Back of the Box

Morning ritual · screen-free

A new puzzle page for your kid, every morning.

Kid-safe news, a maze, a crossword and a joke, emailed as a PDF. Print it, no screen. Free for a month.

See Modules

Try one first. Download today’s sample page (PDF), no sign-in:

A Back of the Box cereal box, morning brain cereal, with a real puzzle page on the front
A real Back of the Box page: weather, a space-themed crossword, a maze, a joke, a fun fact, a number pattern, a number grid, and a state and capital

A real morning page for a 7–9 year old, untouched.

A real page, not a feed

This is exactly what lands in your inbox. You choose the cards and their sizes, and the rest is new every morning and tuned to your kid.

Real news, made kid-safe

Actual stories from places like Smithsonian, NASA, and Science News Explores, rewritten for your kid’s age and checked against the original article. Nothing is made up, and anything scary gets left out.

Puzzles that fit the kid

Mazes, sudoku, crosswords, word finds, riddles, and number patterns, with a word of the day and a real public-domain poem. Every card has its own difficulty dial.

Paper, not a screen

Print it on any home printer. Answers sit behind a QR code for you to check, so the kid solves first. Kids never need an account.

Simple pricing

Your first month is free, and you don’t need a card to start. Pick a plan when you’re ready.

Monthly

$5 / month

Up to five kids. Cancel anytime.

Yearly · best value

$39 / year

Up to five kids. Under $3.30 a month.

No ads, no kid accounts, cancel anytime. Read the privacy policy →

Three minutes to set up

1

Pick the cards

Choose modules and card sizes for your kid’s page. You can move them around and swap them anytime.

2

Set a morning time

Choose when it arrives: by email with a printable PDF, or waiting on your dashboard.

3

Print & hand it over

It’s fresh every day, so tomorrow’s page is new. Stick it on the fridge or take it to breakfast.

An illustration of a dad and his son grinning in front of a space shuttle

Our story

Built by a dad and his son, for families

We love puzzles. Mazes, crosswords, a good riddle over breakfast. We wanted something to do together in the morning that wasn't a screen.

Remember when the morning had a newspaper on the table, a pencil nearby, and nobody was scrolling? That's the feeling we're after. So we made it together: a page that's printed fresh every day, just for the kid reading it, with a pencil in hand and the news in plain words.

We hope it makes your mornings a little slower, and a lot more fun.

More about us →

Questions parents ask

What does it cost?+

Your first month is free. After that it’s one simple plan for up to five kids: $5 a month, or $39 a year (under $3.30 a month). Cancel anytime. Sign in with Google to save your setup and get a page every morning.

What do I need to print it?+

Any home printer works, since the page is made for US Letter.

I don’t have a printer. How do I get started?+

No problem. An ink-free thermal printer costs less than a tank of ink and never runs dry, which is the real selling point. Our supplies page explains how they work and lists printers and paper we like.

See printers and paper →
What ages is it for?+

About 4 to 12. You set an age when you make the page, and each card has its own 1–20 dial. Sudoku goes from 4×4 up to 9×9, mazes grow, and news cards start at level 5.

Where does the news come from?+

From real outlets: Smithsonian, NASA, Science News Explores, Mongabay, Popular Science, IEEE Spectrum, Good News Network, and others. Each story is rewritten for kids, checked against the source article, and printed with its location. Crime, politics, and anything scary are left out.

Does my kid need an account or a screen?+

No. Parents set it up, and kids just get the paper. We only ask for the kid’s first name, and there are no ads.

Can I make pages for more than one kid?+

Yes. Each kid gets their own page with its own cards, difficulty, and delivery time.

How does the page get to us?+

Every morning we email you a printable PDF, and you can also open it in the app. Print it on any printer, hand it over with a pencil, and breakfast gets a little smarter.

Where are the answers?+

Behind a QR code on the page, or in the app, never printed on the sheet. Kids solve first, then you scan to check.

Can I print a puzzle booklet for a binder?+

Yes. The Booklet tool makes a black-and-white PDF of mazes, word finds, or color-by-number pages (up to 60), with extra margin on the binding side so you can punch holes. It includes answer pages for mazes and word finds. Printing it at home is free.

Make a booklet →

Tomorrow’s page could be on the table.

Set it up tonight, and it arrives with breakfast.