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Saturday, October 11, 2014

Review: Cooper and Kid Subscription Box (Part 2)



The time has come for the final entry in my 2 part review for the Cooper and Kid Flight Kit. I have to say that my daughter and I have both really enjoyed the time we have spent together as well as the learning experience that this kit has provided us. She would greet me at the door every day when I got home from work asking if we could do another craft together today. The sheer joy and hopefulness on her face and in her eyes was worth every second of it.

As mentioned in my PART ONE review, this subscription box comes quarterly. I recieved this box in late May, and while we could have done up all the crafts in a much shorter time span, I think we both enjoyed dragging it out and having plenty of together time through the summer. Being Active Duty Military, with a very busy schedule sometimes it can be hard to find the time to come up with things to do together. Cooper and Kid made it so easy! 

After working through the projects mentioned in Part 1, the next item that we worked on together was the Flugan. These fun little balsa wood planes proved to quite a challenge in dexterity for my 5-year-old daughter. After hacking up 2 of the 3 animal templates I decided to take the lead and cut out the last one so that we could get at least one good plane.




After gathering the needed materials I proceeded to cut out the template for the pieces of the plane.

Once the pieces were cut out, Hailey helped me to trace them on to the balsa wood sheets that were provided in the kit. I then used a utility knife to cut out the various parts of the plane and proceeded to assemble them.

We ultimately decided to leave off the animal sheets that were provided because we both ended up butchering them. The cuts required were quite intricate and after spending 30 minutes being the perfectionist that I sometimes am I started to rush myself and chopped one the wings up when the scissors slipped.


Hey… It may not be perfect but it still flew great! Even after totally butchering all the themed bodies and botching some of the cuts on the balsa wood causing cracks, splits, and broken pieces we were still able tape this guy together and make him fly!

In the midst of it all we had our own little miracle. I would like to take a moment to officially welcome the newest addition to the RCH Family, Penelope!

Having Cooper and Kid kit at the ready gave me and, now Big Sister, Hailey plenty to do together to keep her from feeling left out while mom and baby adjusted to being home the first couple weeks. 

Now to move on with the review...

There really isn’t a whole lot left to cover other than the fact that there is! 

First off, I have to say that the online resources that Cooper and Kid provide are excellent! 

When you follow the link provided with the box, it starts off with a little playfulness. “Do you choose door #1 or door #2?” One link leads you to "How Things Fly", a plethora of content giving you the tools to better teach your child about flight as you progress through the box. The second link is the “Just For Dads” section.

How Things Fly
The first link on the page is a music video created by Recess Monkey giving you tips on flying. The next umpteen links they provide give you everything you or your child could want to know about how things fly, aerodynamics, plane construction, even a section on the history of flight. It really is a great resource for any information you need on the topic.

Just For Dads
This section is loaded with cool content such as a Popular Mechanics article on how to survive a plane crash, information on how to get your pilot’s license, and a recipe for some blue kamikaze shots. They really did leave no stone unturned when compiling their digital content. I can’t stress to you just how much love and time they spent putting this stuff together.

Hailey and I both sighed looking into an empty box as we came to the realization that the fun was over… 

Or was it? 

On the opposite side of the box is a pattern for a bi-plane! A giant one at that! 

I used the kitchen shears to cut the pieces out and the box cutter to cut the slits for the wings and such. 

I used this time to teach my daughter about the concept of bi-planes and just how innovative the design was at the time, using the resources found on Cooper & Kid's website. After all, they were our first fighter planes equipped with machine guns and are even still in use today as private aircraft and even used on farms as crop dusters!




There’s even a cool little pilot in the cockpit.

Working with this one Cooper & Kid box was a wonderful experience for my daughter and I. It allowed us to bond through play and exploration as well as teaching her how things fly. Through and through, Cooper and Kid has a prize winning product in their subscription box service. I can’t wait to see what they do next.  This huge amount of bounty comes out four times a year, more than enough to keep fathers and their kids busy playing and learning together throughout the year.


6 comments:

  1. these is a great review these kits for kids are pretty great in keeping them active with crafts...

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  2. these kits are a great way tho keep kids active in crafts thanks for sharing these reviews with us

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  3. What a great little project!

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  4. What a fun project to do with your kids. I bet they loved flying them! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  5. Looks like fun! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  6. This looks very entertained for a kiddo. Heck, it would be fun for me too. I will check this out. -craftyone

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