*AD – the item in this review was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
This month we tried out something new with the Mysteries in Time monthly history subscription box which, as you can imagine by the name, is a great tool when it comes to history for kids. It’s a box aimed at 7-11-year-olds, which two of my kids qualify under, and as the first month was on Ancient Egypt it seemed like a perfect fit for Kai, who had recently studied it as one of his half-term topics for school. I’m a bit of a history buff myself, and he had really enjoyed the recent topic work, so it seemed like a perfect. As with any box, or any study package, there definitely needs to be a willingness to learn, or a general sense of excitement around the topic.
Firstly, the box is really well designed (we got the bumper box for this review). It’s a rectangular cardboard box which closes and seals up quite tightly. It’s not always common for these things to feel like they are designed with longevity in mind, but the box is well constructed and has survived the cat sitting on it, and it being dropped once, with no wear and tear.
Getting beyond the packaging though, there’s quite a bit in the box, including a handy contents guide. In the first subscription there was the following: A large world map, complete with timeline, a sticker sheet, a chapter storybook and bookmark, a history magazine complete with colouring, drawing, puzzle and quiz sections, a crafting set and a themed gift – in our case it was a cool pen. It’s incredibly generous for £12.95 (plus P&P) a month, considering that there’s a fair bit more in here than you’d get in the likes of the themed, subscription magazines that the monthly-box format has replaced. All of that said, there is also a version available which doesn’t have the gift or the craft in it, and that’s £5 cheaper.
The 7-11 age group that it targets is an interesting demographic because it covers the Key Stage 2 group (Year 3-6) which is a group that – in my experience – is often forgotten by gift boxes and monthly subscriptions – with most magazines targeting younger children through popular TV brands or aiming at the teen groups. There could be a variety of reasons for that, but one could be because it is such an undefined age, full of change. I guess what I’m saying is that it’s hard to write for both a 7-year-old who acts young and an 11-year-old who feels they are more mature than they are.
It’s, for I guess, this reason that my 10-year-old wasn’t that into the idea of colouring-in, even with a little encouragement. He did however really enjoy the decoding, hieroglyphics-cypher that was included and took a lot of pleasure in completing the quiz. The little crafting project was also very cool, for the Ancient Egpyt box it was a small selection of crafting clays and some holographic stickers – the idea being that you can use them to make an Egyptian-style amulet.
The amulet project is actually something that we did earlier in the year for schooling, and as a result of this, we generally have some sort of clay (be that oven, or air-dried) around the house at all points in time. It’s a really nice idea for a project, and it makes something a bit more tactile and durable than pull-out colouring sheets or word searches might.
We both enjoyed working through the magazine, and the chapter book has been added to the storybook bookcase to be read through again. I’m a sucker for a large map, and the included one folds out to… I’m pretty sure… A1 size, which is massive. There’s a little timeline along the bottom which you can add stickers from future boxes to, as you work your way through the set.
I think that the Mysteries in Time box is a really sweet little educational tool. The back of the book, and indeed the website, reveals that they’ve already written up the full set of books for a year’s worth of subscriptions as well, so there doesn’t need to be any concern that they’re going to up and disappear half-way through a campaign. That, for me at least, does mean something.
Head over to the Mysteries in Time website if you’re interested in finding out more about the box. We are also doing a three-month booster box giveaway from Mysteries in Time, which you can enter below!
There’s so many subscription boxes now that it’s hard to keep up with them!
This box sounds like it was thought out really well and like it was enjoyable.
Thank you for sharing your experience!
That’s very true! We found this to be a great idea along the home-learning path. 🙂
I love the look of this, it’s such a good idea. I love my history too and I love teaching my niece about the past so this would definitely be a great addition.
Sounds like a great fit!
Fun way to learn!
It really is!
Great for learning during lock down!
Very true!