We started this shop to share our passion for finding creative outlets for our own kiddos. We are both quite conscious of living a more minimalistic life and choosing quality over many other factors. When it comes to our children, we strive to purchase from small shops within Canada, and we really pick and choose what toys and games will grow with them over the years.

With earthkits, we put a lot of thought into each month's contents, to curate kits that are treasures for your kids, and that they choose to play with over and over again. 

We truly believe we stand out from the crowd:

• we are plastic-free, reducing what ends up in the landfills
• we are nature-inspired, helping bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor play
• we include more than just sensory play, we provide ways to incorporate loose part and imaginary play (which we call tinkering)
• our products are so lovely, you'll be happy to display it in your home
• many of our items are multi-functional, and can be incorporated into everyday use
• we include our expertise from our fields of study: education + visual art

Our ideas stem from monthly inspirations. We think about the seasonal qualities that surround us, natural interests that children have about their life and environment and materials that are important for their developmental age. 

We've divided our kits into 3 main parts: sensory play, loose part play, and imaginative (tinkering) play. 

 

SENSORY PLAY

What sensory experiences have your littles experienced lately? What are some loose parts that they enjoy playing with?

Developing play through the 5 senses is key to toddlerhood/childhood development as they engage in play and in real-life experiences. Sensory play allows for our kiddos to see a variation in texture, color, weight, temperature, smell, and even sometimes the taste of items.

 

LOOSE PARTS

It’s true. Anything in multiples can be used as loose parts. Finding meaningful, organic materials that are multifunctional for play and for practical use can be challenging. If there is a strong connection that can be made to early literacy, numeracy or skill building, then you’ve got the right stuff! Our kiddos should be learning to transition with these loose parts by making connections to the world around them.

earthkits pays special attention to both the sensory and loose part play to ensure functional, purposeful, and quality craftsmanship for teaching and learning.

 

TINKERING

Tinkering. Dabbling. Puttering. Fiddling. Mucking about. This is our favourite part of childplay. The moments where encouragement, validation, and prompting are unneeded. These littles are so enamored by their own imagination that their play transforms from loose parts, objects, and other tinker toys into dabbling with their own make-believe storyline. Transforming the practical function of their toys into something completely wild and out of this world.

The components in your earthkit will provide a strong foundation in developing their sense of exploration without boundaries, while encouraging the idea of connecting with the natural world.

 

KEEPSAKES

“Toys I would want to display? Yeah, right!” Yeah, RIGHT! We meant it when we chose our keepsakes for your box. We wanted to include a few remarkable and notable pieces that we thought would add to your child’s play and simultaneously, to your home. They are items that will/can be used daily in any of their play indoors and outdoors. When children cherish and are proud of their possessions, they will take care of them and use them frequently.

We know you and your little ones can truly find the value of open-ended, imaginary, and creative play through earthkits. Check out our offerings in our shop!