Do your kids like to get mail? Not junk mail, but real inspiring mail addressed to them that gets them thinking about science, technology, engineering, and math? Enter the Kelvin, an adventurous rocket ship powered by Simon and Sarah.

Each week you and your child will receive a brightly colored red or blue envelope in the mail. Inside each envelope you will find an easy to read, double-sided letter printed on glossy paper in black and white and color. The letters also have pictures depicting images from the story. Also included are experiments that accompany the letters that are printed on a thick 3x5 notecard. Detailed instructions and a supply list of what is needed is provided and sometimes even a small supply like the Velcro dots we received in our envelope about biomimcry.

Biomimcry is an awesome way of inventing something you have seen in nature and then making something inspired by it. That’s exactly what George Mestral did when he took the burrs he found on his pet dog and made Velcro. Since both of my younger girls have shoes that have Velcro and laces we had a race as suggested on the experiment card to see which one was faster to put on. We set up an obstacle course and put the shoes on the other side of the house. The girls took turns racing over to the shoe and putting it on and either tying it up or fastening the Velcro and coming back to the starting position. I timed them with my stopwatch and the Velcro won hands down, especially with my 6-year-old who is not that quick with tying her laces yet. My girls had a great time racing and best yet, the experiments can be done in 10 minutes or less with supplies you probably already have around the house. Another bonus is that they are fun to do!

We received three bright red and one bright blue envelopes during our review period. The letters normally arrived on Thursday afternoons each week and my girls eagerly watched for the mailman for delivery. We have all thoroughly enjoyed our month long subscription to Kelvin Kids. Being able to incorporate STEM learning into our weekly learning was so simple with just a walk to the mailbox. While I do think this is a great product to keep kids learning STEM related activities, I did feel that the price tag was a little steep for our monthly “extras” homeschool budget. However, because my girls loved the letters and activities so much, we plan to continue our subscription on a month to month basis. For just under $20.00 a month I don’t have to worry about lesson plans or thinking up my own ideas to get in STEM activities each week. For that, this product is priceless!

—Product review by Jacquelin Caffey, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, October, 2016