I’m so excited to write this Think Outside review. I have been raving about the Think Outside Box for a while now in our newsletter, but I wanted to make a full review here so you know exactly what it’s about.
*Affiliate Disclosure: I do have affiliate links in this blog post. If you purchase something from my link, I will receive a small commission from the sale. This comes at no cost to you but is paid by the company. I do not take becoming an affiliate with any company lightly. If I am, it’s because I believe in the company and their product.
Overview of THiNK OUTSiDE Box
THiNK OUTSiDE is a monthly subscription box with the goal to get your kids outside! There are two different boxes to choose from. The THiNK OUTSiDE Junior box is geared towards ages 4-7 and the THiNK OUTSiDE box is geared towards ages 7-16+. The goals of the boxes are to foster education and curiosity outside.
THiNK OUTSiDE boxes were created by parents who were reminiscing on how much time they played outside as kids and how to foster that with their own children. The products are tested with their children to ensure that the boxes you receive each month are both parent and child-approved.
Their mission is “To instill a love of the outdoors in children and provide them with the knowledge and skills to improve their confidence and appreciation of the natural world.”
How Does the Subscription Work?
THiNK OUTSiDE has a subscription for everyone. The worst is to want to subscribe to something but not find an option that works for you. There are monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual subscription options and with all of the subscriptions, you can cancel at any time. The larger subscription, the larger the savings. All of the subscriptions start with an intro kit to have a foundation for learning.
If you have multiple subscriptions at one address (ie: junior box and regular box), there is an automatic $2 savings per box.
The subscription options make it a great gift idea for kids!
What’s Included in Each Box?
The first box of all subscriptions is an intro box that has the following items:
- Canvas satchel to carry your gear
- Watch
- Emergency Tag & Carabiner
- Outdoor bingo cards & dry-erase crayons
- Explorer pass
- Fun pen
- Educational & activity booklet
- Explorer badge
- Flashcards
- Welcome letter from their new friends Sam, Stella, Santos, and Sky
Here’s the unboxing of the first box that is included in all subscriptions.
After the first box, each month, boxes are based on a monthly themed question. A question may be “What is a mammal?” or “What does it mean to be resourceful?” The questions are geared around the “whys” and “whats” that kids often ask about the natural world. The great thing about the junior box is that the focus is narrow which allows the child to build off of it, but not become overwhelmed with too broad of a subject.
Each box includes:
- 16-page booklet with education, activities, and stories
- Toys and gear to practice new skills
- Postcard with fun facts and activities
- A new outdoor bingo card
- Flashcards
- Activity checklist for the month
- Outdoor badge to add to your explorer pass
THiNK OUTSiDE Box Review: Pros and Cons
I was so excited to test out the THiNK OUTSiDE Junior Box as I have two little ones who fall into the 4-7-year-old category. When the box came, my 4-year-old was so excited to go through the box and explore the different activities. As a family, we prioritize time outside every day. Even if it’s raining (which it does a lot here) we try to get out, or time our time outside around the least rainy parts of the day. While the kids create their own fun and games with themselves or the neighbors, it is really fun to have activities that you can pick up and go with that center around a certain theme that you can build on at other times.
Pros
- The focus of the box is to get kids learning outside and that is a goal that is so needed in our society where kids are spending more and more time indoors.
- The boxes focus on multiple types of learning. There are activities for every kind of learning. There are activities for the visual, spatial, and tactile learners in each box.
- The subscription lasts for 2 years! That’s two years of new material that you will get each month. Two years also provides a good stopping point to assess if a subscription is still serving our needs.
- Like I mentioned above, the boxes are developed by parents and tested by kids, with much input from educators and other important voices in learning. This process helps to provide a well-balanced box of materials that are not only educational but also fun!
- Regardless of the subscription you purchase, you can cancel anytime. Sometimes our kids need change, or our structure of learning, and having the flexibility to cancel, makes this a stress-free decision.
- It makes a great gift! Whether it’s a one-time box or a year subscription, giving the gift of exploring the outdoors is a priceless gift for a child!
Cons
- The Junior Box is created for 4-7-year-olds. For the pre-reader, the box will require an adult to assist them in reading. If you were hoping for a box that could be done independently (for a pre-reader), this won’t be it. With that said, getting outside with your child to help them learn and explore is beneficial for the parent and child!
- There are multiple loose items that can easily be lost. If you have a child that is not the best at keeping things tidy, consider creating a folder or a special box to help store the monthly items like the bingo cards, the badges, and other loose items.
How to Use THiNK OUTSiDE Boxes as Homeschoolers
As a homeschooling family, this box can be a great supplemental tool for learning. Depending on the child, I think a younger-aged kindergartener or first grader could also bump up to the regular box and find it to be a good fit. We have found our older kids can help the younger ones with their box and they all enjoy the material.
The box covers integrate many subjects including science, reading, math, and even foreign language! The multidisciplinary structure aligns well with natural learning.
Conclusion
I hope this review helps you to explore the outdoors more and try out THiNK OUTSiDE! I’m going to be writing a Think Outside Box review on their main box for ages 7-16+ soon, so stay tuned! Please let me know below in the comments if you’ve tried THiNK OUTSiDE and your thoughts!
References:
Think Outside Junior Program. (2021). Think Outside. https://www.thinkoutsideboxes.com/junior-program/
