Activity Ark Review: Discovering spiritual truths one box at a time
I think subscription boxes are cool, and in many instances, they do make life simpler.
As a non-crafty, busy mom who longs to share meaningful time with my children exploring spiritual truths, Activity Ark couldn’t be more perfect!
Let me explain…
What is Activity Ark?
Activity Ark is a box subscription service that is delivered once every three months, or 4x per year. (I actually love that it’s not monthly, because I have tried monthly craft subscriptions before and found them difficult to keep up with).
Each quarterly delivery includes a complete Bible-themed lesson, or “Sunday School in a box” as they describe it.
These kits are crafted for children ages 4-9, and include five elements:
- Create: a hands-on activity
- Play: fun activity sheets
- Discover: a Bible storybook to read together
- Connect: family discussion starters and questions
- Surprise: a related toy, game, or something special that builds on the theme of the box
Our First Activity Ark Experience
We received our very first Activity Ark box last week.
My kids could not wait to open the box. Something about the sight of it really attracted them, even thought I had given them no reason to think it was for them. Keeping their little hands out of it until I was ready to sit down with them proved difficult. For this reason we made it our top priority the very next morning.
I allowed my children to carefully unpack the box and inspect each element.
This particular kit included:
- Adam and Eve: God’s First People book
- Glow in the Dark Stars
- Cotton balls
- 2 tubes of paint
- 1 tube of glitter
- a plastic jar
- a wooden popsicle stick
- two high-quality printouts folded over to create small “booklets”
It was all nicely packaged in a teal box with teal tissue paper.
The first of the “booklets” explained the theme and listed the activities included.
Create
We decided to begin with the craft!
This was a craft we had never done or even seen before –a Universe Jar. The instructions were very clear and they included step-by-step photos. My children enjoyed doing it, and they were able to easily complete the steps without much mess.
The Universe Jar turned out beautifully! We all liked this craft, and it did look strikingly similar to pictures of the universe we had seen. It was pretty too.
When we were done, we still had two mostly-full paint bottles and a glitter bottle to add to our craft supplies, which was great!
Play
Once the craft was complete, we turned our attention to the corresponding “Play” component, which was a series of activities on the second printout. My kids worked through these fairly quickly together. The bright, color photos made them engaging.
This gave me time to make sure everything was cleaned up and put away.
Discover
Next we decided it was time to read the book together.
This was a Bible storybook that told the story of creation and Adam and Eve. There wasn’t an overt tie-in made between the book and the craft, but in the early pages of the book we saw illustrations of the universe being formed, so I was able to help my kids see the Universe Jar here and relate the creation story to the craft they had made.
Connect
After reading the book not one, but two times (at my son’s urging), we talked through the discussion questions together. The questions were interesting and age appropriate, and I enjoyed the conversation very much.
At this point there are also key Bible verses to read together that correspond with the story.
Surprise
As the finale, we stuck the glow in the dark stars to my kids’ ceiling (this was made easier by bunk beds).
I hope that when they look at their stars, they will think about our powerful God creating the universe. I can help them make this connection by talking about it with them.
What I loved about Activity Ark
It truly got my kids excited about learning a Bible lesson.
They were very engaged throughout the activities. Teaching them the Bible is my top priority, so I loved that they were excited about it!
I know myself: I wouldn’t do crafts with them otherwise.
Did I mention I am not crafty?
Even so, my kids (and all kids) love crafts. Activity Ark made a fun craft time very attainable for me by providing a good project that wasn’t too hard but still very cool, along with clear instructions and all the materials.
We wouldn’t have done a craft together this week (or maybe even month) otherwise.
The target age was spot on.
Two of my three children were within the recommended age range of 4-9 years old. These activities were well suited to those two children. My 2-year-old, not as much.
That was good.
The instructions were clear.
You can’t beat clear-cut instructions! The step-by-step photos were awesome. I probably wouldn’t have understood this craft otherwise, but there was really no guess work.
The value was high.
When you buy a year’s-worth of boxes at one time (4 boxes), you pay less than $20 per box. That is not bad considering all it contains, and delivered to your door with everything laid out for you.
Spiritual truths matter most.
Of all the things I could be teaching and investing into my children’s lives, spiritual truths are the hands-down most important. That is a big draw to Activity Ark for me.
I know my kids get to do crafts and lessons at church on Sunday, but I like the idea of bridging that experience to the home environment as well.
It was meaningful time spent together.
Kids love crafts. They love time with their mom. They love books and activities and surprises. This box facilitated meaningful time together with my children, and that matters to me.
Perhaps an Activity Ark box might make a great “consumable” Christmas gift for someone in your life? It would mean less clutter, more experience, and if you pay for a year-long subscription upfront (only $79.96 for four boxes) it would be spread all throughout the year!
Find out more and get your own Activity Ark box HERE!
*This post was sponsored by Activity Ark. All opinions are my own.
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