Homeschooler's Guide to Nature Friend Website
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Nature Friend Magazine Savings
SAVE with Coupon Code: BLOG1213 Click to join subscriber family
Friends, use coupon code BLOG1213 to save $3.00 off your subscription. You are also invited to post this invitation on your homeschool blog. Thank you. Kevin and Bethany Shank, Editors.
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Announcing Story Contest
We are having a story contest for families that subscribe to Nature Friend. The winners will appear in the May 2012 issue. Three entries will be selected from each of four age groups, 6-8, 9-11, 12-14, and 15-17. From the three stories selected in each group, we will randomly draw a name and give that writer a pair of binoculars. The other two writers will also receive something. Click for rules.
Submissions that are not selected for the story contest will automatically be considered for the June Readers' Issue.
Nature Friend - Helping Children Explore the Wonders of God's Creation
As a busy homeschool parent seeking to reinforce your teaching program with Nature Friend magazine, this page was prepared to help you efficiently find the various aspects of this website that may be especially useful to you.
Sample pages are PDF format. If needed, here is a free reader you may download.
Monthly Art Lessons
Children have a new art lesson in each monthly issue. Additionally, 25 or so children's drawings are featured from a previous lesson. Occasionally, unannounced, we include a bonus page or two of children's drawings. Approximately 6 times per year, the art lesson is 2 pages long rather than 1 page. This gives opportunity for learning more in-depth techniques.
Click here to see a 1-page lesson.
Click here to see page 1 of a 2-page lesson.
Click here to see page 2 of a 2-page lesson, and the completed drawing.
Click here to see children's drawings.
Learning By Doing
Reinforce science with activities in the Learning by Doing feature.
Click here to read a Learning by Doing article.
Pictures and Poems
Children submit their drawings and poetry. Click here to see a Pictures and Poems page.
Creation Close-ups
Children submit photographs of interesting things they have found. Click the link below and scroll to the third page.
Click here to see a Creation Close-ups page.
Study Guide for Nature Friend Magazine - Click to see a video
We now have a Study Guide edition of Nature Friend which has exercises to reinforce what is learned in each issue. The SG comes with the magazine, and exercises are a variety such as crossword puzzle, acrostic, fill-in-the-blank, true and false, etc. Under "For You To Research," are a selection of questions that encourage additional learning beyond what we cover in the magazine. Exercises may be photocopied for multiple children to use. The SG also includes several bonus features. One is "The Photo Critique." You learn photo tips, and have opportunity to submit your best photos for possible publication. We also have a bonus feature called, "A Study in Nature; a Lesson in Writing." Readers are encouraged to cultivate creative writing skills. We also invite you to submit your writings.
Click here to add Study Guides to your current Nature Friend subscription.
Click here to view several sample Study Guides.
The above rufous-phase Eastern screech owl is bringing a nightcrawler to a nest. Did you miss this story in Nature Friend? Would you like to read more about our observations of screech owls feeding young at their nest? How about if I told you one favorite food seemed to be minnows? We even got one photo showing a crayfish being brought to the nest! Click here to see photos and read more.
Each Study Guide has a bonus feature that teaches nature photography. Would you or your children like to take photos like this too? You can! Some photo lessons have included advanced techniques such as in-flight owl and bat photography. In-flight photos like these are easier to get than you may think. The simpliest way to get unique, in-flight action photos is by using a Phototrap. Our boys have been using a Phototrap to capture shots that go on to become contest winners. Your children can take shots like these too. To learn more about the Phototrap, or to order one, click this link.
Both the owl photo above and the bat below were taken by our son, Marlin, 14. Over the last two years, he and three brothers have won twelve contest placements including three grand prizes, first, and second places. Six of the photos have been in-flight shots taken with the Phototrap. Besides teaching basic principles of photography, some photo lessons in our Study Guide will also teach your children how to take their photography to new levels using advanced techniques. Advanced techniques have gone beyond equipment, and also included how to get that bat or owl in front of your camera.
We invite you to send your nature-related stories and photos to us here at Nature Friend magazine. We regularly use submissions from our readers.
This little brown bat is leaving his roost in the attic of a farm house.
Maybe you prefer a friendly little hummingbird over a bat. Photography lessons have covered them too.
Some photos taken by our "students" and subscriber family!
This ruby-throated hummingbird was taken by Mark Petersheim.
Darin Vance, 14, took this photo of an Eastern screech owl. His younger brother, Justin, got the photo below.
This ruby-throated hummingbird photo was taken by Mike Reisenberg.
Testimonies
Many homeschoolers appreciate Nature Friend for reinforcing science from a Creation perspective, and for the monthly art lesson. We have many testimonies, a lot of which come from homeschoolers.
"Thank you for your excellent publication, Nature Friend. A friend and homeschooling mother gave me a copy before I ever met my wife and I recall thinking idly at the time that if I ever married, if we were ever blessed with children, and if we were able to homeschool them, I'd really want a subscription, that it was the kind of material I would want my children to read. Thankfully, all of those things have come to pass, and our family has that subscription! After all these years, thank you for your work and its impact on my family." — Yorba Linda, CA
Click here to read more testimonies.
Share this with your homeschool association webmaster
Make it easy for members of your homeschool association to learn about Nature Friend magazine by placing a link on your website. We have several banners to choose from and code to help you build this link. You may copy this link, paste it into an e-mail, and forward it to your association webmaster.
Link to copy/paste into e-mail:
http://www.naturefriendmagazine.com/index.pl?linkid=13;class=gen
Click here for Nature Friend magazine banners.
See Several Issues Online
Click here to view several issues in their entirety.
Subscription Opportunity Flyer
You may download this subscription opportunity and pass out at your homeschool association.
Click here to go to subscription opportunity flyer.
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Nature Friend Magazine Savings
SAVE with Coupon Code: BLOG1113 Click to join subscriber family
Friends, use coupon code BLOG1113 to save $3.00 off your subscription. You are also invited to post this invitation on your homeschool blog. Opportunity is valid until June 30, 2011. Thank you. Kevin and Bethany Shank, Editors.
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Contact Us
Orders: 1-877-434-0765
Business Line: 1-540-867-0764
Fax 24-hours: 1-540-867-9516
E-mail: kevin at naturefriendmagazine dot com
