Birthday Box
The Birthday Box from Get Ready 4 Kindergarten is a special present to give any preschooler! The Birthday Box is filled with lots of surprises, educational activities, games, a beautiful picture book, crafts, and manipulatives. The learning theme of this Birthday Box is about shapes, so it includes a wide array of learning activities to teach young children vocabulary for shapes, ways to connect with shapes through hands-on activities, and to build connections with shapes in our daily environment.
All of the materials were neatly packaged and organized. Upon opening the box, I saw a parent guide listing the contents of the box and an overview of the skills the child would be applying through the box’s activities. There is a ring to bind all of the shape vocabulary words together. It made it a handy way to talk about the shapes with my child and point to the picture cards.
Specially Wrapped Gift
The Birthday Box includes a neatly wrapped, specially chosen book that fits the theme. I thought it was adorable that it was gift-wrapped to truly make the child feel that it is, in fact, a birthday present.
The book my child received was Eric Carle’s The Secret Birthday Message. It is such an adorable story incorporating shapes into a hunt that leads to the child’s birthday present.
Reading the book together and seeing how much fun it was for the character to go through the different parts of the map stirred my children’s interest and was the perfect segue to having our own shapes hunt and treasure hunt.
Games & Activities
The learning guide includes a list of games and activities to do together as a family to teach your children shapes. There are cards with game ideas such as a shape hunt, hide and seek and a treasure hunt.My kids wanted to do the shape hunt and treasure hunts first. They were so excited to find shapes around the house and to look for the hidden “treasure” using the map I made in a similar style to Eric Carle’s picture book.
The guide also includes a suggested list of shape snacks to have. Anytime we can incorporate food with learning, it is a major hit with all of us! We devoured snacks such as rectangular graham crackers and circular salted crackers with square cheese slices.
Manipulatives
The Birthday Box includes a container of quality math manipulative shapes. It includes two pictures of sample designs to replicate. My children played together with the blocks for a good length of time copying the designs and also making their own designs and stories.
Shape Craft: Bird Feeder
Inside were directions and materials to make bird feeders. It was an enjoyable hands-on way to review shapes and to also teach about birds’ food. My three children who are ages 8, 6, and almost 3 worked together to follow the directions and each participate in the steps.
It provided an opportunity for my eldest child to read the directions, my second child to follow directions, and my preschooler to assist with pouring and shaping the bird feeders. They worked well together as a team.
In addition to reinforcing the shape of a star and a circle, this activity also made my children feel proud that they helped feed the birds in our neighborhood.
Thank you Note
Get Ready 4 Kindergarten also includes materials to make a thank you note to the person (or people) who gave the Birthday Box to the child. There is a blank note card, glue stick, and paper cut-out shapes for the child to glue on the card. The parent can help write “Dear _____” and “Thank you” on the card and the child can decorate it with shapes. This was such a thoughtful addition to the box that I have not seen in any other subscription boxes we have tried in the past. It is a wonderful way to teach your child gratitude and a way to show one’s appreciation when someone gives us a gift. I thought this was such a beautiful culminating activity.
There are so many paper cut-out shapes as well, leaving room for future crafts.
Overall Thoughts & Unboxing Video
Get Ready 4 Kindergarten Birthday Box is the perfect gift for preschoolers. It it jam-packed with educational activities to keep the child engaged for a long time and provides many opportunities to connect with their family members. It teaches a wide variety of skills essential for young children as they develop during this age. Although the target age is for my toddler/preschooler, my elementary children and I all enjoyed the contents of the box!
To see a quick unboxing preview of the contents of the box, watch the video below. Learn more about Get Ready 4 Kindergarten here.