MeganW Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Tell me about your kids' magazine subscriptions. National Geo for Kids? Scholastic / Weekly Reader? Highlights? Others? We school in therapy offices a LOT. The kids have downtime sometimes when either they finish a subject but there isn't enough time to start something else, or when they are waiting on me for help. I need them to fill that downtime QUIETLY instead of distracting the others. Books aren't working out for this purpose for a number of reasons - they never make it to the car from the bedside table, they get left behind, they don't want to stop reading in the middle, they are heavy to carry in along with everything else, etc. I was thinking a magazine subscription or two might be a good solution. I would like it to be at least somewhat educational if possible. I do NOT want something that requires lots of additional supplies to enjoy. My kids' phonics skills are rock-solid, comprehension is maybe at a 2nd grade level. They don't seem to understand inferences, sarcasm, etc. at all yet. My son especially prefers nonfiction to stories. Suggestions? Also, I know some magazines can only be enjoyed by one child - is your recommendation one that I would need one subscription per kid, or one for the family? THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 My kids just started reading Odyssey (http://www.odysseymagazine.com/). We use library copies though and you don't need individual copies. We could find Highlights and Scholastic at the doctor's office coffee table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoo_keeper Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We get almost all of Cricket publications. Ask is their current favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K&Rs Mom Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Ask is a good one, and mine have enjoyed several Cricket magzines - one sub per family is fine, mine each get a different magazine and trade after they read it. Nat Geo Kids has a lot of advertising, and the "articles" are super-short and VERY colorful (to the point of distraction for some kids). It's not at all intimidating with full pages of text, which the Cricket magazines can be. Again, one per family is fine. Scholastic & WR are very expensive for one subscription (so are the Cricket series). It's nice to have a weekly, because you get more issues, but the total number of pages is still not as many as the others. They usually have workpages on the back, so if they fill those out you might want one per kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We get almost all of Cricket publications. Ask is their current favorite. Yep! These are the best! And the coolest thing is that they let you switch subscriptions right in the middle. So if one isn't a fit or at the right level or whatever, you can just switch it. DH's grandmother buys each of the kids a subscription every year and I buy them each one too, so we get six: Spider, Ask, Calliope, Faces, Cobblestone, and Odyssey. The content is interesting to all, so there is a lot of swapping back and forth. In your shoes, I would start with Ask. ETA: Last year there was a Google group buy for Carus magazines. They were $17 each and I added another year for each of ours them because that is downright cheap. They do offer discounts for renewals if you stall long enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 National geographic has a school publication without ads and is superior to the one you can buy. You have to purchase enough for a minimum subscription, just ask around and see if some friends will go in with you. Ngpathfinder.org I also get scholastic news for my kids and friends. It is cheap also, but you have to order 8 minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anna~ Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 My DD got Muse, and we didn't like it. So we switched to Calliope and it is better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punchie Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We get several of the mags from Cricket Publications - Ladybug, Spider, Appleseeds, Ask, and BabyBug. We also get Ranger Rick Jr and ZooBooks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 If you can afford it, I'd suggest one magazine subscription per child, with each one being for a different magazine so that they can trade around when finished. These are all at a K-3rd grade level -- note, some are listed by AGE rather than GRADE: Nature/Animals Zootles (ages 2-6) Ranger Rick Jr. (ages 4-7) Ranger Rick (ages 7-12) National Geographic Little Kids (ages 3-6) -- this one is ad-free; the next level is full of ads Current Events Scholastic News (grade 1) (grade 2) God's World: Early Edition (Christian) (gr. 1-2) Time for Kids (gr. 3-6) History, Culture, Inventions, etc. Appleseeds (ages 6-9) Science: Click (gr. 1-2) Ask (gr. 3-5) Stories, Puzzles, Recipes, Activities all in one Highlights (ages 6-12) Humpty Dumpty (gr. 1-2) Jack and Jill (gr. 3-5) Stories/Language Arts-based Ladybug (PreK - gr. 1) Spider (gr. 2-3) Stone Soup (gr. 3+) -- stories written by children To reduce costs, you can go to your local library and check out magazines just as you would books. Or, ask your local library if they sell older magazines for $0.25, or even give away old copies of magazines. And here's a tip from WTM Board member Stripe from the thread Science magazine recommendation on how to reduce the price of some magazine subscriptions: "A tip (I've shared it before) - you can order these through magazines.com and get a rebate through ebates. A few times a year the rebate (which is now at 26%) goes to 52%, and magazines.com occasionally sends $5 coupons. This makes the magazines much, much more reasonably priced. At least for me." And in that same thread, TammyW says: "Oh, good point on getting cheaper. I actually use a coupon for ordering direct on their web site, and get each subscription for $25. I don't know if that's as cheap as magazines.com, but I can't stand that they automatically renew you (at the full price) unless you contact them to tell them not to. I'm not good enough at managing that stuff." And you might get some puzzle/activity books (such as Highlights Puzzlemania and the Gifted and Talented Workbook series), or critical thinking/logic puzzle books (such as Lollipop Logic) as a fun additional thing to throw in your bag: Most are puzzles you solve in your head, or only require a pencil or pen as an additional supply. And if you have one canvas bag or backpack that always carries all the therapy office supplies, you'd be set. :) BEST of luck, whatever you decide! Warmest regards, Lori D. PS -- ETA: You asked in your post to tell you about the magazines we used. Our DSs were more non-fiction kind of guys and when at that grade 1-2 reading level, they liked Ranger Rick Jr. and the God's World: Early Edition (current events). They also liked the Highlights magazine that we read when at the doctor's office. Even when they couldn't quite read it themselves yet, they enjoyed flipping through Ranger Rick and other magazines, and having me read articles to them. When they were a little older (gr. 3-6 reading level) they enjoyed: Ranger Rick, ZooBooks, Kids Discover (buy a stack of discounted older titles at $1.99/each and bring them out once a month with the mail ;)), and Highlights Puzzlemania. I think they would have really enjoyed some of the Cricket publishers magazines (Ask, Click, Appleseeds, Dig, Cobblestone, etc.) as well -- BUT... I didn't discover them until our DSs were too old for them. :( Chickadee (ages 6-9) and Owl (ages 9-13), both put out by Owl Kids, look fun with a big "grab-bag mix" of non-fiction articles, stories, activities, recipes, etc -- but they are full of ads, as is the National Geographic Kids. If you don't mind ads, then these could be good options, too -- check them out of your library and see what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoo_keeper Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Owl Kids is another series that I have on my radar... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 We have really enjoyed Nature's Friend! I don't have one in front of me right now, but I don't think there are any ads either. It's colorful and well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momma2three Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Another HUGE recommendation for the Cricket/Carus publications! I will say that in my experience, they skew towards the older range. My 5yo is only really getting into Click now at age 5. At 3 (the recommended age range it starts at) it was all totally over her head... and she's very verbally gifted and precocious. I've also noticed that problem with older kids: I think a kid has to be pretty gifted and really into the subject matter to get into Muse at age 9: it seems much more appropriate for middle school to me. Someone posted a link recently here to Studies Weekly, and I just got a sample packet the other day. It's kind of like Weekly Reader, but in a broader range of subjects. It's just a 2 page newsletter type thing, but it's nicely done with lots of information and a few little games Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Someone posted a link recently here to Studies Weekly, and I just got a sample packet the other day. It's kind of like Weekly Reader, but in a broader range of subjects. It's just a 2 page newsletter type thing, but it's nicely done with lots of information and a few little games Those are cool! Thanks for sharing! I'd never heard of them! What a great way to cover all those odds-and-ends social studies topics -- American symbols, traditions, holidays, citizenship, monuments...) Here are links: Studies Weekly: Social Studies: (grade 1) (grade 2) Studies Weekly: Math: Detectives (kinder); Constructors (gr. 1); Architects (gr. 2) Studies Weekly: Science: (grade 1) (grade 2) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Not a magazine but the Penny Dell puzzles for logic and sudoku are fun for long wait times or car rides. Each book is cheap and the logic ones take a long time to finish. http://www.pennydellpuzzles.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alef Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 My kids like Dig (kids' archeology magazine) and Ranger Rick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holly Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 We loved our sample issue of Nature Friend...I've been wanting to order it ever since, but my budget hasn't been cooperating. It has lots of nature articles, pictures and drawings submitted by kids, and some drawing lessons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abeilles Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 Excellent comments and posts. My two cents - we enjoyed Ranger Rick but disliked Nat Geog for Kids - too many ads, too much going on a page, nothing was covered in depth, and seemed to jump from topic to topic. I suppose I prefer a more relaxing magazine reading experience and NGforkids does not fit the bill, however the NG for the youngest age group has been fun and enjoyable (too young for your age group). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 Thank you thank you so much - this was so helpful!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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