Reviewed by
Roxie
It’s always an exciting day in our house when Penny’s Toucan box arrives. This time, I actually managed to grab it off the doormat without her seeing so I could hide it for a rainy day.
ToucanBox is a flexible subscription service for children aged 3-8 designed to keep their little hands busy and their curious minds racing through exciting art activities. Each letterbox-friendly box (personalised with your child’s name) contains two activity packs full of inspiration and materials, a colourful magazine with stickers and a very small surprise gift. This month Penny received a magnet.
Dinosaur Tail & Mask
Contents: fabric dino tail, foam stickers, foam spikes, double stick tape, a jumbo lolly stick, markers and a dinosaur mask template
Our first activity pack contained all the materials we’d need to create our own dinosaur tail and mask. Penny loves to dress-up, so this was a fantastic activity which encouraged hours of imaginative play. There was no grown-up assistance required (Penny is 4) and very little mess to tidy-up afterwards. I’m so glad a fabric tail was included and not a cardboard template and string to tie around her waist as I’m sure that would have fallen apart within minutes. The fabric tail is of decent quality and if Penny wants to take the foam shapes off and create another design with her materials the option is there. This activity inspired hours of role-playing and discussion!
On the instructions, there is also a T-rex colouring sheet which talks about the fact dinosaurs might have had feathers. Then simply asks the child to draw them on. It would have been nice if a little bag was included to give them another texture to play around with.
Nature Bag
Contents: seasonal bingo cards, markers, tissue paper, canvas bag, foil sheet, nature stencils and a paintbrush
This was one of the messiest and interesting activities we’ve received so far from toucanBox. Basically you use the dye from the tissue paper to transfer on to the canvas bag to create a beautiful watercolour-type of design. I think it’s a fantastic idea! There is also stencil to colour in. They could have simply provided a few tubes of paint but this was much more creative and fun. There are also nature scavenger hunt cards included which we can’t wait to take with us to the woods. There’s a different one for each season and I really appreciate how this will encourage Penny to observe and interact with nature. She loves collecting sticks, stones and leaves when we go out. I usually just bring a carrier bag with us but now she can collect and store them in her own nature bag.
By Evelyn 
