Little Hands Learning | Magic box review

Contents of a Little Hands Learning box, with activities and a book

“A monthly subscription box, inspired by the magic of books”

Regular readers of Love, Lucy xx will know that I subscribe to Little Hands Learning boxes for Alfie. Each box is centred around a specific theme, with a corresponding book and supplies to partake in four different activities. The boxes are loads of a fun, great for learning and development, and the things we get to do together are often things I wouldn't ordinarily think of doing at home – or out and about!

The theme for March’s box was magic – emphasised by the book ‘The Magic Crayon’. It was all about creativity and imagination. The main character Chloe has a magic crayon which when she uses it to draw, brings all her pictures to life. Remember that TV show Penny Crayon? Well, I guess it was a bit like that. Using all the best parts and characters from fairy tales, she encounters a witch, a giant, and so much more. Oh, and she turns her brother into a frog!

The activities included in this box were:

  • Craft a magic wand
  • Brew a magic potion
  • Create a scratch art character profile
  • Become a storyteller

Little boy sniffing a hessian bag of dried lavender

Hocus Pocus... I'll turn you into a frog!

The magic potion was so much fun and it's something we could easily replicate at home again – just replacing the beetroot powder with some food colouring. Alfie brewed up his potion with lots of different items He started with some of the rainbow rice (from the previous box) and some dried foliage we had lying around from a wreath (which still needs to be put in the bin), as well as the beetroot powder, dried lavender and cinnamon provided in the Little Hands Learning box. The mixture went from a murky brown to a purple colour, and once the pixie dust was added (as well as some extra bicarb for good measure), it bubbled and fizzed up. Alfie loved it.

The magic wand activity was similar to something we'd recently done at a forest school party – and much like then, it was down to me to create the wand. Alfie, obviously inspired by the box and the book, also keeps using a pencil from a party bag as a magic wand. He makes up little spells and rhymes, pointing at things around the house… I love how imaginative he is!

Finished story board, with a crayon and pen

Story time – are you sitting comfortably?

I'll be totally honest; I was really excited by the storyboard game. I thought Alfie would love it. A chance to be creative and imaginative – and he loves role play and telling stories. But it took us three attempts to get this activity done and by the end of it he requested I wrote random (read: silly) things on the dice like “bottle” and “eating Oreos” – hence the story we've come up with. Our story also ended quite abruptly, but we’ll definitely have to try it out again. He loved rolling the dice, finding out what would happen next, and told me throughout what to write.

When I asked what the story should be called, he didn't say anything and just took the pen off me. Without me saying anything or even supporting him with spelling or a cue of any kind, he wrote “I love you”. So cute – it made my heart melt.

Rainbow scratch art pictures - of a lion, and dinosaur

Scratch it and see

We also did the scratch art together – and it couldn’t have been any less related to the storyboard. Alfie decided he wanted to draw a dinosaur and asked me to attempt a lion. The rainbows colours coming through the black was really exciting and we never knew what colour would be next. We should do more scratch art together. It took me back to school days and I remember several times making a DIY version with oil pastels – especially around firework night. It’s such an easy activity that we could redo and one that will be enjoyed again and again.

If you're interested in purchasing a one-off box or even subscribing, visit the website. And if you're looking for a discount on a future box or anything in the shop, use code: LUCYLOCKET. For sneak peeks of future boxes, as well as other crafty and educational ideas, follow Little Hands Learning on Instagram.

Love, Lucy xx

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