This was a truly wonderful review experience! I absolutely love this magazine. I know we are supposed to be balanced in our reviews, but I simply cannot think of anything else to say about this product expect praises! We were given (free of charge) the August and September 2009 magazines to review.
Beautiful, full-color photos. Interesting activities. Exciting stories. Good quality, durable paper. Opportunities for the kids to participate. King James Bible verses. Easy to follow layout. Fabulous overall!
Of course, my favorite feature out of them all is the focus on God’s creation. In each and every article, the authors point out God’s handiwork in the world around us. One of their goals, according to their tagline, is “Helping Families Explore the Wonders of God’s Creation”. They are certainly fulfilling that mission!
While they gear the magazine toward the 8 to 16 year old age bracket, children of every age can definitely participate in the fun with this magazine. The Nature Friend magazine pointed out that every other issue is sort of tipped toward the older end of the age bracket. But, regardless of the issue, they include comments from grandparents and drawing from 3 year olds!
One article talked about the weaverbird which lives in eastern Africa. The author was living in Africa for a short time and was able to observe the bird building its very unique nest. It is an intricate design in which the bird weaves strands of grass in and out of the nest wall.
“The top of the nest is dome-shaped to shed rain. The entrance into the nest is at one end of the bottom of the oblong nest. At the other end of the bottom is a cup-shaped shelf to hold eggs. The bird flies into the nest from beneath. It is amazing how the bird can swoop upward into the one and one-half inch opening. The nest itself is about five and one-half inches long, three and one-half inches wide, and four inches high.”
Each article brought us back to amazement and wonder at the sophisticated way our great God created the things we see around us.
Features
- I See It! Each issue includes a scavenger hunt. The children search each page for a specific small picture. The August issue had the little icon on 6 pages.
- Pictures and Poems – Children are invited to publish their picture or poem in the Nature Friend magazine.
- Invisibles - Find the small objects hidden in the big picture.
- The Story Behind the Photo – Photographers display their photos and talk about the events that lead up to capturing the interesting photo.
- The Mailbox – This feature shows letters that have been sent to Nature Friend containing questions like, “What bug is this?” or funny nature experiences.
- You Can Draw – Each issue has a drawing lesson. They go through a specific subject to draw step by step. September’s subject was a black bear. In a few months, they print many of the submissions they receive from readers.
- Learning by Doing – This is a hands-on activity that helps children to understand a part of God’s creation a bit more in-depth.
- Caption This – A funny nature picture is displayed and readers are invited to submit their caption for the photo.
Study Guide
You will be very pleased if you decide to purchase the study guide along with the regular subscription. As the Nature Friend website describes, it enhances your learning experience of each issue. Along with reinforcing the material contained in the regular issue through puzzles and additional articles, the study guides also contain creative writing lessons and nature photography lessons.
Sample Issues
Pricing
You can purchase a full year of Nature Friend Magazine for $36 annually – that’s $3 per issue. By adding on the Study Guide for $24, you would be paying $5 for each issue. They also offer a two year subscription for $68 or $2.83 an issue. When bundled with the Study Guide, that’s only $4.83 per issue.
And now, for a limited time only, you can receive $3 off any new subscription by using the code BLOG93!
This would be the perfect gift for birthdays or other gift-giving occasions. They get a gift every month instead of just on the special day!
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