My hubby laughed when I told him we were reviewing Creation Illustrated. It tickled his funny bone because his parents had a subscription to it when he was a kid! Have I mentioned before that he’s a homeschool grad? His parents are among those who paved the way for us today! We’re so proud of the legacy they left us. And I do think it’s pretty cool that my kids are reading the same(ish) thing their daddy did when he was little!
The Creation Deets
- * Creation Illustrated is a nature journal/magazine. The pages are filled with poetry, recipes, uplifting stories centered on God’s creation and even a lesson plan page on how to use the magazine in your homeschool.
-
(front cover pictured)
* There are four issues a year.
* Purchase one year for $19.95. Discounts apply when purchasing in bulk.
* I’m a sucker for the backstory. You can read Creation Illustrated’s here.
* If you’re a test the waters kinda girl like me, you can request a free issue here.
(inside view pictured)
The Review
I’m a magazine hoarder lover. I have them stashed in baskets and drawers. I’ve been known to pick some up from a Freecycle friend. The new arrivals grace our side tables and the –ahem- powder room. I love being gifted subscriptions. And never visit my salon without one of the trendy hairstyle mags in hand. Course, it might help me stay trendy if I carved out time to visit my stylist more than once a year!
So needless to say, I was super excited to sample Creation Illustrated!
In the spirit of transparency, when the package arrived I found myself feeling let down. I’m not sure that I can really put my finger on why exactly. I just was. I think it felt a little “dry” to me. The recipes weren’t my cuppa tea. I just wasn’t connecting. And I wasn’t really sure how I was going to use it.
But as we spent time with the magazines. Flipping through the pages. Reading the articles. Something happened – little by little Creation Illustrated grew on me.
I decided we’d use them as our afternoon read alouds. And wouldn’t you know, the very first story we read we discovered Machias Seal Island in Maine. Maine happens to be within driving distance of us! We could go explore it ourselves if we wanted to. The kids thought that was super cool!
And that was the beginning of my heart shifting towards this little creation magazine.
I do love knowing that information the kids are reading shares the same core values our family holds. That Creation declares His glory. Many of the articles that had seemed so “dry” to me on a cursory glance…were really interesting once I was cuddled on the couch with the kids. Go ahead, call me a snob. We enjoyed the conversations that flowed from our reading too. There was just something refreshing and wholesome about it. A nice change from our typical novels or picture book read alouds.
But by and far…my favorite part was the front and back cover.
The pictures are beautiful. The poetry lovely. The Scriptures poignant.
It struck me that they looked a lot like the posters my parents used to buy for me at the little Christian book store. I remembered being so proud of the posters gracing my bedroom walls.
So I decided to make some for the kids by removing the magazine’s cover and laminating the front and back.
I then let the kiddos take turns choosing which ones they’d like to hang in their rooms.
Evidently, Trevy thinks his is hat!
:: grin ::
If you’re looking for a wholesome nature journal/magazine or a new hat – Creation Illustrated might just surprise you too!
…danielle
**This is my little space to disclaim that I was given 4 issues of Creation Illustrated in exchange for my honest review shared on my blog. All opinions expressed are my honest own. I hope that you enjoyed and found my review at least a smidge helpful. To read what others on the TOS Crew thought about Creation Illustrated click here.**
No comments:
Post a Comment