Saturday Share : Louis Farm, Nature-Inspired Magazine for Children Ages 3 to 11

As a seasoned Waldorf parent, I always appreciate it when I can get a little help in the story telling department! I absolutely love making up stories for my children, just as Steiner recommended, but I always remind myself that for all his brilliance, Rudolf Steiner was not a parent! Making up all the stories is a lofty goal but not exactly practical all the time. Through the years I’ve enjoyed the content in my favorite series by Wynstones press, these have a certain charm between the music and the stories - stories that you can tell time and again. Now I’ve been impressed with a couple new publications that I am excited to review.  I’ll start today with Louis’ Farm. It's a sweet little 45ish page … magazine. This isn’t your ordinary magazine though, there are no ads and no strange glossy images. Instead you have beautiful matte pages of watercolor, transparencies, painting instruction, board games (that are perforated so you can pull them out) and of course, STORIES! Beautiful stories and many of them - most of them are original to the authors. These lovely books are produced by a couple in France, Matthew Thurber, a former Waldorf teacher and Elodie Rabilloud. They have a team that includes author Jack Petrash as a contributing author. The publication is in English and printed in the United States and it is intended for ages 3 to 11. 

I know how hard we all work to use our dollars wisely so hopefully this review will help you decide if this is right for you. 

I’ve received the first two issues and I thought I would show you just how fun they are. I will be transparent and let you know that I didn’t purchase these, they were sent to me for review. I am totally going to let Sariah (12 yrs) devour them and then I will put them in my “when I’m a grandma pile.” 🥰

Let’s start with the first issue. The first thing that impressed me about these was the weight of the paper. These are more like paperback books than magazines. The paper is substantial. The first issue is 46 pages including the front and back page. The cover art is a beautiful watercolor painting. The story pages in this volume are transparencies as well as watercolor. These are really inspiring and might get you creating and perhaps even have you using some of these in your main lessons! This volume also has some string games,  a board game, a maze, hidden pictures, some simple projects and a song! I was also incredibly impressed with the “Parents Corner” contribution by Jack Petrash. There is so much packed into this little book! What a beautiful maiden voyage for these artists!

I will admit that I wondered if they would pull it off for the second one! I am so happy to say that it is just as beautiful as the first. This one touched me in many ways more than the first. I worried that with them being a European company, all their stories might only connect with someone who has a four season life so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a section all about the Sonoran Desert! Our family lived in Arizona for a short time and really grew to love this desert.  The plants and wildlife come to life in this volume. Abundant with stories, there is also a memory game, a rattle craft, felting craft, a crossword puzzle and of course another sound piece of parenting advice from Jack! 

These little magazines are so wonderful. I am excited to share with you a coupon code that goes through May 15, 2023. The code is BUTTERFLIES and will give you 20% off an annual subscription. These come out four times per year and a subscription is $50. I know that may seem expensive to some, but when you consider what is here and the fun you will have with your child exploring them, I think you’ll find it is worth the cost. 

Louis Farm link here.

Blessings in abundance,