Little Hands Learning | Dino box review

“A monthly subscription box inspired by the Magic of Books”.

I found Little Hands Learning while scrolling through Instagram. I instantly fell in love with the concept of a box for kids, full of activities devised around one central theme. That is exactly what Little Hands Learning is – and it’s all about making learning fun and engaging. I had seen a post where Alex and Isabell (that’s the two founders!) were looking for brand reps and knew I had to put myself forward. Alfie’s becoming more interested in activities and will engage with them for a longer period of time, than he once did. And I love doing things together at the weekends – and don’t mind messy or crafty activities.

The important information

Each box contains everything you need to complete four activities – all inspired by the month’s chosen book. The boxes can be bought as a 1-month, 3-month, or 6-month subscription (I went with three months, which will renew ahead of December’s Christmas box – exciting!). And there's the choice of a single or sibling box, with a discount on the latter. You can also just purchase a one-off box, and these are usually the last few months’ boxes which are available. The website has all the details you'll need.

We are the dinosaurs – marching, marching

We hit the jackpot with our first box – a dinosaur theme if you hadn't already realised. The book was titled ‘Age of the Dinosaurs’, written by Johnny Marx, with illustrations by Christiane Engel. It's a pop-up book, full of facts and information about all different dinosaurs from Tyrannosaurus and Diplodocus to Triceratops and Ankylosaurus. This book was perfect for little hands with the pop-up pages and Alfie really engaged with it, talking about the different dinosaurs.

Dino fossil fun

The first activity we did together was the fossil making. The subscription box contained a packet of salt dough, which we mix with water before shaping into rounds – I did most of this one. We went outside and delved through the bucket of dinosaurs and sea creatures to create our imprints in the dough, before baking them in the oven. The different shapes were fun to explore once the clay had hardened. We then covered the fossils in sand and brushed them to uncover what had been lying underneath. It’s an activity we can do again and again – either using the fossils we have already created, or by making some new ones. The opportunities are endless.

Measuring dinosaur maths

The measuring dinosaur activity was also really fun. Alfie has been learning opposites at nursery, including big and small, and we used the same plastic animals to see which ones were the biggest. Again, it's an activity we can re-do, and instead of using the animals from the garden, we could always find objects around the house or even go out in the garden and collect natural resources to measure – especially now it’s autumn. We could also use the measuring tape provided for further maths-based activities at home.

Learning through imaginative play

The Jurassic Park was worth waiting for – even though it took nearly two weeks for our grass seeds to grow. I was really doubting my choice of jar to grow them in and was worried that they would never grow at all. I’m already considering decanting the grass into a small tray so that we can create a real-life home for all of Alfie’s dinosaurs. Which brings us nicely to the final activity in this month’s box: a dinosaur small world.

Alfie enjoyed making marks with animals and other utensils (mainly ones from his playdough sets) in the green thyme playdough, which of course, is very natural and smelt lush. It was another great excuse to get outdoors and collect some natural treasures – even if we only ventured in the back garden and then for a short walk around the estate.

Note to self: buy some small tuff trays for future fun.

As I mentioned in the intro, all the activities can be re-used, and as Alfie loves dinosaurs at the moment, we've been really making the most of our first box. The second one arrived last week, and I already can't wait to share that with you soon. I've linked the website above, but you can also follow Little Hands Learning on Instagram, where they often share reels of activities and experiments you can try with your child at home.

Love, Lucy xx