Sitting strapped into a car seat seems pretty boring to me, and both Molly and Anna agree. We had the brainstorm last week to move all our kids magazines into the cubbies on the seat backs in the minivan. What a great idea! The girls grab one almost every time we get in the car these days, and the magazine articles and jokes are just the right length for our car trips around town. Even issues they’ve read before seem new again in the car.
You really can’t lose with a magazine subscription as a gift for a young child. While they might not make the most exciting gift at a birthday party, their arrival each month and the subsequent hours reading and sharing make them really great. Here are some of our favorites:
Anna (a brand new five year old) loves High Five which is Highlights’ new magazine for kids ages 2-6.
We’ve been getting Your Big Backyard from the National Wildlife Federation for a couple of years now. The photographs are amazing, and my girls love the animal facts.
Just today Molly reminded me that a ring-tailed lemur often eats wildflowers (we’re planning to plant some). We’ve enjoyed Ladybug for a year now; it’s got a nice balance of things Molly can read on her own, as well as stories for me to read to them.
I think Molly has graduated to Spider now, but I haven’t ordered it yet. Thankfully our library system gets all of these, so we can preview them there and check out old issues if we want to.
There are other magazines I’ve heard about but haven’t seen yet — they include Moo Cow Fan Club , which has themed issues and is apparently very good, and Muse which may be something we look into as the girls get older. How about you? What magazines do your kids enjoy?
About the Author
Along with her background as a professor, researcher, writer, and teacher, Joanne Meier is a mom. Join Joanne as she shares her experiences raising her own young readers, and guides parents and teachers on the best practices in reading.
Publication Date
July 9, 2007