I have learned that children LOVE animals. I don’t know if it’s because
there are a ton of them in their first books or because many of their favorite
characters are animals or because it is fun to imitate their noises, but I do
know that a ton of my money goes straight to the zoo and the farm between May
and October.
I personally am pretty neutral when it comes to animals. I never had a
pet growing up (unless you count the Goldfish won at the Purim carnival that
ultimately ended up down the toilet, or the tadpole my dad thought would be fun
to watch grow into a frog. I have three brothers – I don’t even remember if it
made it and if it did, I have no idea what we did with that frog…). When asked,
I tell people my favorite animal is the Koala. It’s adorable and it was my
first Beanie Baby (his name was Mel). It would make sense that my kids would be
OBSESSED with animals since my husband hated the smell of horses as a kid and I
am the first to admit I think the pet shop is equally exciting to visit as the
Bronx Zoo. After getting a bunch of animal books from the library, my kids
decided it was time to ask me about specific animals and things that relate to
animals I cannot explain without Google (thank you YouTube for the video of
ducklings hatching). My dad suggested we get a subscription to National Geographic Little Kids for my
young explorers.
This has actually been an amazing investment for many reasons. First,
my kids love getting mail and this is addressed to them. Second, I learn as
much (or more) from this magazine as my kids. It is written in simple language
that I understand so I can explain what is happening in the pictures (yes, I can
proudly explain how a spider spins a web). Third, my son thinks the cards
inside are precious collector’s items and we all learn really fun facts about
animals I didn’t know had fun facts. (Example: Male elk shed their antlers and
grow new ones every year – is that not fun?) Fourth, the information is broken
up by games and exercises which makes reading the magazine an entertaining and
interactive experience. While it features many animals (and the pictures are
always amazing), it touches upon all aspects of science – nature, space,
dinosaurs, technology, the human body and other things I was never interested in as a child but
my kids really want to learn about. If you think science isn’t your subject it
is time for you to subscribe to Nat Geo Kids
so your kids can get obsessed with it and you can start learning with your
children. Fun Fact: this is definitely a worthy investment.
You can check out their website here: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/
