Schleich toys
Kids learn so much through creative play, so I’m always interested in hearing about quality toys that engage my kids’ imagination and pique their curiosity. Schleich figures fit that description, and we were all impressed by the detailed, realistic looking toy animals we received for review. One of my daughters received several of Schleich’s farm animals for her birthday, so we were already familiar with the company and the quality of the toys. My older daughter fell in love with Schleich’s wild animal collection, which she saw on display at a wildlife preserve last year. Schleich figurines have been around since the 1950s, so you may have even played with some of their toys yourself as a child! (My sister and I used to collect their Smurf figures.)
Our family received a donkey foal, Lipizzaner mare, sitting cat, African elephant calf, and a crocodile to play with and review.
My 3-year-old especially loves the animals and has played with them almost every day since we received the package! Listening to her play with them is quite humorous, and I posted about her reactions to the crocodile (which she calls an alligator) here and made a video of her talking about a drawing she made here. Because she is so fascinated by the crocodile, I checked out some children’s books about alligators and crocodiles and looked them up with her in an animal encyclopedia that we have; we talked about their habits and where they live, and I pointed out the differences between alligators and crocodiles. This gentle learning opportunity that was sparked by the Schleich figures is only one example of how you can incorporate Schleich figures in your homeschooling program. Even aside from the educational value—they’re just fun!
Prices for the figures vary. You can see Schleich’s growing collection of figures and search for your nearest local retailer on the company’s web site here. In addition to their wild life, farm, forest, sea, pets, and prehistoric animal collections, Schleich features knights, elves, frontier America figurines, and even our beloved Smurfs!
For more reviews of Schleich products, visit the TOS Crew blog; Crew members received different animals, so you can see the variety of animals in the collection. Would you like to join next year’s TOS Homeschool Crew and receive free homeschooling curriculum and educational products to test and review? See this post for more information.
