Educational Subscriptions for Tweens
April 9, 2022 8:24 AM Subscribe
One of the things that we like to do for the kids in our circle of family and friends is help fuel their learning with educational gifts. The latest is a girl, going on 12, who is very interested in art and nature.
We've been gifting her subscriptions to the Cricket series of magazines, and currently she's receiving Muse and Cricket, which are in their highest age bracket (9-14). She likes the magazines, but feels that she already knows much of what is presented there. We'd like to switch things up and connect her with something that will be new(er) and fresh for her.
What we like about the Cricket magazines:
-They are ad-free. She's already feeling pressure from other girls at school to worry about her physical appearance, body image, etc. We do not need to add to that.
-They are published several (9, for Cricket) times a year, so she regularly gets interesting things in the mail.
About the kid:
-Lives in the USA
-11, going on 12
-Consumes art supplies like crazy
-Likes nature and science
-Politically engaged and liberal. Asks to participate in demonstrations, and has a blast at Pride.
-Uses she/they
What we'd like to find:
-Something with a recurring (monthly, or at least every other month) delivery, with a minimum of ads
-Politically liberal-leaning or at least neutral
-Ideally, something that isn't just "Here's an article about this painting hanging in a museum," but more, "Look at this mosaic! Here's how you can make your own!"
We're open to all sorts of ideas. Magazines, subscription boxes (we've looked at some of Kiwi's offerings, and they seem kind of... ehhh? for the price) or whatever else you might know of. We did a Mail Order Mystery for her, and she absolutely loved that. Thank you!
We've been gifting her subscriptions to the Cricket series of magazines, and currently she's receiving Muse and Cricket, which are in their highest age bracket (9-14). She likes the magazines, but feels that she already knows much of what is presented there. We'd like to switch things up and connect her with something that will be new(er) and fresh for her.
What we like about the Cricket magazines:
-They are ad-free. She's already feeling pressure from other girls at school to worry about her physical appearance, body image, etc. We do not need to add to that.
-They are published several (9, for Cricket) times a year, so she regularly gets interesting things in the mail.
About the kid:
-Lives in the USA
-11, going on 12
-Consumes art supplies like crazy
-Likes nature and science
-Politically engaged and liberal. Asks to participate in demonstrations, and has a blast at Pride.
-Uses she/they
What we'd like to find:
-Something with a recurring (monthly, or at least every other month) delivery, with a minimum of ads
-Politically liberal-leaning or at least neutral
-Ideally, something that isn't just "Here's an article about this painting hanging in a museum," but more, "Look at this mosaic! Here's how you can make your own!"
We're open to all sorts of ideas. Magazines, subscription boxes (we've looked at some of Kiwi's offerings, and they seem kind of... ehhh? for the price) or whatever else you might know of. We did a Mail Order Mystery for her, and she absolutely loved that. Thank you!
Many states have quarterly or even monthly wildlife magazines that are pretty cheap to subscribe to and come mostly without ads though a few states do include stories about hunting. They tend to be apolitical and the general slant is always "the outdoors needs to be conserved and protected for everyone to enjoy"
Massachusetts Wildlife
New Hampshire Wildlife Journal
New York State Conservationist
Colorado Outdoors
Not every state has one, but you should be able to find it by googling '$NAME_OF_STATE wildlife magazine'
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:41 AM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Massachusetts Wildlife
New Hampshire Wildlife Journal
New York State Conservationist
Colorado Outdoors
Not every state has one, but you should be able to find it by googling '$NAME_OF_STATE wildlife magazine'
posted by RonButNotStupid at 10:41 AM on April 9, 2022 [1 favorite]
Best answer: My kids get The Week Junior, a weekly news magazine, and I've been happily surprised at how good it is at being informative but still optimistic (unlike basically every other news outlet these days). The magazine includes stories from around the world, and has things like easy recipes, crafts, and book/movie recommendations. We also get Cricket and they read it somewhat half-heartedly, but will fight over who gets to read The Week first.
posted by Jemstar at 10:55 AM on April 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by Jemstar at 10:55 AM on April 9, 2022 [2 favorites]
Recommending The Artist's Manual For your young artist. This great book is loaded with really easy to understand applications of art materials and projects that will help her get the kind of effects she wants from her art materials.
posted by effluvia at 12:43 PM on April 9, 2022
posted by effluvia at 12:43 PM on April 9, 2022
Best answer: I bought my nieces and nephews OYLA Magazine the last two years, and they absolutely love it. They're ages 9-16.
posted by RedEmma at 3:02 PM on April 9, 2022
posted by RedEmma at 3:02 PM on April 9, 2022
Response by poster: Lots of great answers! Sounds like it's going to be OYLA and The Week Junior. Thanks so much!
posted by xedrik at 10:51 AM on April 10, 2022
posted by xedrik at 10:51 AM on April 10, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
If she has her own smartphone, something like NatureID, the plant ID app by photo may be an interesting tool for her own exploration of the outdoors (accompanied by adult, of course)
posted by kschang at 9:03 AM on April 9, 2022