Raddish Kids Subscription Box 1

For the longest time I have been trying to find the right gift balance between toys that my children get excited about and experiences that will enrich their lives and leave my home just a little less cluttered.  I really, really love the excitement and joy shown on my boys' faces when they get a new toy that they've fantasized about playing with, I love the screams and squeals on Christmas morning and birthdays, but part of me dies inside every time I see a toy ::cough cough Lego set cough cough:: with a thousand little pieces that will become one more thing I have to pick up.  I love for them to receive experiences, but they are at such a tender age that I don't want to rob them of that sheer joy because they don't yet really understand what receiving an experience is.  I feel that there is a fine line to be walked between giving them the things that excite them giving them experiences they will enjoy on a different day. 

This year, I decided that I wanted to try a subscription box of some sort for Michael for Christmas.  It is something tangible that he can open, but its also a learning project and time spent doing something together.  Its something that doesn't really take up space in my home and its something he can be proud of once he's completed it.  I scrolled through countless blogs and reviews of some of the different boxes I was considering.  It came down to a Lego subscription box and a kids cooking box.  The boy LOVES to help cook and pretend to cook (he is also getting a play kitchen with lots of play food from Santa...shhh...don't tell)!  He's also Lego obsessed (if you couldn't guess), but I ultimately decided on the cooking box just because something about renting Legos weirds me out even though they get sterilized.  I compiled a list of the top gifts for both of my boys and I sent it to my MIL so that she had a good idea of the kinds of things they were yearning for this year and being a cook herself, she picked out a 6 month Raddish Kids subscription for Michael.  

It came in the mail last night while I was putting Parker to bed and upon seeing his name, Michael ripped the box open in a fury! When I asked him if he knew what it was he thought it was play food because it came with a child sized rolling pin and apron.  Once I explained it to him he was thrilled and started gathering all of our cooking tools to make the first of the three recipes.  It also came with a cooking craft idea and table discussion topics, pretty cool!  

After I had my coffee this morning, we went out grocery shopping for some of the ingredients that we needed.  The recipe card has pictures of necessary ingredients and cooking tools and can be checked off with a dry erase marker.  Michael excitedly ran through the store grabbing items from his list, only needing me to direct him to the right aisle.

Here are some pictures from Chef Michael's kitchen!

First Raddish Kids box!

The recipe we worked on today

Going over what he needs

Going through the groceries for his ingredients

He got all set up on the counter before we started

Grating cheese.  This task proved a little difficult with the broken collarbone

Thing 2 didn't want to miss out on anything

16oz of grated cheese

Boiling the noodles

Making the cheese sauce

Catching some cartoons while he waits for it to thicken

We had to switch pots because we didn't have room for all of the cheese in the other one!

Mixing in the noodles

Very pleased with himself!  The dish is baking!

Not thrilled with the heat wave that came out of the oven when he opened it

DONE! "I'm gonna go sit and play the iPad, you can bring me my food."

The finished product!  It was delicious!

Tasting his hard work

Thumbs up! Mikey likes it! (see what I did there...)

Lunch is served

Overall, I think this is great subscription box.  Its educational, it teaches several cooking skills, it teaches cooking safety, it facilitates table discussion, encourages eating as a family, and is simple enough for preschool aged kids (with some assistance).  We encountered a few struggles because of Michael's broken collarbone, he was unable to lift certain pots and dishes and grating the cheese was a bit of a struggle due to the lack of strength on his right side.  He did lose interest at a few points just because of how long the food prep took.  For example, I would suggest buying a block of one of the cheeses to grate yourself and buy the other cheese already grated (if your child is on the younger side).  The recipe we tried was delicious and we still have 2 more to do!  We are making snowcapped cinnamon rolls tomorrow!  Stay tuned!

If you wish to sign up for Raddish Kids please consider using our referral code 6cjbcm. 

Do you have any favorite subscription boxes? I'd love to hear about them!