Nutrition Explorers - Kids Night In

Nutrition Explorers - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

Another month, another Kids Night In box! This time, learning about nutrition and staying healthy was the theme. And we found out that we're doing a pretty good job already.

As always, you cannot order this particular box, but you can go ahead and set yourself up to get October’s box here: Community Helpers

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Included book - Good Enough to Eat by Lizzy Rockwell
Recipe card
Activity sheets/stickers
Canvas
Foam Binoculars kit
Pencil
Magnifying glass
Fidget spinner for game
Pastels
Snack
Glue
Googly eyes
Healthy Journal

Nutrition Explorers Recipe:

Broccoli & Parmesan Farro - This sounded pretty tasty and my boys both love broccoli, but I wasn't able to find Farro..it's possible I looked right passed it considering the pasta and rice aisle is extreme! But this recipe was a good way of incorporating some good foods into a meal.

All Kids Night In boxes come with a snack as well, this time was Veggie Straws, which there is never a shortage of in our house. We love these, they're convenient and are a great alternative to regular potato chips.

Activities:

The book in this month's Kids Night In box was called Good Enough to Eat. It talked about the different food groups and why each is good for us. The book was a little too detailed to hold my 5.5 year old's complete attention, but he still walked away with some good knowledge on staying healthy.

The art activity in this month's Kids Night In box was a canvas to showcase the different fruits and vegetables that keep our bodies happy and healthy. This is where the pastels and googly eyes came into play. I really love that Kids Night In has started making step by step videos for their art projects, it makes it so easy for kids to follow along and create their masterpiece. We usually just head to the website on my son's tablet, and he pauses the video when he needs to but he does a great job.

A couple other activities were using stickers to create a plate that had the right amount of each food group, Health Hunt - finding the food groups in your own home using the binoculars we made, Eat a Rainbow - discussing the colors of the foods we eat, Exercise Exploration....which we had to skip because I cannot tell you where the fidget spinner ran off to after we unboxed, ha! Healthy Snacking - using the magnifying glass to look at food labels and spot things that are good for us, a Mission Nutrition 10 Day Challenge, and a Healthy Journal to track the foods we eat.

Kids Night In also includes a few little extra activity ideas on the back of the itinerary to keep your learning going.

Luckily for me, both of my kids pretty much live off of fruit and aren't into things like sugary sodas. That's not to say that they don't get sweets (which Kids Night In makes sure you know is ok in moderation!) and the occasional taste of Cream Soda, but overall they are healthy kids. They also enjoy playing outside and running around, so exercise is a definite every day occurrence here.

If you haven't jumped in yet, now is your chance! You have until the 13th to get the next box in time, and this theme is something kids love learning about so much! Click my affiliate link here: Community Helpers

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

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Kids Night In - Stars and Stripes

Stars & Stripes - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

It has been a hot minute since I have done a written post about our Kids NightIn box  experience as I have been trying out the whole You Tube review scene, so I figured I’d step back and write up another review for the latest box, Stars and Stripes!

As always, you cannot order this particular box, but you can go ahead and set yourself up to get August’s box here: Rise Up

One of the questions I am asked most about this subscription service is the age recommendation. The website says it is good from about 3 and up, but there is still a lot that is over my 3-year old’s head. My oldest who is 5 is usually the one completing the activities because my youngest just loses interest, and that is totally ok, he still learns a bit from what he does stick through. That’s not to discourage you from purchasing if your child is 3 or 4, you can still enjoy these activities and learning with them!

We had a lot of fun with this latest theme learning about the United States of America, why we celebrate the 4^th of July, sending our troops a big thanks for what they do, and all that freedom stands for.

  

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Included book - L is for Liberty
Flag pen

USA hat for coloring

Beads for necklace

Markers

Supplies for ice pops

Scavenger hunt

Songs

Stickers

Balloon game

Blow up globe

Snack

Matching game

Paper

Envelope

US Presidents bookmark
(there is SO much, if I missed anything, you’ll see it in the picture!)

Stars and Stripes Themed Menu:

As with all Kids Night In boxes, there’s always a cute little recipe card included with a recipe from Marina Makes Blog. This month was themed perfectly! A little bit of tweaking, but my kids LOVED the Stars & Stripes Watermelon Pizza. So much so that they keep asking for it over and over! We used homemade whipped cream with strawberries and blueberries on our pre-sliced watermelon slices. This was great for them to be able to make their own personal slice, and they ate it all up.

Activities:

My favorite part of these boxes is the included books, they are always so fun and informational, and we have yet to receive a terrible book—and I’m a teacher so trust me when I say this! I mentioned the age recommendation above and the book is really where Kids NightIn shines because in the itinerary they have pre and post reading questions listed by age group, starting at Pre-k all the way through 6^th grade. It helps to get you and your child thinking deeper about the book, which I just love for my son who is about to enter Kindergarten. L is for Liberty was great for learning about the Statue of Liberty, my son is really hoping to visit and learn more someday.

The art activity in this month's Kids Night In box was decorating a USA hat…which my son was obsessed with and wouldn’t take off, as well as making your own drawing of the Statue of Liberty. I am impressed each time with how well my son is able to draw these by himself while watching the video tutorials, he pauses when he needs to and I love that the video goes step by step. After this we made the USA keepsake necklace. I told my son he could make it however he wanted, but he chose to make it like the picture. He also refused to take this off. I hope we can still find it when next 4^th of July rolls around!

The box also included a Thank You letter to write to our troops thanking them for their service. Kids Night In will be sending these off once they receive them! We skipped the letter writing as it would be a little difficult for my 5 year old, but we did talk about how they fight for our freedom, as well as what freedom means. Kids Night In also included a list of donations that are typically appreciated by our troops just in case anyone is feeling extra thankful.

Another activity I skipped and will revisit is the punch ball balloon games. Why did I skip? Well, only because my kids have been a little out of sorts since returning from vacation and chill games are where we’re at right now. Ha! I will keep this one in my pocket for a special day, but there are 4 different games that can be played with the punch balloon, I am looking forward to pulling this one out!

Both of my boys have been really into matching games these last couple weeks, so the Lady Liberty Matching Game was perfect for them. It’s even a great game to play by yourself for some quiet time.

My 5-year-old loved the scavenger hunt sheet. He had to find certain colored objects, as well as different shapes, something American made, something historical, etc. He got hung up on the number 7 for a while, but we were able to complete the scavenger hunt without even leaving the comfort of our own home---it has been hot!

Oh, I almost forgot about the ice pops! The kids were able to mix their own ice pops (Kool-Aid singles) and freeze them. They were almost as excited about the left over mixed Kool-Aid as they were when it was finally time to try their “homemade” ice pops. These were a little messy, especially the red one, but we have learned that it’s always better to eat ice pops outside anyways!

Sounds like a box packed with a ton of fun, huh? There are some homeschool mama’s in our Kids Night In group who use these boxes in their weekly sessions which I think is a great tool for learning. 

I'd love for you to get involved and try out the August box, I think you and your kids will enjoy it and the Rise Up theme sounds perfect for heading back to school. You have until the 13th to get yours in time, so click my affiliate link here: Rise Up

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

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Kind Heart - Kids Night In Box

Kind Heart - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

There were so many great aspects about the February Kids Night In box, Kind Heart, that made it the perfect follow up to Valentine's Day. From teaching kids what it means to love and be loved, to taking care of our Earth and their very own heart. Kids Night In Box even teamed up to raise money for the American Heart Association!

If you're heart is set on trying out a box this month, the order cutoff is March 13th to get the Mission Space box!

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Included book - Love from The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Plastic cup to decorate
Gelatine
Bird seed
Heart cookie cutter
Baked apple snack
2 Heart Hero wrist bands
American Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge
Magic Black Hearts with drawing tool
Jump rope

Kind Heart Themed Menu:

You can't go wrong with fruit or yogurt, at least with my kids who LOVE both. This month had a delicious yogurt bowl snack complete with kiwi, blueberries, honey, and any other fruits you may want to add. The kids could help make a blueberry honey sauce to pour over the yogurt bowls...how yummy does that sound?! This is a recipe to stick in your recipe box!

Activities:

The first activity was reading the included book and asking comprehension questions. The itinerary lists pre-reading questions and post reading questions, they also sort these by grade level making it simple to adapt to your child's age. Questions such as "how can you show love to people around you" were a great followup to this cute story from Eric Carle.

The art activity in this month's Kids Night In Box was decorating a "magic" heart to create an ornament to gift to someone you care about. My oldest decided to make his for our neighbor (a little girl who is close to him in age). Teaching my kids the importance of telling the people close to you that you love them or appreciate them is something I want them to always remember.

I think their favorite activity though was making the DIY bird feeder. This is where the gelatine and heart cookie cutter came in handy! The gelatine mixture held the bird seeds in place, and made it easy to press into the heart shape and attach a string. Once cooled and hardened, the heart can be popped out of the cutter and hung outside for birds to enjoy. Nature note: cardinals LOVE sunflower seeds, so the bird seed that came in the box was perfect! We hung it from a tree outside the window so we can't wait to see if any birds stop by for a snack!

Because this month's theme also talked about heart health, we had a lot of fun using the included jump rope. Our 5 year old wasn't too great at it, but we all got a ton of exercise with it. The itinerary does include a few games that can be played with the jump rope, including a math game, that can be done with 2 or 3 people. These can easily be adapted for age appropriateness. After we were done jump roping, the baked apple chips was the perfect snack for a pick me up. There was also a cup to decorate, but we did this activity separately.

I'd love for you to get involved and try out the March box, I think you and your kids will enjoy it and the space theme just sounds so cool! You have until the 13th to get yours in time, so click my affiliate link here: Mission Space.

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

Stand Tall - Kids Night In

Stand Tall - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

"We all can dance," he said, "when we find music that we love." 

I love love loved the theme for January's Kids Night In box, Stand Tall. Teaching kids that we are all different, but we can all accomplish big things if we feel confident enough to do them and don't allow others to knock us down. Now you can't get your hands on this themed box right now, but you might want to snag February's Kind Heart box, this will be the perfect family activity for Valentine's! The order cutoff is February 13th!

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Included book - Giraffes Can't Dance

Art Paper

Paint/paint brush
Markers
Star Stickers
Cut out game cube
Animal mask (with drawing tool and elastic)
Animal Crackers

Stand Tall Themed Menu:

This month featured a fun, cute, and healthy snack for the kiddos, Gerland the Giraffe Bananas and Tropical Toast! Using bananas, green apples, and a few other ingredients, you could make little giraffes in the grass...so cute! And the tropical toast used peanut butter, bananas, and shredded coconut. We always have bananas and apples in our house, so even without using all of the ingredients, the giraffes were a huge hit.

Activities:

The first activity was reading the included book and asking comprehension questions. Hellllloooo, perfect for my teacher soul! The itinerary lays out questions by age/grade level which is awesome, but of you it doesn't hurt to throw in your own as well. We love this book and think it sends a great message, so asking questions after reading or even during reading helps little ones to understand the meaning a little more.

The art activity was creating a handprint giraffe. This is where the art paper, markers, and paint came in handy. I love when Kids Night In uses step by step video instructions for their art projects..it makes following along so much easier for my son rather than seeing it all laid out in front of him. We haven't completely finished this part of the box yet so no pictures, but trust me when I say that it will be adorable!

My favorite activity for this month was setting our own goals. We started by discussing Gerald and how at the beginning of the story he felt like he wasn't good enough at dancing, but by the end he was confidently grooving along. Then we talked about and wrote down activities that my son is good at, and what he could work on to get better. We also discussed what he needed to do in order to become better at those activities. Some things he said he was good at were running, riding his scooter, and somersaults. Some things he needs to still work on were riding his 2-wheel bike, and playing piano. We decided that paying attention and practice are key to helping him improve his skills. Once you succeed at those activities that need work, place a star sticker next to it to show your success!

The last activity was decorating the animal mask and cutting/pasting a die template into a cube. These are created for a game using the music on the Kids Night In website. You roll the die you made, and find the music that matches the animal, and then pretend to be that animal and dance your heart out! Obviously a kid favorite..games + music is a real winner around here!

The included book was Giraffes Can't Dance by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees. This is actually a book we already own because it houses a great message, but we weren't upset to end up with a second copy! If you haven't read this book yet, it's about a Giraffe named Gerald who tries to dance but ends up mocked by the other animals and feels pretty discouraged. He runs into a wise cricket who gives him some great advice, and Gerald is able to overcome his fear and be a great dancer. My takeaway message is that you can do whatever you set your mind to. You may do it a little differently than the people around you, but you do it just as well in your own way.

I'd love for you to get involved and try out the February box, I think you and your kids will enjoy it! You have until the 13th to get yours in time, so click my affiliate link here: Kind Heart.

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

Spooktacular Night - Kids Night In

Spooktacular Night - Kids Night In Review

*This post does contain affiliate links. I do make commission when any purchases are made using these links.

I know Halloween has passed, but since October was such a busy month, we just finished up enjoying our Kids Night In Spooktacular Night Box! If you've been following along, I don't need to tell you how great this subscription service is, but I will give you all the details on this Halloween box and how you can sign up to get the November themed - Give Thanks box. If you are new around here, check out this link, it give you all the information you need to decide if this service is right for you..and for my regulars--don't forget, they have a Date Night In, as well as Faith options!

As always, I love starting these post with going over what all is included in each box. It varies from month to month as the activities are different, but they pack these things with such awesome supplies! some of the items are ones that can be used long after the box is done such as markers, or crayons.

What's Included:

Night In Itinerary

Pack of tissues (for ghosts!)

Balloon

Markers

Soft Pastels

Ribbon

Streamer

Tissue paper

Drawing Paper x2

Plastic hand glove

Corn cob/popping bag

Buildable foam haunted house

Ten Timid Ghosts by Jennifer O'Connell

Seriously, so many fun things! They also include a themed menu, I don't always get to the menu but it always sounds yummy. This month's menu was so great for Halloween, and even though my kids tore through the box before I could even see it, they are perfect to save for next year.

Spooktacular Themed Menu:

The Great Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Spooky Chocolate Covered Oreos

The cheese ball is exactly what you're thinking, a yummy mixed cheese ball perfect for a cracker/pretzel platter. And the Oreos...maybe we won't wait until next year...

And of course, in Kids Night In fashion, a yummy snack is included in the box. This box had Popcorn On The Cob! We placed the corn cob into a popping bag, placed it into the microwave, and listened as the kernels popped, turning to yummy popcorn. My oldest son thought it was the neatest thing ever! And of course, we filled up the creepy glove hand for an afternoon snack.

Activities:

The first thing my son wanted to do was the streamer obstacle course. We changed it up a bit because we wanted to do it outside in the gorgeous weather, so we didn't hang the tissue ghosts from the course. I used lawn chairs and a play set to wrap the streamers around, and created a little space for both kids to crawl and step through. They played and squeezed through the streamers until they just wouldn't hold anymore! I did make them the tissue ghosts while they were busy in the obstacle course, and after carrying them through a few rounds, they ended up just throwing them in the air repeatedly. Hey, it's entertainment!

Another activity was to use tissue paper to make a "dancing" ghost with the included balloon. Decorate and cut the tissue paper to look like a ghost, fill the balloon with air, rub it on your head to get it ready with static, and then watch as the tissue paper ghost dances from the static of the balloon. Clearly my boys thought this game was hilarious and could have done this for hours if I would have let them. There was also a foam haunted house that could be put together, it did require the use of hot glue (we tried school glue but it just wouldn't stick) so many of those pieces had to be put on by me because hello hot glue! But both kids loved watching and they helped to pop out the foam pieces from their backing.

The biggest activity was creating by drawing and coloring, the haunted house from the included story Ten Timid Ghosts. My kids are still young, so they definitely needed assistance. If I had let them go for it, you may have gotten a single rectangle from my oldest, and s bunch of random scribbles from my youngest. Normally I wouldn't care about "perfection", but my oldest knew what the picture was supposed to turn out as and randomness wouldn't have flown. This activity did take patience, as well as markers and pastels, but kids love art so it was a win.

We also enjoyed the included book. We actually already had this one in our Halloween arsenal, but getting a second one just meant my kids didn't have to share, ha! It is a simple and silly Halloween book about a witch moving in and scaring away the 10 ghosts who already live there. You count down as each ghost is scared away, and the pages are fun to read and rhyme. Eventually the ghosts realize that something is up and they aren't going to let a little witch take over their house. We read this book so many times, my oldest even started rhyming along with me!

I think that covers everything! These boxes are seriously packed full of goodies and we just love them. I am really looking forward to getting November's box and teaching my children to be thankful. You shave until the 13th to get yours in time too, so click my affiliate link here: Give Thanks

I did receive this box for free as part of the Night In Boxes Affiliate Program, and will make a commission if you decide to purchase a subscription using any of the links listed in this post. As always, I appreciate the support and all opinions are my own!