Can you recommend a kids' science magazine?

[tristangrace]

I'm looking for something that would be of interest to a kindergartener/first grader. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Susan

[EricaB]

My Father-In-Law got my DS a subscription to National Geographic Kids and we really like it. I will see if I can find a website.

[EricaB]

Here ya go... It looks like the magazine is $15 a year. I would say that it is more than worth it. It is packed full of stuff and my son keeps his in his room for naptime and night time "reading".

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

[Targhee]

My Father-In-Law got my DS a subscription to National Geographic Kids and we really like it. I will see if I can find a website.
My folks got one for my kids, too. We like it, We also get Nat. Geog. Little Kids magazine, which I like even more because there is no advertising and the feature articles don't focus on upcoming movies or cartoons like I have seen often in "Kids". Both magazines come with little wildlife cards my kids collect and love to look at.

Ranger Rick/Your Big Backyard are also a great publications (done by National Wildlife Federation).

[3lilreds in NC]

We LOVE Ranger Rick and My Big Backyard from the http://www.nwf.org/magazines/. MBBY is for ages 3-7; RR is for ages 7 & up. For K & 1, I'd go with MBBY. I am continually amazed by how much information I find in them that goes along with what we're doing in school. I cut apart a lot of them and filed things, especially for MFW K, and would pull them out and hang them up or read them when we got to the appropriate week.

I didn't care for National Geo. Kids. Seemed more like a social magazine than a science magazine to me. The Little Kids one, though, is a different story - I liked that one much better. We only got a sample, and didn't end up getting it, because my kids are pretty much too old for it. I will sign up to get it for the Snort, though, when he's old enough!

[sweetbaby]

We have Nat. Geo. for Kids and I'm not pleased. It is filled with ads. So you may want to reconsider that one.

[chanda7]

I got the National Geographic for Kids, and I have been very unhappy with it. As mentioned before, the content is not appropriate for the age range you are seeking, particularly the features (which are really advertisements) for upcoming movies. It was a major waste of money for us. Whenever the Little Kids magazine came out, I emailed customer service (through their online form) asking them to transfer our subscription because of the content. They never responded nor did they change the subscription. I feel like the Little Kids version would be below the level of my child, but I didn't even want her to see the other magazine :(

I have several old (like 10 year+) Big Backyards and Ranger Rick magazines given to me by another homeschooling mom. DD especially loves reading the stories in RR, but she is reading at around a 4th grade level. I'm not sure if the magazine format is the same, though.

[kls126s]

You didn't mention in your post if you are religious or secular, but if you're a Christian hs family, you might look at Nature Friend (http://www.dogwoodridgeoutdoors.com/nature-friend-magazine.php). You can look at sample issues on their site.

We like National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org/magazines/)s Your Big Backyard too, but I have youngers. If yours are older, you might look at Ranger Rick.

[Sarita]

I've heard of Zoobooks magazine, and I've looked at it online (www.zoobooks.com (http://www.zoobooks.com)), but I've never actually held a copy in my hands. Does anyone know anything about it? It might be worth a look...

[Kay in Cal]

My kids really like the magazines by Cricket publishing. We get Spider and Ladybug (both fiction) but they also have non-fiction magazines. Click is the non-fiction for up to age 6, Ask for ages 6-9. It's not all science (some would be social studies, I guess), but mostly science.

http://www.cricketmag.com/shop_magzines.asp

No advertising, great content.

[kls126s]

I've heard of Zoobooks magazine, and I've looked at it online (www.zoobooks.com (http://www.zoobooks.com)), but I've never actually held a copy in my hands. Does anyone know anything about it? It might be worth a look...

Each Zoobooks issue is on a specific animal (wolf, meerkat, parrot, etc). Each page is a full color, full page pic of some aspect of that animal's life, environment, etc. They are picture intensive, not word intensive, but they do have pretty good content. I'd say they are good for the younger crowd, but not enough content for an older child.

[tristangrace]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys--I will be investigating all of them! I also did some research on my own and would be interested to hear if any of you are familiar with "Muse" or "Ask" magazine (done by the same people who do "Cricket" and Ladybug").

Susan

[Stacey in MA]

Both were gifts from my parents. I really enjoyed Zoobooks, and it served as our "animal science" in Grade 1 for DS. The pics are great, and though it is "simple", it's not THAT simple. I think it is just right for mom to read for a 1st grader, or kiddo to read if they are advanced at reading. My advance reader DD6 could read them presently, but not my DS9 when he was that age. The pics make them very enjoyable though. For more depth, a trip to the library can supplement.

I really enjoy having the old issues on hand so that the kids can look and choose from the various animals. So I might suggest if you go this route, buy an ebay lot of them instead of waiting for one a month to come in the mail! That's my vote - love Zoobooks!

GL and HTH!- Stacey in MA

[Niebski]

We have the whole set (actually I'm about to post them on the For Sale board), and the kids have loved them! They're colorful, have a couple of activity pages, and hold their attention. There's a sample you can look through on their website, www.zoobooks.com (http://www.zoobooks.com)

HTH!
Sue

[Bayt ul-Hikmah]

Thanks for your suggestions, guys--I will be investigating all of them! I also did some research on my own and would be interested to hear if any of you are familiar with "Muse" or "Ask" magazine (done by the same people who do "Cricket" and Ladybug").

Susan

I've only browsed Muse in bookstores and haven't seen Ask, but I grew up with Cricket, and my family has loved Click, Ladybug, and Spider. The content is great, age-appropriate, and curiosity-inspiring. I can't recommend this publisher enough.

HTH!

[CMama]

I haven't read the previous posts to see if this was already mentioned, but have you considered Kid's Answers Magazine by Answers in Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/ka)

Melissa

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I enjoy Muse when we can get our hands on it. I think Ask is the younger version. Mostly science but some social studies as well. I believe that they are done in cooperation with the Smithsonian. It is worth noting that they would probably be considered secular in nature.