Little Hands Learning | Desert Island Box

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

Another Little Hands Learning box review tonight, and this one was November’s box. Before I get started – would you like to see either or both of the Christmas boxes on here now, or should I wait until later in the year? Maybe I’ll put a poll on my social channels, as it definitely feels weird still using the C word…

Anyway, back to the desert island box, that we are still really enjoying. It was inspired by the book Hom, written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Paddy Donnelly. When a little boy survives a ship wreck and winds up on a desert island, he’s sure he’s the last boy in the world… until he meets Hom! Hom is the last of his kind and the two spark up a magical friendship – despite their differences. When help is eventually on the way, the boy realises he has to protect Hom.

The activities included within the box were:

• Create a desert island
• Write a message in a bottle
• A car STEM experiment
• Design a cave drawing

Sending out an SOS

The first activity we did together was the message in a bottle. I cut the paper into small strips, so that they could be folded and put into the bottle (which was super dinky!) and we quickly recapped the story. I asked Alfie he was stuck on a desert island, what would he do? He said he would shout loud for help – I told him that perhaps no-one would be able to hear his calls, and that’s why the message in a bottle would be a good idea. So, he wrote “save me” on the paper.

We then talked more about what it would be like to be on an island – whether that is alone, or with a new friend like in the book. I asked Alfie what he would do on the island, and he said he would smash coconuts and try and find some treasure!

Creating prehistoric art

We love chalking and Alfie can be quite the little artist when he actually asks to do activities. He had kept asking for the easel to come out, so I suggested doing the cave drawings first. He went straight in with the blue chalk and then added his favourite colour. When I asked what he drawn, he said a ship in a storm – as reminder of how he ended up on the island. I then drew family and a heart – not quite as creative as the beautifully detailed illustrations in the book.

Alfie then added some more swirls and an x – he said to mark the treasure that was on the island and waiting to be found, if someone else ever inhabited the space. I have suggested experiment with different mediums… we could make further cave paintings using tea bags or a paintbrush in a cup of coffee. Alternatively, by going outdoors and collecting soil or even different coloured leaves!

A wheely good experiment!

The resources in the Little Hands Learning boxes are always such good quality and can be reused, in other activities – and the toy car we received was fantastic! We experimented using the car on different surfaces around the house to see how fast (or slow) it would go! We first tried in the kitchen on the dining table and then the floor. We also tried on the carpets (a bit slower), versus the rug (even slower) before trying up and down slopes. Alfie then got out some of his other cars and they all had a race!

You can find Hom and the rest of the Adventure box online – as well as a number of other previous boxes still in stock. Don’t forget you can receive a discount on all orders in the shop by using my discount code LUCYLOCKET – just remember to mention that I sent you.

Follow Little Hands Learning on Instagram for sneak peeks of future boxes, plus lots of educational ideas, fun crafts and experiments.

Love, Lucy xx