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Looking for an educational subscription box for kids? The following are among the best and most popular options out there today!
Not only do these make great gifts, but they’re a great way to introduce a different theme and fun projects. These monthly boxes are great for young children and older kids, too. They’re the perfect way to have a monthly educational subscription box delivered right to your home! Detailed instructions paired with exciting activities provide hours of fun.
Check out these kids subscription boxes below for the perfect steam activities and hands-on experiments that are sure to be their new favorite thing! Every single month new ideas are delivered right to your home!
One of the greatest things my dad did was send me postcards in the mail.
My dad was an over-the-road truck driver. He was gone the majority of the week, and occasionally for multiple weeks at a time.
Receiving a postcard from him in the mail was great. I got to see a cool image of someplace he’s been before, and get a personalized message from him, just for me, letting me know he thought about me.
I don’t know a kid that doesn’t like to receive something just for them in the mail. My kids love it when a box we receive in the mail is actually for them.
We have tried out several subscription boxes, and as homeschoolers, I am especially interested in educational subscription boxes for kids, something that our kids will not only love playing with, but learn something as well. It’s a little less work for me that way, but also a supplement to the things I teach them. It’s also why I love educational board games so much too!
There are monthly subscription boxes now for just about anything, but ones for kids are great. Plus, most are very affordable at about $20-30 a month.
Even with multiple children, we’ve been able to have the supplies and goodies in a subscription box be used by both of my twins (although some do offer a “sibling” option if your kids do not share) and usually the craft or products included last longer than one days’ worth of excitement.
Educational Subscription Boxes for Kids
If you want to gift your children (or grandchildren) something special, something they’ll look forward to every month, as well as inspire their creativity and learning, check out the following educational monthly subscription boxes for kids!
Green Kid Crafts is an award-winning STEAM discovery box that offers between 5-8 individually packaged science, technology, engineering, art, and math kits for kids ages 2-10.
The boxes are themed and come with quality eco-friendly materials and step-by-step instructions.
Their new Junior Discovery Box Subscriptions are educator-designed for kids ages 2-4 to encourage play-based learning. Similar to their Discovery Boxes (ages 5-10+), each Junior Discovery Box will include up to 6 or more STEAM kits, quality project materials, step-by-step instructions, and achievement badges.
They also just launched their Literary Discovery Box Subscription! This option includes an age-appropriate, educator-approved book shipment related to each month’s Discovery Box theme.
Books are carefully selected to reinforce each month’s theme and are guaranteed to enhance STEAM learning concepts.
We’ve received six or more Green Kid Craft boxes in the mail over the years. They are currently my favorite kids’ subscription box!
Very fun and great for my 5 (now 6) year olds, especially to use in our homeschool. Love them! See my full review of our first two boxes HERE.
All boxes are $17.95-$27.95/month depending on subscription length and which discovery box you choose. You can also buy individual boxes for $24.95.
If your child loves crafting and creating and exploring science, design, and engineering, the Kiwi Crate family of monthly subscriptions is perfect! They offer crates based on interest and age groups.
MEL Science is a monthly chemistry kit delivered to your door each month.
Each kit contains 2-3 experiments and contains all the equipment and supplies needed to conduct the experiments, with enough chemical reagents for at least 2 attempts. Your first month’s starter kit includes:
Borosilicate glass beaker and flash
Virtual Reality headset
Macro lens
Smartphone/tablet stand
Safety glasses and a tray
Solid fuel stove (burner)
With your MEL Science subscription, you’ll get access to over 25 different VR lessons to help your child really get immersed in the science of their experiments and learn (and not just have fun playing with chemicals).
Your first package will arrive within 2 weeks of registration. You can cancel, pause, and resume your subscription at any time.
They recommend your child be 10 years or older, however, with proper adult supervision, children as young as 6 could enjoy and learn from the experiments.
Our family received starter kit and experiment box Chemistry of Monsters and my 9-year-olds loved it (one more than the other). We also received the MEL Kids Crystal box and it was so perfect for my 4 and 6 year-old children to do together with me. The VR really brought the science to life for them too.
Every kit comes with a colorful themed manual with a supply bag to do the experiments, plus a monthly e-newsletter, online clubhouse for further exploration, and a certificate of completion.
They cover a wide range of topics from chemistry to anthropology. Some adventures include building a volcano, growing crystals, and learning how to track animals.
The Spangler Science Club featuresthe coolest hands-on science experiments and inquiry-based activities designed by Steve Spangler and his award-winning team of science educators.
Each month you’ll receive a box filled with the science tools and resources needed to conduct experiments and take-it-further challenges that combine the perfect mix of critical thinking, tinkering and fun.
It’s the perfect science spark for kids in grades K-6, or ages 7-14, and each month has a new theme like kitchen chemistry, the power of air, science magic, and bubbling potions.
Subscriptions start at just $19.99 a month for 2 STEM experience, $19.99 (free shipping) for up to 5 STEM experiences each month, or $29.99/month (with free shipping) for up to 10 STEM experiences each month. Join the club today!
Groovy Lab in a Box
Groovy Lab in a Box subscription service provides young STEMists with fun, hands-on projects and an engineering design challenge – all focused on that month’s STEM topic.
All STEMists will receive materials and a Lab Notebook, where they can read about that month’s topic, perform investigation activities and document their findings.
They will investigate, brainstorm, plan, build, test and redesign their own creations. STEMists also receive access to a special “Beyond…in a Box” online learning portal. It’s usually best for kids ages 8+.
Cost is $24.95 – $29.95 depending on how long of a subscription you want. Shipping is free. If you order a 12 Month Subscription, you end up getting 2 boxes for FREE, but you have to pay upfront.
The Preschool box is a monthly subscription that teaches your preschooler ages 3-6 basic reading and math skills to help prepare them for elementary school.
Every box has a set of focus skills with hands-on activities, crafts, and worksheets, parent instruction guide, book and stickers, flash cards and other games.
We got the first box and I like that it includes all the little pieces and tools I need to help my preschoolers focus on letter and sound recognition, counting numbers, sorting shapes and colors, phonics, the sounds of letters, and writing practice.
The activities in the Preschool Box can stretch over a four week period. The activities are work-at-your-own-pace and are designed for you to be able to use and work on as your child masters them. You can be super involved in the learning process, or let your kid figure it out themselves.
This is a way to teach your child the concepts they would likely learn in preschool at home.
Prices begin at $32.95/month plus shipping, and they have options for up to 3 kids!
A portion of all their sales goes towards buying school supplies and other necessities for children at the Rafiki Orphanage in Uganda, Africa.
Bitsbox provides kids ages 7-11 something new and exciting to build, or code, on a regular basis. Each month your child will receive a dozen app projects printed in books, cards, and on toys.
The coding projects pair with an online coding environment and result in real apps that work on real devices.
The subscriptions can be delivered via monthly download or in the mail.
Subscriptions start at $20 for the digital book, $25 for the box (with free shipping) and as little as $30/month for the Deluxe Bitsbox.
Though not strictly “educational” I recently tried out a Children’s Book Subscription box called Bookroo.
You can read more about my experience with their service, and the benefits of their program in this post.
Little Passports
Discover a new country each month with pen pals Sam & Sofia! Little Passport packages include letters, fun souvenirs, activity sheets, stickers, photos and more, plus access to the Boarding Zone for more online games! It’s a fun way to learn about geography and cultures around the world, right from your kitchen table.
We did the World Edition for an entire year (Full review coming soon!) since we study different countries in our homeschool. It’s been a fairly fun way to introduce a little about different countries with my kids. We really enjoyed learning about new countries and the activities that came along with them.
Little Passports offers 3 different explorer options:
Early Explorers for ages 3-5
World Edition for ages 6-10
USA edition for ages 7-12.
The World Edition and USA Edition start as low as $16.95/month if you do the full 12-month subscription, while the Early Explorers is $14.95/month (plus $36 shipping) for the 12-month subscription.
I really think it’s great that your kids can not only receive mail regularly with one of these educational boxes, but to learn a little as they go along.
It may not be as personal and meaningful as postcards in the mail from your dad, but certainly a fun start in the right direction.
I think so! They’re a great opportunity to have everything delivered to you! Many of these are award-winning boxes that have monthly themes done and ready. This saves you time, stress, and energy so that the kids can start learning right away!
Do they come with all the necessary materials?
They do! Everything should be included that you need for these creative projects, which is part of the fun!
Have you heard of any other monthly subscription boxes for kids that are educational? I’d love to hear about them! I would love to try them out with my kids, and write up honest reviews here on the blog.
Have you tried any of the above educational subscription boxes for kids out?
Great post! Would be great if there’s an updated post for 2016 with newest boxes like CubbyCase (https://cubbycase.com) included! Are all the boxes here still delivering today?
Oh, I haven’t heard of that one! Thanks for sharing. And I updated the links and info on this post (some of the promos were old, or the links weren’t working right).
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Alesha Matthews says
Great post! Would be great if there’s an updated post for 2016 with newest boxes like CubbyCase (https://cubbycase.com) included! Are all the boxes here still delivering today?
Katelyn Fagan says
Oh, I haven’t heard of that one! Thanks for sharing. And I updated the links and info on this post (some of the promos were old, or the links weren’t working right).