When I received a copy of Artistic Nature Magazine: Antarctic Wildlife, I really thought I would be getting a digital download of a small magazine. Instead, I received a 96-page PDF on this incredible topic!

Artistic Nature Magazine is put out by the Dunlap family. Joy Marie is the main person behind this endeavor. She and her husband and two of the five children she has homeschooled, put out this online publication. It is definitely a “home-grown” publication, however, the quantity of information makes it far superior to many other things you could find on this particular topic.

The magazine is presented from a Christian world view. However, while it speaks of God frequently, I appreciated that she did not delve into discussions too deep that I would have to worry whether or not they ran parallel to my own. God is frequently mentioned as the creator, but that is about the extent of the discussion.

The magazine was full (and I mean full!) of colorful pictures and information. I allowed both of my second grade boys to read through this on the computer themselves. You could definitely print it out as well, but we chose not to simply due to ink and paper costs. However, certain activity pages (like a word find or mazes or coloring sheets) we did print out so that we could do the activity provided.

I truly feel like nearly every aspect of life on Antarctica was discussed. A large portion of the magazine included facts about the animals present there (whales, seals and penguins primarily.) They also spent time discussing snowflakes. There were pages on the work and livelihood of life in this area as well. Photos of Antarctica were scattered throughout the nearly one hundred pages. A history of tourism and business operations on the continent were also explored. They discussed temperature, the ozone, and included links that you could follow for more fun online things to do. (One of the links took you to a YouTube video of whales “talking”.)

Included in this PDF document are actual photographs of animals or the terrain. However, there are also many drawings produced by the family as well.

I truly have no complaints about this document. I think it is very well priced and would easily provide you with an entire science unit for at least a month. We definitely plan to try out more of their publications in the future.

-Product review by Wendi Kitsteiner, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, April, 2017