Old Magazines

Hello,

Every now and then I am asked “How long should I keep magazines issues?” or “What do I do with old magazines?”

There is a general rule for magazines as to how long to keep them. The rule is to keep them for 3 – 5 years, then discard. For the most part, this is a great rule. However, I offer some exceptions for you.

1. Certain periodicals such as Cobblestone and Faces are great resources for the curriculum, so I would keep them around like a textbook or other resource. We have copies of Cobblestone from when it was first published in 1980. Some people would also include National Geographic in this list, too.

2. There may be certain magazines that are popular with your students and they don’t care how old it is. Magazines like American Girl, Radio Control Car Action, Ranger Rick, and others just stay around here until they fall apart. We actually mend these until it is hopeless.

What can you do with old magazines? It used to be that children made posters and projects using pictures from magazines, but I seldom see this happening any longer. Children tend to get the pictures they want from the internet these days instead of magazines. Look for art projects or other activities using magazines and recycle them in your school in this way, or just discard them from the computer and put them on a table with a sign that says “FREE”. We do this here and they disappear quickly. I also put our weeded books out for free and they disappear, too.

On another note:
Someone also gave me another idea. He asked if I had ever done a post to highlight SDA authors. I have not, so I am asking you for your ideas on this. What SDA authors do you know or use in your school? What books have they written? Do they answer letters, or visit schools, or SKYPE? We can put together a list of authors for a reference.

Have a great week.

Audrey

Currently reading:
A New Song by Jan Karon
The Indiscretions of Archie by P. G. Wodehouse
The Obsession of Victoria Gracen by Grace Livingston Hill
The Last Boy at St. Edith’s by Lee Gjertsen Malone