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(physical) magazine subscription for 12yo boy


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Do you have any you love? I am thinking of getting Ranger Rick, as I had those and my oldest did have them at one time. However, I haven't seen the magazine in years. I recently looked at Rick, Jr. And Nat Geo Kids, but those mags are so busy and ADHD-looking to me. I'm hoping RR is not like this, too.

 

I bought Highlights, but this is a bit on the juvenile side. DS did work through it a little while today, though; he thought the hidden objects thing was fun. (Well, first he was rolling his eyes about it altogether; another goofy idea mom has cooked up to emphasize reading more. But he discovered it was actually pretty fun.)

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If he's reading on a middle school level, he ought to be able to handle magazines like Discover, Popular Science, National Geographic, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine....

 

Or, if you're determined to stick with magazines that are kid-directed, you really can't go wrong with the ones printed by the people who make Cricket. They have a whole bunch now for that age range.

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I wouldn't do Ranger Rick for an average 12yo boy. He'd find it babyish.

 

For nature perhaps the adult National Geographic? Or a specific one to chase an interest, like a birding one for example. If he's in scouts my boys really liked Boy's Life

 

My 13yo boy likes Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Make, Air & Space, and stuff like that.

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Here's a listing of magazines by age group. Does he like Lego? My kids enjoyed Lego Magazine even into early high school (I think my son may have even saved the Bionicle comic inserts!).

Yes, he does love Lego and constructing things. He likes Science, especially astronomy. He likes TV shows like Outrageous Acts of Science.

 

It worries me that something like National Geographic or Popular Mechanics will be too sophisticated for him and it won't draw him in. I am "making" him read magazines as part of our homeschooling, but I do hope that he will realize that reading a magazine is a good way to find out how to do things or to know more about things. I'm worried that won't happen if the reading level is too far over his head.

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It worries me that something like National Geographic or Popular Mechanics will be too sophisticated for him and it won't draw him in.

 

So have him read an article or two from the computer - they all have websites - and let him see if he likes them. That's a good idea for any magazine, actually - no use buying without a test drive.

 

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Agreeing with the suggstions to go to Barnes & Noble and check out the huge selection of magazines there.

 

My 14-year-old still enjoys Boys Life, even though he hasn't been in Scouts for several years now.   He also reads World, Air & Space, Popular Mechanics, and Florida Sportsman (he & DH love to fish).   Of those, Air & Space and Popular Mechanics are his favorites.

 

I probably wouldn't go with Ranger Rick for a 12-year-old.   My kids loved it for many years, but around 12 it became a bit too juvenile.

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Yes, he does love Lego and constructing things. He likes Science, especially astronomy. He likes TV shows like Outrageous Acts of Science.

 

It worries me that something like National Geographic or Popular Mechanics will be too sophisticated for him and it won't draw him in. I am "making" him read magazines as part of our homeschooling, but I do hope that he will realize that reading a magazine is a good way to find out how to do things or to know more about things. I'm worried that won't happen if the reading level is too far over his head.

 

Have you seen Make: Magazine?

 

http://www.makershed.com/collections/make-magazine

 

Bill (who loved TIME, Newsweek, Life, and Look at that age, but was/is an oddity :D) 

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I picked up three magazines at B&N ( he was not out with me, so I just took a stab). I bought Make (rec'd here), a Minecraft one and impulsively bought a National Geographic special feature, Wonders of the World. This actually turned out to be the one he immediately started looking through, although he liked them all. The National Geo is the one he read some bits of while we were looking at it before bed. I like that this is high-level language. He loves things like the giant Redwoods and the aurora borealis, so he was very interested in all of those.

 

I'm considering not subscribing to anything at the moment, but buying some off newsyand every few weeks so I can vary the choices and see what sticks. :)

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I'm considering not subscribing to anything at the moment, but buying some off newsyand every few weeks so I can vary the choices and see what sticks. :)

I think this is a great idea, and I might copy ya on it. I've got one who would still enjoy some of the older Cricket magazines, but I like the idea of picking and choosing for interest.

 

ETA: If you belong to Costco and Sams, they have magazines at a significant discount. They don't have a lot to choose from, but every once in a while there is something interesting.

Edited by Serenade
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There seem to be two levels of Ranger Rick now: Ranger Rick and Ranger Rick Junior. Ranger Rick is for children 7 to 12 and RR junior is for younger kids. You could check out samples to see the reading level. The same organization, the National Wildlife Federation, still publishes National Wildlife Magazine for adults which might be a better pick for his reading level and is likely to be less frenetic in terms of layout and design.

 

Here is the link to National Wildlife you can find Ranger Rick under "Magazines" along the bar at the top.

http://www.shopnwf.org/Magazines/Join-NWF/index.cat

 

Edited by Kalmia
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While DS#2 loved Ranger Rick, he had outgrown it by about age 11-12.

 

Brick journal is a fascinating quarterly magazine for adults, but great for teens/tweens who love Lego. DS#2 loved getting that, starting about age 12-13, up past age 20. Subscriptions and back issues here.

 

Both DSs enjoyed getting a monthly current events magazine geared for their age/grade level. There are several out there:

Junior Scholastic (Scholastic) -- gr. 7-8

Time For Kids (Time Magazine) -- gr. 5-6 (looks like that's as high as it goes)

Up Front (New York Times) -- teens

World Teen (Christian, World Magazine) -- teens

 

Wish these had been around when DSs were younger: they're all online, but looks fascinating:

Tween Tribune (Smithsonian)

list of teen current events / journalism sites

Edited by Lori D.
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