Kiwi Crate, has been recently featured in InStyle, Parenting Magazine, and US Weekly. Kiwi Crate has also been awarded Dr. Toy 100 Best Children’s Products of 2012, Parent’s Choice Gold Award, and an Oppenheim Gold Seal Best Toy Award. Kiwi Crate is already a celebrity favorite, and is sure to delight the little ones in your life!

Kiwi Crate offers a range of subscription levels, all shipped for free:

	Monthly Subscription - $19.95 a month
	3 Month Gift - $60
	6 Month Gift - $110
	12 Month Gift - $205

If you're looking for ways to inspire your little one, be sure to check out Kiwi Crate here: http://www.kiwicrate.com/ to get started with your own activity crates!

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Summer Camps for Kids!

Summer Camps for Kids!

Believe it or not, the season for summer camp preparation has begun! And I don't know about you...but after this long winter and all these snow days, I am ready for it.  This year, I do not want my son to go to a stay over camp, so I am trying to find day camps (affordable day camps, mind you).

In my search, I have come across from pretty neat and interesting camps besides your usual sports camps.

Camp Shakespeare: "During this two-week summer camp, young actors dive head first into the world of the greatest playwright in history: William Shakespeare. Under the guidance of theatre professionals, participants unravel his plays with text analysis; transform into Shakespeare’s characters through voice, movement and improvisation work; wage battles against mortal enemies with stage combat; and develop fundamental acting skills using classical theatre techniques. To culminate each session, participants stage a performance for friends and family at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Join STC for a dynamic and dramatic summer camp experience, perfect for any budding performer or Shakespeare lover.

If you can act Shakespeare, you can act anything."

You can find more information here: http://www.shakespearetheatre.org

Mad Science Summer Camp: From the site; "Mad Science camps offer a daily combination of in-class discovery and exploration, outdoor games and physical activities, and hands-on applications of the scientific principles presented.

Your child will be able touch, see, hear, smell and taste what science is really all about.

We use simple, real world science techniques that allow even the youngest of campers to enjoy our learning environment.

Campers create, build and assemble a variety of take-home projects while exploring how science affects the world around us. 

Children have so much fun that they forget they’re learning!"  Click here http://dc.madscience.org/ for more information.

Smithsonian Summer Camp: There’s no more exciting place to spend the summer than at Summer Camp at the Smithsonian, where all kinds of dreams

can come true. Where else can campers blast into space or take center stage, create a masterpiece or invent a fantasy world, or relive history or learn to shape the future of the planet? The rich and exciting world of the Smithsonian Summer Camp program, now in its 45th year, is all theirs to discover in these one-of-a-kind learning experiences that spark the imagination—and offers plenty of great fun! Click here https://smithsonianassociates.org/camp/Default.aspx for more information.

These camps offer fun and exciting ways to inspire creativity and learning, while exposing them to the arts and sciences.  They are affordable too!  

By now, with all these awesome summer camp ideas, I know you're already scrambling to sign your kids up, and soon you'll be sorting through the piles of sunscreen, swimsuits and sneakers. Help make their lives a little more organized (and yours a little easier) by picking up some Limited Edition Camp Combo Packs from Mabel's Labels . These UV resistant, waterproof labels and tags are designed for kid camp equipment — clothing, toiletries, swim gear, backpacks and more — and ready to take a summer beating. To complete the outfit of adventure, receive 20% off of an insulated water bottle from Eco Vessel with your Limited Edition Camp Combo Pack purchase.

Let Mabel's Labels help you to get them sorted, tagged and prepped for a summer they won't soon forget. Plus, save $2 with early bird pricing now through April 30th! 

Here's to summer, happy kids and happy camping! 

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