One of the things I remember from childhood is pouring over issues of National Geographic when they came into our house. It was such a joy to see photos of far away places as well as stunning examples of nature. But, there were also some photos that made me feel a bit uncomfortable when I was younger and not ‘mature’ enough to make heads of tails of it.
Occasionally, the boys will take a peek at that particular publication when someone donates old issues to the free spot at the local library. They also enjoy the photography, especially of the natural world.
We’ve now been blessed with the last 4 issues of Creation Magazine to get a good idea of the variety of topics covered in each issue. This publication has been called by some the “Christian National Geographic” and I can see why. The photography is absolutely stunning, yet everything points to God as Creator of it all.
While the actual articles change each month, the general division of the magazine is the same with the areas of nature, Scripture and living contained on wonderful glossy color pages.
It was interesting to let the boys ‘loose’ with the issues to read and see which articles they selected and what they learned.
R was intrigued by the article Flying Jewels about hummingbirds in the Spring 2012 issue. We used to see these colorful birds flitting about near feeders set out just for them while living in Western New York and Maryland. I’m sure that a big reason for that article’s draw in R’s eyes was the stunning photography. The fact that he initially came and told me about is that their brain is 4.3 percent of its body weight. This sparked a discussion about brain sizes and head weight in other animals. What a wonderful ‘rabbit trail’ to head down after reading this kind of publication.
D saw that there was a food component and quickly looked at all four issues to see what neat dishes we can try in our house. The publication has the included recipes formatted so you could cut them out. However, I told D to put those scissors back as I’d rather preserve the entire magazine and not have a page cut apart. (Yes, I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to write in books, either.)
He did eventually start reading an article titled Wild Pony Witness in the Fall 2011 issue. This particular piece is under the category of a child’s story and has a homeschool student talking about a visit to Assateague Island. His reading that article then sparked a conversation about how P was supposed to go their with his Boy Scout Troop when we still lived in Maryland, but it got postponed until after we had moved out here.
Creation Illustrated is available as a subscription ($19.95 for one year, $37.95 for 2 years or $53.95 for 3 years.) Back issues are available through their website as well. Readers of the Schoolhouse Review blogs are able to obtain a free introductory issue as part of a subscription (so 5 issues instead of 4.)
Disclaimer ~ We were sent the materials referenced in the above post to facilitate a review as a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew. No monetary compensation occurred and all opinions are my own. You can see what other Crewmates had to say about this product by visiting the Schoolhouse Review Crew website.
I think this newer magazine is so much better than National Geographic! Thanks for sharing about it.