Site Review: Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts

We are now in our 4th month of homeschooling the 5 year old. We made this decision because his birthday falls after the state cut-off for starting school in September and he would have had to go into Pre-K. The kid is reading at probably a 1st grade level and can do math with digits 0-10. He can name every continent, ocean and most countries. (Thank you LeapFrog Explorer!) We couldn't in good conscience let him be in Pre-K. Mainly because he'd be bored and that just invites discipline problems.

So about early July or so I purchased homeschool material on the Kindergarten level and off we went. Most days go pretty smoothly. Most. Certainly not all!

I had bought the basic subjects: Math, English, Handwriting (like pulling teeth people...), Science and Geography (he LOVES it!). I also wanted to get him into "elective" things like Character, Health, Music and Art. My great plan on Art was to get him doing craft projects and making cute things to hang on the fridge. It ended up not so great. I couldn't find what I wanted  (I'm not crafty and needed help in book form) so I just bought the Kumon First Book of Cutting. He runs from the scissors now because he is so bored with it.

So, on to Plan B...I had to find something to get him interested in learning to cut and paste and make things we can send to the grandparents. I started seeking information in magazines. I found one that had either an article or an ad for Shirley's Prepackaged Crafts. (I read so many I can't remember!) I checked it out and that was exactly what I was looking for! Nothing too hard, but full instructions and supplies in one kit!

We received the October box and my son wanted to sit down and do it all immediately. I limited him to one every other day, just so he wouldn't run out!

Each month's box has 12 crafts and they are tied by theme. For instance, the themes coming in November are blue, the number 3, rectangles and Thanksgiving. December is going to be green, the number 4, stars and Christmas. I love that she does this in the boxes.

There is also a certificate of completion for each month. I know my son loves getting rewards and will be thrilled when we get to this one!

Each box comes with everything you need for the 12 craft pages. The only things you add are scissors, glue, tape, colors and time.

The first craft we did was a simple cut and paste activity. My son didn't mind cutting on the lines when he realized he was making a puzzle that would become a fire truck!

Next we did a pumpkin page and then a Columbus Day craft. He really enjoyed all of it. I did have to help him with some of the cutting though since he's still not great with curves. He noticed the trapezoid shaped pumpkin all on his own!

He was so proud to show them to his daddy when he got home. He's even memorized the "In 1492..." rhyme from the Columbus Day activity. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow when we use trapezoids to make a dump truck! 

The boxes retail for $18 per month and there are discounts for buying multiple months in a package. I just ordered the Nov-Jan boxes and saved about $2.50 by purchasing three months at a time. You can also purchase all the rest of the school year and will get about $1 off per month. If I had ordered that now, I would have saved $7 and that's almost half a month! 

I don't consider this a huge investment mainly because I don't have to spend my time thinking of things that we can do. Shirley does that for me. All I have to do is portion them out during the week. And he loves them. That makes it worth every penny.

If you're a homeschooling mom you have to look into this easy time saver. Shirley is also offering a discount code for my readers. Use the code faithful to save $2 off your first order. She also offers a discount if you're ordering more than one box per month.

All orders for the following month have to be in by the 15th. She's pretty smart to keep overhead down by only printing and compiling the boxes that are ordered. She ships them in time to get to you before the start of the month.

I received the October box in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and are not influenced by the free product. No additional compensation has been received.