Nature Friend Magazine Review

I received two review copies of Nature Friend Magazine a couple of months ago, so I am going to share my review with you today.  I knew Nature Friend Magazine had been around for a while, but didn’t realize that they have been in existence for 27 years!

Don’t let that amount of years lead you to think that this is an old or stale looking magazine. Fortunately God’s creation continues to provide material to write about and these people do a great job of communicating that. Their pictures are wonderful and their stories are interesting.

There are also many ways that readers can contribute to the magazine and get published.  There is a monthly “You Can Draw” section where they show you how to draw something from nature. Then 3 months later they publish the best pictures that were sent in for that how-to. Readers can contribute poems, pictures (both drawn and photographed), and stories all related to nature.

My son enjoyed the picture with the hidden objects in it in one of the issues we received. He listened to the nature stories and seemed to enjoy those and asked questions about the interesting facts he heard.

There is also an 8-12 page study guide that was in the middle of our magazines. You have to get a separate subscription for this at $2 per month, but it is helpful to reinforce the concepts in the rest of the magazine if you are using this for homeschooling. The study guide includes acrostics, fill in the blanks, crossword puzzle, true/false questions, interviews, etc. and you can photocopy them for classroom use . I’m not sure if all the study guides will have all of those features every time, but I’m sure they will have interesting activities that go along with the magazine.

A good part of the study guide material was a bit advanced for my second grade son although we could do much of it orally together. I would say that the study guide would be for grades 3-7 if I had to pick an age.

We really enjoyed Nature Friend Magazine and the study guide. The pictures were amazing and the stories held our attention and provided lots of good discussion material. Plus there were no advertisements or questionable content to worry about either.

The cost is $36 per year or $68 for 2 years plus you can include the study guide each month for $2 each.  Blog readers can get $3 off a new subscription until November 30, 2009!  Simply use coupon code BLOG93. Remember, magazine subscriptions make great Christmas gifts. Just send your favorite relative to the site below and everyone is happy.

To get your own subscription to Nature Friend Magazine along with the study guides, you can go to their website at www.naturefriendmagazine.com.