So, What Is In Your Big Backyard This Month?

Your Big Backyard is published by the National Wildlife Federation and is a great magazine for kids. My grandmother, my 6year olds great-grandmother started a subscription for my daughter two years ago and we have been renewing the subscription ever since. This magazine is filled with fun stories and activities and recipes for children and it always provides days of fun things to do.

Each month’s subscription features a different animal on its cover. This months-January 2001 features Japanese Snow Monkeys. Inside the magazine there is an easy to read and understand article telling all about the animals featured on the covers each month.

What The Magazine Contains: Each month’s edition follows the same basic pattern and offers similar activities. This month’s edition is a perfect example of what you can expect month to month. There is something for kids on almost every single page.

On the inside of the front cover is a picture of a giant sea turtle and in the corner is a little cartoon bluebird-Bonnie- who tells us about sea turtles.

On the page listing all the activities and stories is a cartoon chipmunk-Chester-who talks about Frost and tells us to turn to page 14 to find out what makes frost.

On page 4 is the feature Lets Explore. This is a monthly feature, this month features Let’s Explore-the South Pole. At the bottom of the page are small pictures of various animals that the child is supposed to find in the pictures above. It is a simple and fun activity that introduces the child to animal life from a particular area.

In the January 2001 issue, the next feature is a story about Japanese Snow Monkeys. There are three pages of pictures and facts about snow monkeys. Children are encouraged to count and find the monkeys in the pictures.

On page 9 is an activity maze. Your child needs to help Hiroshi the Snow Monkey get from the top of the page to the bottom of the page where his friends are waiting. There are several false starts but the mazes are very simple and easy for young children to follow.

The next activity is a story featuring The Adventures Of Bonnie and Chester. This is a one page story about Bonnie the Bluebird and Chester the Chipmunk. This is a story that you can co-read with your child. Instead of the names Chester and Bonnie there are little pictures of each animal as well as little pictures instead of other words like bunny, footprints, tree, penguin etc… This is a fun story for parent and child to read together.

The next several pages feature Giraffe’s. There is a poem and then a game called Tall Giraffes for you and your child to play together.

The next feature is a monthly feature called Ever Wonder? This month’s Ever Wonder? is all about frost, what makes it and where to look for it.

Each month features a pull out poster. This month’s poster is a very cute one featuring Emperor Penguin Chicks. My daughter thinks the little one in the middle is the cutest!

This magazine always features arts and crafts. A monthly feature is The Mystery Page where the child has to color in spots on a puzzle like page in different colors to figure out what animal is featured. Then they have a Let’s Draw page that gives your child step by step instructions on how to draw a particular animal-this month we learn how to draw a sea turtle.

This month’s issue also features a story and pictures of Sea Turtles. There are pictures of baby sea turtles going into the sea and pictures of a sea turtle laying eggs along with the story on how sea turtles are ‘born”. These articles are always simple and straightforward and easy to understand. They are educational and fun at the same time.

On page 22 of the January 2001 issue there is another activity maze, this one features Sandee the sea turtle and you have to help her get to the ocean and away from the bright lights. Like the other maze this one is easy and can be traced with either a finger or a pencil.

Page 23 features on of our personal favorite activities. Cooking With Chef Chester. Each month offers a new and simple recipe to do with your child. This month is Caramel Turtles. One of our favorite snacks-Cheesy Mice came from this magazine. All the recipes featured are easy and can be done together with small children.

Another favorite feature of Your Big Backyard is Bonnie’s Crafts. Each month features a different crafts project-this month is How to make a flapping bird. The crafts projects tend to be a little more difficult and require more parental supervision.

Each episode features a Wild Cousin’s page where you and your child learn about domestic animals and their wild cousin’s. This is an educational and interesting feature.

At the end of this magazine there is always the Read To Me feature. There is always a story to read aloud to your child. This month’s story is Sun And Moon. It is a cute and fun story about how the sun and the moon become friends and sometimes come together in a Lunar or Solar eclipse. There are always great illustrations to go along with the stories.

At the end of each issue is The Parents” Page. This page gives information about different things to the parent about different stories and activities to go along with the ones in the magazine. There are always a number of WWW. Links offered for you and your child to safely explore together. One of the neat things offered this month is the information that on January 9th 2001 there will be a lunar eclipse visible to parts of the United States. They give the link for the U.S. Naval Observatory so that you can get more information. (The link if you are interested is- http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/data )

A final feature of this magazine is Backyard Buddies. On the back cover there are pictures of children who read the magazine doing fun things like gardening and pictures drawn by other kids. There is always an address and an idea for pictures so your child can send in their own drawing or picture.

This is a fun magazine. Each month features new and fun activities, recipes and crafts that are fun to do with your children as well as being educational. We usually take about an hour to read through the magazine together, then my daughter does the drawing and coloring pages by herself. We always try out the recipes at least once and no matter what they are always fun. One of the best parts of this magazine however, is the fact that it comes addressed to my 6 year old. She loves getting her OWN mail.

If you have a child or grandchild aged 2-8 I would strongly recommend this magazine as a gift. It only costs $15 or so for a yearly subscription and is well worth every penny. I like this particular magazine a lot better than most other magazines offered for children. There are no adds so no worries about Mommy-buy me this or that new toy every month. Each month is a learning adventure. This magazine is fun, educational and a great way to spend a few hours a month with your child!