Blessings All Year Long
Too early to think about Christmas gifts? Maybe not. I can point you to some worthy ones for kids–gift subscriptions to magazines.
There are some terrific magazines available for Christian kids. Focus on the Family currently produces two magazines for kids and one magazine for teen girls. Clubhouse Jr. is targeted for children 3- to 7-years old; Clubhouse is written for 8- to 12-year-olds and Brio is for teen girls. Nature Friend is a special interest magazine for families.
I am the the most familiar with the magazines from Focus on the Family. Written to encourage and support kids in their walk with God, Clubhouse Jr. and Clubhouse contain articles, short stories (mysteries, re-told Bible stories, contemporary stories with a point, humorous short pieces), quizzes, games, crafts and even recipes. These magazines come twelve times a year to a child’s doorstep and with his/her name on it. They will bless a child all year long.
Brio , which comes out six times per year, is an outstanding magazine that teen girls will love. Its articles, profiles, quizzes and journaling opportunities will help and support Christian girls as they navigate the new worlds of middle school and high school.
The magazines are written with kids in mind and they present topics that interest kids. When the stories or articles wrestle with a life difficulty, the subject is handled in a way that kids can relate to and is appropriate for a child. Oh, and did I forget to mention that the mags are fun?
I’ve been giving subscriptions to the Focus on the Family magazines for many years and the kids have loved, loved them. It has been such a pleasure for me to give gifts that are affordable ($29.99 per year) and good value for your money.
As a former teacher, I think magazines can be particularly valuable. Short, informative, well-written pieces with great pictures encourage a child to read and enjoy reading, even a child who may still be struggling to read.
I spoke with the staff at Nature Friend and they have a lot going on. Their desire is to bless their readers with a rich look at the world God has created. Browse their website to read a few of their fascinating articles about our natural world and see the fun activities that they suggest for the whole family.
The subscription price is $55 per year and you get 12 issues. There is a study guide for each month that is 16 pages long and contains puzzles, questions, recipes, nature-friendly gardening tips, etc. that are tied to the articles of that month’s issue. The study guide is an extra charge which amounts to $3 more a month. The whole package is $91 per year which breaks down to $7 and some change and for what you get it seems good to me. Nature Friend wanted me to particularly tell you to take a look at and consider their contests and events pages.
It has been suggested to me that Keys for Kids , which is for children 6- to 12-year-olds, and Unlocked , which is for teens, are worth kids’ time. These are devotionals. From their online samples, they look good.
The websites below will give you more info.
Brio — https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/promos/brio-parents
Clubhouse Jr. — https://www.focusonthefamily.com/clubhouse-jr-magazine/
Clubhouse — https://www.focusonthefamily.com/clubhouse-magazine/
Keys for Kids — https://www.keysforkids.org/
Nature Friend Magazine — https://naturefriendmagazine.com/
Unlocked — https://unlocked.org
Shopping savvy: I spoke with Focus on the Family’s subscription line and the agent said that a postcard will be sent to the gift’s recipient. You should do it within the next couple of weeks so that the magazine begins arriving around the first of the new year.
If you are going to give a gift subscription to your child, you might also consider giving a gift subscription to the same magazine to one of your child’s grandparents or a beloved aunt or uncle. This could give that adult and your child some good conversation starters. And if you are the grandparent or aunt or uncle who is giving the subscription to your special child, why not get a subscription for yourself? The magazines are fun, informative and interesting, even if you grew up a while ago.
Nancy Ellen Hird is a mom, a writer and a credentialed teacher. (She taught seventh grade and preschool.) Her latest works for children are I Get a Clue and We All Get a Clue , mystery novels for girls 10-13. For several years she was a freelance reviewer of children’s and teen’s literature for the Focus on the Family website.
