Project of The Month

Okay, it should be pretty obvious by now that I love to do craft and learning projects with my kids (well my son, the baby isn’t quite there yet).  I usually come across an idea or think of one and then have to use on hand items or make a special trip to the store.  Our projects aren’t very elaborate and are more crafty than a real project.  I was contacted about trying a new product/service called The Project of The Month Club.  It sounds great, a project every month…cool.  Boy was I completely underestimating it!  After getting contacted about it, I went to the site to see what it was before I agreed to try it.  I started a puddle of drool near my computer.  I don’t think I could have typed a response fast enough begging them to let me try it.  If you think I am exaggerating, click here to see the projects for yourself.

These projects are neat things like solid wood step stools, bird feeders, wood craft caddies, just to name a few.  Now these projects get mailed right to your door.  They are NOT just ideas, or blueprints.  These are project kits.  They come complete with instructions, nails, screws, paint, paint brushes, and the pieces of wood (completely mitered, sanded, cut and marked).  You can even choose the general category that fits your child the most.  These are the options on The Project of The Month Club website:

Mix-n-Match (boys and girls ages 3-8): This category offers a variety of projects to help children explore a little bit of everything. These projects are gender neutral and a few of the projects include nails and screws. All of these projects require adult supervision and interaction for the younger kids.

Master Builders (boys and girls 3-11): This category is all about building with lots of hammering, nailing, screwing, gluing and painting. The younger children will need lots of help with the "building" part of these projects. Once the projects are built, the younger kids can usually paint them and will really enjoy the finished project. The older kids will not need help on many of these projects, usually just an extra set of hands every once and a while. If you don't like wood, hammers, nails, screws and paint, this category is NOT for you.

Future Designers (girls ages 7+): This category is all about girls. If you don't like hammers and nails, you came to the right place. Some of these kits require more concentration and patience and are not recommended for younger girls. Most of them will require a little help from an adult getting started, but then keep the girls busy for a while.

Seismic Scientists (boys and girls ages 8+): This category is all about mixing, measuring, making slime and experimenting. If that sounds good, this is the category for you. These are mainly science kits and experiments made by others that we have tried and really like. Some of the younger kids can do these, but they will need LOTS of help with instructions and probably throughout the project from an adult. These projects involve reading the instructions and lessons, as well as the "hands on" parts.

Aspiring Artists (boys and girls ages 8+): This category is all about art and creativity. It provides exposure to a wide variety of projects, materials, and surfaces to let your Aspiring Artist create their own masterpieces. There will be lessons and samples to follow in some of the projects, but please don't mistake this for an Art Class. The Quarterly and 4-in-A-Row options require a little less creativity and allow for more "follow along" skills. The other projects involve more work on a "blank canvas" and ask your child to create. We will have ideas and samples available in the Kids' Clubhouse in case your young artist gets stuck. They will have fun exploring or refining their skills with water colors, chalk, colored pencils, acrylic paint and even charcoal.

I was sent a project to try to review.  They sent me the step stool project which is under the Mix and Match category.  We were so excited to try it (honestly I don’t really know which one of us was more excited).  This is what it looks like all packaged together.  It came with everything, but the hammer and screwdriver.

          

As we started putting it together, I thought “ oh, man.  I am going to have to measure and junk to get this level and not dumb looking.”  But I was wrong.  The pieces were marked where I needed to line them up at!  How great is that? 

              

This stool is very solid and sturdy.  I am completely impressed by the quality of materials provided by The Project of The Month Club.  The instructions were very easy to follow.  I managed to do it properly with an overzealous 3 year old and a 15 month screaming and trying to help, too.  Now that needs to be a reality show on the DIY Network.  We didn’t paint it, yet.  We are waiting until Christmas break to have a quiet project to do while the baby is napping.  You know me, I am thinking that it needs to be hand and foot prints all over.  Easy to do and easy to clean.  Much easier than letting my 3 year old go wild with all of the great colors they provided.  We really liked doing this project and I think this is an awesome product/service!

The Project of The Month Club has a wide variety of price plans.  Obviously the higher priced ones are the plans that have projects delivered each month, but the cost per project is lower than the others.  This is an extremely good idea as a gift for a child that lives far away.  It gets delivered to their door (as many times as you choose) and you know it will inspire and promote creativity.  Think about going in together with your family to buy a membership for a niece or nephew far away.  Their prices are reasonable, but splitting it up makes it down right cheap.  They also offer a 2-pack, 3-pack and family pack (5 projects) option.  While these options are obviously great for houses with multiple children, it is a great idea for those kids that have birthday and Christmas close together.  Those poor kids always get cheated.  Click here to see their pricing.  While the total is a bit intimidating, look over at the cost per project and you will see that this really is something you can probably afford.  You can really afford it when you use the links of this site and type in promo code “50852”, because The Project of the Month Club is offering you guys 10% off!!  If you would like to share this offer with non-readers, just use the promo code “50852” to get 10% off!  The Project of The Month Club is something that everyone can fit in there budget one way or another!  Trust me, you will LOVE it!!

Disclosure:  I did receive a free project to try in order to write an honest review.  The fact that I got this item for free did not influence my review in any way.  I was not compensated in any way for this review or it’s space on my site.  This promo code is a great offer from The Project of The Month Club.  It is not an affiliate link or code.  I will NOT receive anything from anyone purchasing through the links or with the codes.  These people are just offering a great deal. :-)