Let’s face it.

There are only so many hours in a day.

We cannot possibly get everything done or complete our to-do list.

There is just not enough time!

I am all about planning and being intentional, especially when it comes to parenting.

There are so many activities I want to do with my children, but sometimes time gets in the way.

Do you ever find yourself in the same boat?

For about two years now, I have become a subscription box supporter.

Especially ones that send me “ready to do” activities with my kids.

While on this search, I have learned that not all subscription boxes for kids are created equal (and I have tried a lot!)

Our new favorite subscription box is Surprise Ride.

My Top 5 Reasons I love Surprise Ride:

1. They provide every single material you need. I mean everything: glue, a plate for the paint, paint brush, paint. If you need it for the activity, it is in the box.
2. The themes are fantastic! Both my sons and daughter love the crafts and activities. They are timely and relevant to the season as well.
3. The crafts are quality. We have kept and used the crafts, such as the plant we watched grow or the treasure box that my daughter keeps her jewelry in.
4. The box is just FUN. Fun for parents and kids alike!
5. The whole family can be involved. We have been able to do our boxes with all the kids together. It is a Mini Unit Study that we can do together, and I did not have to prep it!

Let me give you a taste into this box we received last month.

Activity #1:

Create a Treasure Box.

This super cute activity even came with a disposable apron.

We first painted the box and let it dry.

Once dry, the kids decorated the box and placed the treasure inside.

Snack:

What better snack for a Treasures box than Pirate’s Booty?

As usual, the snack choice was a highlight for my kids. They have recently been eating me out of house and home.

Book:

Puppy Pirates: X Marks the Spot

Puppy Pirates is an entire series of books! My big boys are all about series so I know we will be reading all about the Puppy Pirates and their adventures.

Activity #2:

Time for a treasure hunt!

The map had two sides.

I let the kids come up with their hunt, first.

Then, I sent them on a Treasure Hunt designed by mom!

The hunt was an absolute blast!

Ready…Set…

GO!!!

Maybe the cat has a clue??

Sometimes, you need a quick coffee break…

And then, the treasure was found and admired!

The kids played this game of treasure hunt all afternoon, which was perfect for the rainy weather we had this day.

So busy mom, what are you waiting for?

Surprise Ride Box provides entertainment, learning, and most importantly, all the supplies for a fun-filled afternoon.

Make lasting memories with your kids.

Be intentional about doing activities with your kids.

And let Surprise Ride handle the ideas and supplies!

     Guest Post Written by Christia Colquitt, Creator of Faith Filled Parenting

     For more information, please visit http://faithfilledparenting.com/

     Interested in writing a guest blog for Surprise Ride? Send your topic idea

     to support@surpriseride.com.

Review by “The Binder Ladies” blog

http://www.thebinderladies.com/2014/11/surprise-ride-monthly-box-of-adventure.html#.VL_egmTF9TM

Surprise Ride is just that, a surprise!  These amazing monthly boxes were founded by sisters who truly enjoyed their childhood with their father, and all the things they did with him. They are now making this happen for children all over!  Family togetherness, education, creativity and fun make up each of these unique boxes. Every Mom or Dad can respect their three basic principles:
1. Kids are brilliant.
2. Curiosity fuels success.
3. Everyone loves getting a surprise in the mail.

I, (Mandy), was sent a Surprise Ride Penguin Box to check out and review.  Now I’ll be the first to admit, my kids get bored easily. Especially now when the weather is wet and cold, and their mom (myself) is afraid of the flu season. So what happens? They lose interest in being creative and energetic quickly, so I needed something to help feed their creativity fast!

Surprise Ride contends that this is a “monthly box of adventure.” I’ll have to agree! This month was March of the Penguins! A full length National Geographic book gave so much information and an exclusive inside look at how penguins live and all about their environment,  while a two page information booklet gave you all kinds of neat facts on penguins!  The boys loved learning about these neat, arctic creatures, and continued to ask questions while being enthralled with the answers that the book gave us.  It was really fun reading these together, as a family.

One neat treat to the box, was a popcorn ball. Now, I was super stoked to try a bite of this ball, especially since the Popcorn Factory made it, however, my kids ate the entire thing…in the middle of the night. By morning, they were excited to tell me how delicious it was. No shame.

One of the most amazing things that I would have NEVER thought of finding in our Surprise Ride Box was a fleece pillow DIY kit! It’s kind of like a tied fleece blanket, only a pillow! I really wanted to try this with the kids, but I got a little craft happy. While the boys were slumbering quietly, I put the pillow together and couldn’t believe how easy it was! Revenge for eating my popcorn ball, perhaps?  My oldest son LOVES this pillow, and he now refuses to sleep without it. He loves how soft it is, and especially loves the penguin on the front, since he’s now been educated in the life of penguins!

This box was truly an amazing experience, and we were left with the reminisce of a snowy Winter around penguins! It fed my kid’s imaginations, and fueled their minds for more learning! What I loved was that I could teach them, while I learned about some really fun stuff, myself.  It was so much fun! I am going to personally sign up for these monthly kits, and I know the boys are going to LOVE getting their surprises in the mail!  Prices are definitely worth the materials that are sent, because they are FULL of great products with a month’s worth of imagination, exploring and education.  I highly recommend these boxes! Not only Surprise Ride boxes creative genius, they are boxes full of learning, which makes it an amazing adventure, indeed.

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Review by “Our Family Nest” Youtube Channel. Click to watch!

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Review on “I Love My Kids” Blog

http://ilovemykidsblog.net/2014/09/surprise-ride-giveaway.html

Every parent dreads the phrase “I’m bored!”  Usually this phrase is uttered by my children in the whiniest voice possible, when I have just started cleaning, cooking, or taking care of another child.  I have come to learn that when children say they are bored, many times they want to learn something new.  They want a different type of activity and don’t know how to create it for themselves.  Kids are naturally curious and want to explore, and children learn best through play and creative exploration.  I try to keep a supply of activities and sensory learning tools on hand for boredom moments, but with a brand new baby, I was at my wits end trying to come up with activities to keep my kids learning.

When I was introduced to Surprise Ride, I knew it would be a great tool against those whiny, bored moments.  Surprise Ride was created by two sisters that struggled to find gifts for their nephews that fostered creative play.  They developed Surprise Ride as a full sensory, creative play experience for children ages 6-11.

Each box is full of themed activities, materials full of information, and a healthy snack.  Each Surprise Ride creates a perfect unit study.  In a unit study, a topic is not only read about, but learners use multiple avenues to interact with the topic.  With crafts, fun facts, toys that foster imaginative play, and snacks, children are able to become immersed in the topic.  This type of learning has been shown to increase knowledge retention and can lead to further curiosity on the topic.

Our box’s theme was POW-WOW and we learned all about Native American culture.  Inside we found:

The materials to make a dream-catcher, the materials to create a tribal drum, a rattle, a slide whistle, a worry stone, a booklet teaching us about each item and Native American culture, Pop’d Kerns (These were really delicious; I may have sneaked a few from the kids), and a North American Indian Activity Book

My daughter had a great time creating her very own dream catcher.  She needed a little guidance, but loved designing it herself.

My children worked together to assemble the tribal drum and held an impromptu powwow on the porch with the drum, slide whistle, and the rattle.  It rained shortly after the powwow, so maybe they successfully did a rain dance.

In the booklet, we were encouraged to come up with Native American names based on activities and animals that we liked.  Over the next couple of days, my children would come up with new names for themselves and each family member, based on the activities we were doing.

Even though Surprise Ride is designed for children ages 6-11, my children (ages 3 & 5) were interested and played for over 2 hours.  Each item in the box was made of high quality materials and was built to be played with and explored.  I loved that we were able to spend a whole afternoon exploring together without them ever asking to watch television or play with my phone.  My children have asked more questions about Native Americans, and we’ve continued to learn about their culture.

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Review by “Mommy’s Block Party” Blog

http://www.mommysblockparty.co/2014/08/a-monthly-surprise-with-surprise-ride.html

   Summer came to a quick close almost a month ago for us and we are already back to school. Wow, that was a fast summer and we crammed as much fun in as we could. Now that school is back in session, I still want the kids to have some fun in the evenings, between homework and all of our other activities. One thing they always love is getting mail. B gets the mail everyday after school and the first question is “Did I get anything?” Most days it is just unfun stuff like bills and junk mail, but on special occasions, we get fun surprises!

   Did you know that the American Indians invented Lacrosse? It was originally known as stickball and is a very popular sport played all over the US today.

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Review from “A Lucky Lady Bug” Blog:

http://www.aluckyladybug.com/2014/08/surprise-ride-monthly-box-review-and.html

The newest monthly club I was asked to review is Surprise Ride.  “Through carefully curated monthly activities, Surprise Ride aims to foster creativity in kids and expand their horizons. With a little hands-on learning and a lot of fun, we help kids exercise that special power of creative genius that empowers them to be tomorrow’s innovators. There’s no better way for kids to learn than by doing. There’s no better time than when they’re young and absorbing experiences like a sponge.”

We planted a separate set of flowers in the bowl and put our grass guy into a Styrofoam container which we were going to throw away.  I loved that this even came with snacks and the book to read on top of all the craft supplies.  The boys were very happy with this one and honestly enjoyed every part of it.

Recommendation:  I think this was both a fun and educational box that is on a great path to keep kids having fun while learning.  I thought that the amount of supplies packed into the box was well worth it although this is on the pricier end of monthly subscription boxes.

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Review by “Mommy Katie” blog

http://www.mommykatie.com/2014/07/adventure-delivered-to-your-door-for.html

With the summer here, I find that I am constantly on the look out for fun activities to keep the kids busy. Finding projects and putting them together, can take up a lot of time all in its own, so finding projects that are all ready put together for the kids is very ideal. Well, that is I what I got when we were sent the Surprise Ride box, delivered to our door for the kids!

This box is part of a subscription box, that comes to your door, ready to be used, and full of exploration and adventure for the kids every month! Each of the boxes are themed boxes, so each month, you and your kids, can work on a new set of projects that each box has in them, ready to go!

We received the June’s Surprise: Green Thumb, themed box, which came packed with fun gardening activities! The kids were able to make their own planter buddies, solve a bug mystery with the fun book, grow their own herb garden, design a fun wind chime, all while snacking on some delicious lentil chips!

I like that this box not only comes filled with the activities for the kids to do, but everything we need to complete these activities are in the box, ready to be taken on and enjoyed! I also liked, that in between some of the activities, we could stop for a snack break with the lentil chips while we read the awesome book, Ace Lacewing Bug Detective! Making this great subscription box for kids, a great gift to get your kids or any kids in your life!

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