Art on Demand

When the kids turned two, we were gifted an array of great new toys, which also had me pulling my hair out trying to find places to put them. The philanthropist in me suggested we gift our previously “loved” toys to those needier than than we. The sentimentalist suggested that we hang on to these items should we decide to have another child, or for our future cousins.

This seems to be a common dilemma for those fortunate and perhaps unfortunate enough to know what NYC living is like, even in the most spacious of apartments. Typically, there are no unfinished basements and hidden attics to pack away unused items. It is to grandmother’s house they go, or the garbage.

We did receive one gift that was especially cognizant of the spacial constraints of city kids, and particularly valuable after rainy weeks like the one we just had.

Koala Crates are monthly art projects geared for kids three to four years old, sent directly to your door in a slender, easy-to-store brown box. The crafts, while slightly advanced for my twins’ two-year-old hands, were both educational and engaging. There were stickers and pipe cleaners and Velcro, all items guaranteed to interest even the weariest young artists.

For this most recent project, we put together a barnyard, complete with farm animal finger puppets and a vegetable garden. The entire craft folded up nicely within the housing of the red barn, and now sits adorably like art on our playroom shelf. We also received an activity book and a pamphlet on farming to help inform my kids – who I am pretty sure think fruit grows in the supermarket.  I love multi-purpose projects.

I want to highlight the WE in this craft, because it is most definitely not something Bryce and Brody could accomplish on their own. However, it was a great exercise in following directions and teamwork for us all. Plus, I was able to throw away the box when we were done.