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printable

I've always been inspired by the underlying messages of Dr. Seuss's books. I love that they encourage coloring outside of the lines, trying new things, and exploring creativity in unconventional ways. As a treat for our kid testers, we pulled together this quick game challenging them to explore creativity and get a little goofy! We loved seeing the creatures they dreamed up which were all a little wild and very silly.Click&nbsp;<a href="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/images.kiwicrate.com/diy_ad/Kiwi_Make-A-Monster-Game.pdf">here</a>&nbsp;to download our printable game board to start playing!

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Download and print our printable game board that assigns a body part to each number of the die. If you like, you can also make up your own! With a marker and paper, have each kid start by drawing the body of their creature.

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Use the game board as a prompt. Have your child roll the dice and draw the body part that corresponds with the number rolled. If they roll a 5, they got the wild card and add anything they want to their drawing!

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Keep rolling until you feel like your monster is complete. Your creature might end up with 6 arms and 3 mouths, but that's all part of the fun!

paper

markers

Make-a-Monster Game

space

winter crafts

winter

easy craft

handmade gifts

Bring the stars to you and learn about the amazing night sky by creating your own mini-constellation jar that can light up. Download our constellation printable <a href="https://icdn.kiwico.com/diy_ad/Kiwi-Crate-Mini-Constellation-Jar-Printable.pdf">here</a>.&nbsp;Or for some winter-themed fun, you can create your own light-up jar of snowflakes!Help your little one build their creative confidence with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612">Rainbow Air-Dry Clay</a>. This kid-friendly clay is soft, not sticky, so it’s easy to handle and shape into anything you can imagine.

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Use a ruler to measure the height of your jar to figure out how tall it is. Then, use a piece of string to find the circumference by measuring around the mouth. Add half an inch to your circumference measurement.&nbsp;Cut a piece of aluminum foil based on the measurements of your jar. We used a jar that measured 5 inches x 7 ½ inches.

Have a grownup&nbsp;help or carefully supervise any cutting necessary for this project.

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Place the foil flat on the cardboard and put the constellation printable on top.  

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Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out a few paper snowflakes and trace them onto a piece of black construction paper. 

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Choose a constellation from the printable and use the pushpin to create it by carefully poke holes through the paper and foil. 

Choose another constellation and create it on a different spot of the foil. Try to learn the names and shapes of each constellation that you make!

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Snowflake Jar Option: Cut out the shapes you traced onto the construction paper using an X-acto knife. 

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After, take your foil and wrap it around the toilet paper roll to give it a curved surface. Remove the toilet paper roll.

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Snowflake Jar Option: Use a stapler to form the construction paper into a cylindrical shape and add some tissue paper inside the construction paper cylinder to give your shining snowflakes some color! 

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Carefully place the curved foil into the jar. (Try not to crinkle your designs!) 

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Snowflake Jar Option: Carefully place the paper cylinder into the jar.

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Turn on the tea light and place it inside the jar. Screw on the lid, turn off the lights, and check out your new constellations (or snowflakes) shining in the dark!

Use your mini-constellation jar outside as a small nightlight, or use it to help you learn about the night sky.

If you enjoyed making this project, check out our Kiwi Crate line for more hands-on science projects!

glass jar

aluminum foil

Ruler

string

pushpins

cardboard

toilet paper tube

electric tea light

constellation printable

black construction paper (optional)

pencil (optional)

craft knife (optional)

stapler (optional)

Light-Up Mason Jar

learning game

learning activity

pretend play

Looking for a fun way to fuel your kids' creativity and communication skills? These 30 story starters will stretch their imaginations and help them spin yarns worth weaving! Use the images to inspire plot twists and turns in a storytelling session that's fun for the whole family! <a href="http://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/images.kiwicrate.com/printables/BTS_KiwiCrate_storycards.pdf" target="_blank">Download the printable here.</a>Help your little one build their creative confidence with <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo's</a> <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/rainbow-air-dry-clay-project-kit/5612" target="_self">Rainbow Air-Dry Clay</a>. This kid-friendly clay is soft, not sticky, so it’s easy to handle and shape into anything you can imagine.

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Cut the printables along the dotted lines. 

If you print the cards on heavy paper and keep the cards together with a rubber band, you can throw the bundle in your bag as an on-the-go game.

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Lay the cards face-up. Let someone draw one (or several) of the cards as inspiration for the start of a story.

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Give everyone a chance to add on to the story, using the cards as inspiration. As the story is being told, have each narrator line up the card(s) in chronological order so that everyone can remember the sequence of events. 

As your kids play with these cards, they'll learn about sequencing 
and teamwork skills that will definitely come in handy as they develop 
their reading abilities and return to school. Plus, storytelling from an
 early age helps kids express thoughts and feelings, consider new ideas,
 and understand cause and effect.&nbsp;

Here are some other ways to use these cards:&nbsp;
Instead of spreading out all the cards face-up, choose just a handful at random and rearrange those cards to tell a story.&nbsp;
Stack up the cards. Draw one card at a time and take turns adding on to a story.&nbsp;
Think of and sort the cards by different categories (e.g., things that are alive, things that we saw this summer, things that are green).

printable story cards

Scissors

Printable Story Cards

earth

at-home learning

nature science

nature

science project

art-science projects

Eager to learn more about the world around us? Explore the science of rocks and volcanoes with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/professions-geologist/5846" target="_self">Geologist Starter Kit</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather your materials. <a href="https://assets.contentstack.io/v3/assets/blt5d966d0d1776691c/blt89a3a0d46c95210d/648a3623cc30bb395eb05c4e/Ziploc_Water_Cycle_Bag_Printable.pdf" target="_blank">Download the water cycle printable here</a>.

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Smooth the Ziploc® brand bag out on a flat surface. Use the permanent marker to draw the water cycle from the Water Cycle Printable on the bag. (Draw carefully to avoid puncturing the bag.)

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Pour ⅓ cup of water into the bag (avoid filling the bag more than halfway). Put one or two drops of blue food coloring into the water.

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Find a sunny window and tape the bag up. Tape the bag at a slight angle to simulate the runoff and collection stages of the cycle.

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Check in on the water cycle bag at different times throughout the next few days. Do you see water droplets form along the bag from the condensation? Eventually, you’ll see streaks along the side of the bag as the droplets grow and drop down the side, representing precipitation. From there, the water will recollect and pool at the bottom. How does this mimic the water cycle we see on Earth?

On Earth, the water cycle is influenced by many things, such as energy from the sun, temperature, and the force of gravity. What changes can you make to your bag to observe some of these factors? Try creating a second bag and placing it in a different location (perhaps a shady window) and see how the results differ. You can also leave the bag for a few days and check on it at different stages. See how time of day, temperature, and amount of sunlight affects it!

ziploc® brand sandwich bag

permanent marker (soft felt-tipped)

water (1/3 cup)

blue food coloring (optional)

Tape

water cycle printable

Water Cycle Bags

Christmas

Hanukkah

puzzles

toy design

engineering

cardboard crafts

gift

Give the gift of entertainment with this holiday puzzle box. Wrap your special someone’s present in this box and then sit back and watch them try to open it.Download the printable <a href="http://images.kiwicrate.com/diy_ad/KiwiCo-Holiday-Puzzle-Box-Printable.pdf">here</a>.Looking for another hands-on project that engages your creativity and logic skills? Construct a mechanical chessboard with hidden drawers with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/build-play-chess-set/5965" target="_self">Build and Play Chess Set</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Gather your materials. 
Looking for a gift? Checkout KiwiCo's <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/christmas-toys/?diy=inline">Christmas gifts here</a>.

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Cut out the T-shape pieces from the printable. Then, cut out the shaded areas. 

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Glue the T-shape pieces to a piece of cardboard.

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Cut out the T-shape cardboard pieces by cutting along the outline. 

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On the larger T-shape piece, score the cardboard on the dotted orange lines. On the smaller T-shape piece, score the cardboard on the opposite side of the cardboard.  

Lightly run your X-acto blade on the folded line to score the cardboard, creating a hard crease. This will make it easier to fold the cardboard into a box. 

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Stick the brads into the two small holes on the largest T-shape piece. Do not secure them yet. 

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Line up the smaller T-shape piece over the larger one as pictured. 

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Move the brads along the track until they are in the narrower part of the track. Then, secure the brads in place. 

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Take the smaller T-shape piece off of the larger one by sliding it along the track towards the circles and set it aside. Then, turn the piece over and glue the back of the brads in place.

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Fold each of the T-shape pieces into a box. Then, glue it together. 

We used rubber bands to hold the box together while it dried. 

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Wrap both the top and the bottom of the box in wrapping paper. 

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Carefully cut out the bottom of each wrapping paper to reveal the tracks and brads that are used to open the box. 

Tape the edges of the wrapping paper down to make it easier to open the box.

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Put a gift inside the box, close it, and top it with a bow! See how long it takes the receiver to figure out how to open the box.  

printable (printed on cardstock)

x-acto knife

double-sided tape

white glue

brads (2)

wrapping paper

clear tape

decorative bow

Winter Break

Holiday Puzzle Box

game design

motion

building

Use a small-scale conveyor belt to create a cinematic experience!&nbsp;Download the printables here:&nbsp;<a href="https://icdn.kiwico.com/diy_ad/KiwiCo-Conveyor-Belt-Cinema-Background-Image.pdf">background image</a> &amp; <a href="https://icdn.kiwico.com/diy_ad/KiwiCo-Conveyor-Belt-Cinema-Still-Image.pdf">still image</a>.Want to explore more fun crafts without the hassle of gathering materials? Get hands-on and make visually stunning candles with a <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/us/store/dp/geometric-candles-project-kit/5647" target="_self">Geometric Candles project</a> from the <a href="https://www.kiwico.com/store" target="_self">KiwiCo Store</a>!

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Using the pushpin, make two holes on either side of the long sides of the box about 6” apart. Widen the holes with a pair of scissors until the dowel fits loosely into them.

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Trace the end of a toilet paper tube onto a piece of heavy weight paper 4 times. Then, cut each circle out. 

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Make a hole in the center of each of the circles large enough for the dowel to fit snugly into. 

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Hot glue the circles onto the ends of each of the tubes. When dry, gently push one dowel through each tube. 

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Hot glue the dowel to the either end of the cardboard tube so that both the dowel and the tube rotate together as one. 

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Insert each end of both dowels into the holes opposite each other on the box. 

23 creative printable projects for kids

Screen-free fun!