A Sunny Place

The count down begins? (and general update)

I have been quite absent here lately.  I am officially at 36 weeks of pregnancy tomorrow so the we enter the last month!

I have been trying to get our house in order and yet maintain!  With school I got a little behind - so I'm trying to wash walls, organize, purge, re-organize, and maintain what we've done while doing more!  It's slow going - and taking much longer than I thought - but going ok.  The basement has suffered greatly -among other things my son deciding to shred styrofoam down there! But I'm trying to keep moving in the direction I'm going and not run here, there and back interrupting everything I do. Since that is the norm- and then I don't get anything done.  A few times (maybe more than a few!) the kids have had to wait for me to complete  a task before I help them - but to their credit - they have been helping also! They have been doing a lot of reading - which helps fill their time, increases their fluency, and fills in for the fact that I haven't started official school yet as I'd planned in hopes of getting ahead!

We are doing swim lessons now, the girls have a day of church camp next week, and my middle daughter's birthday is next week.  We are going to do a little party for her since we've never done that. Hopefully early next week we can put the final touches on that! I hope to at least get through that -then mentally my mind will be ready to wait for the day to arrive!

Meanwhile, I have done some canning, some veggie soup from frozen veggies, some dried beans - to make for easy meals when I forget to soak them.  I did strawberry jam last week, and black raspberry jam today! we've been indulging in fresh fruits and veggies - last week strawberries, this week black raspberries.  I was able to harvest some broccoli and califlower for about the first time since I've ever kept a garden -it turned out wonderful! I was so thankful.  Our peas will soon be ripe and I'll have a picking of those, some podding and freezing.  Our chickens now have some pasture to run in and eat bugs - we will need to thin our flock, and we did end up with 1 rooster in the bunch.  We will have to do away with him - in the form of dinner sometime.  Although it is very neat to hear him crow - DH is not ready for fertilized eggs yet! :)

I've been trying to bake extra bread and freeze it, and have begun on some freezer meals to have some quick easy things to throw in the crock pot for the next few weeks after. 

Anyway - just trying to post a quick update since I've been so neglectful lately!  I have been reading here as I have time, and continue to head into our last month of waiting for our new little girl to arrive!!

Have a blessed evening!!

Great Savings on a great magazine (homeschool)

This is one of my favorite magazines and they are running  a promotion right now:

Also you can get a renewal of your subscription if you already have one - 2 years for $25!

Check thislink - for you offer!

wendy

"Vacation" grocery shopping!

So Memorial Day is soon upon us.  We are hoping to have some fun and relax this coming weekend.  I went grocery shopping for our fun weekend.  I purchased some soda pop for the kids - it was unanimous that they wanted root beer! :0)  I bought chips, and graham crackers and marshmellows for smores, butterscotch chips to make cookies, watermelon, burgers, and I was lazy and bought store hot dog and hamburg buns!!  hmmmmm  all kinds of goodies for our little "vacation" this weekend!!  I'm taking my mom and the kids to a fiber show since she enjoys knitting.  DH is having some Dental work, Sunday we go visit with some of our church family at a campground family campout, then Monday we'll probably watch the parade and.... :0)  Not sure yet! DH will start the weekend running tractor tomorrow night for a few hours for a farmer friend of ours who needs some help.    So sounds like it'll be busy - I'm trying to have the house in decent order so that I don't have to worry about that - laundry and all is caught up! :0) yeah!

How do you celebrate your Memorial Day?

It's 10 pm - I should be heading off to bed!!

wendy

Eating in Season - Delicious Rhubarb Crisp recipe (healthy too!)

We were the recipients of a large bunch of rhubarb!  My family has never eaten it - although I did growing up some when we were stateside.  So I made traditional rhubarb sauce & also a great rhubarb crisp recipe!  This comes from Simply in Season, a cookbook that encourages eating foods that are in season and is organized... by season!

Since we are in Spring here in Ohio - this recipe fell in the spring section:

Rhubarb Sorrel Crisp

4 cups rhubarb - chopped

2 cups sorrel or strawberries (I used whole strawberries - 1 lb)

1 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup honey instead)

1 Tb orange peel (I omitted this)

1 tsp vanilla

Combine and simmer and cook - 4 minutes (or until all is soft and thick)

Mix 1/4 cup water with 3 T cornstartch - then add to water.  Continue cooking until thickened - set aside. (I reversed it and used 1/4 cup cornstarch with just enough water to mix in)

Mix the following:

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup of all natural flour and 1/2 cup oat bran instead)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup nuts - chopped (I omitted)

Mix until crumbly.  Press about 3 1/2 cups in obttom of 9x13 - then pour in rhubarb mixture - then sprinkle remaining topping.  Bake 30-40 min in 350 degree oven.  Cut into squares. 

yum!!!!

My toes are twinkling!!

We are working on potty training DS.  He's got Number #1 downpat pretty well -but #2 is an issue.  So, we've been dealing with holding, etc and sneaking off to go in undies instead of the potty.

So, I often make him sit for periods of time on his little potty  hoping to "catch" it there instead of undies.  One afternoon he kept asking to get up. He'd gone a couple days and I knew he needed to go - so I wanted him to stay until he went.  But he wouldn't go - so he kept sitting.  I kept telling him to stay put and go.  Finally he said, "But, mom!  My toes are twinkling!!!" 

I let him get up then! :)

wendy

Finally back?! (Update on us...)

So, I've been absent for a while.:0)  With the project I was working on - I had enough online time and computer time. So I've been taking a break. Just checking e-mail, and sometimes quick checks here, and the news - otherwise I'm trying to get things done!!  This will b e a quick update!

The baby is due in 10 weeks, Lord willing.  So, trying to get the house clean/purged/etc in the next week or two.  Then we will probably start up school and be into gardening a little heavier.

School Update:  We are done! woo hooo!!! Our assessments are done, and turned in, and my notification for next year is complete.  we are waiting on our last shipment of school (history - Sonlight) as the lady is finishing her week up and then mailing them out.  Trying to get last years stuff put away and next years stuff lined up. DH is picking up another "new" (to us) bookcase today that we are going tp purchase from Craig's list to help with our book organization.

children - Glad to be done with school and have some extra time.  They are doing well at helping take care of some of their things for our cleaning time. Hannah even noticed the carpets needed vacuumed upstairs and vacuumed them herself!!!  Working on finalizing potty training with 3+ yr old DS!

Pregnancy update:  The OB is going to do weekly NST (Non-Stress Test - hook up to monitor baby's heart and any contractions I'm having for 20 - 25 min period) and ultrasound to measure fluid levels.  this is for fetal viability. These are extra precautions due to our minor glitches (I'll call them) during the current pregnancy.  They did say I could take the kids - we'll see..  Feeling ok - some normal discomforts and sleeping less, more WC trips at night!

Chickens - doing well and growing!! The Broilers are in our freezer a nd mostly eaten :) and the layers are growing well!!! I'll try to post pictures sometimes!

Hope all is well!

wendy

Resource for setting up a budget - nomatter your income amount - FREE

I've been seeing several comments/posts on h-blogger about setting up a budget.  there are some great resources at crown - see HERE.

If you go to the financial tools - HERE - then you can find the calculator you need for free (and anonymous!).  Place in the amounts you make and it will calculate what your budget should be.  It at least gives you a beginning guideline to play with.  You can also use the budgetmeter - youc an put in what you spend and i'tll tell you if you are out of line and where you are out of line.

Wonderful free resource!!

wendy

If A = B & B=C Then A must = C

This is what I remember from my college logic class.   I didn't have a classical education, and so my classical background isn't very proficient.  I have often looked through classical education catalogs.  I do appreciate some aspects of what classical education promotes.  We have had the opportunity to have a small taste of some of curriculum that is classically based.  We have been using a few products from Memoria Press.  I have appreciated the opportunity to look through them. 

Memoria Press is a classical curriculum provider.    They offer a wide array of curriculum to support your classical education style.  Even if you don’t embrace a complete classical style of education, they have many products that are of interest to all.

They offer studies in Latin for various levels.   They also offer Support for Logic, Rhetoric, Latin, Liberal Arts,  Classical Studies, English, French, Christian Studies/Bible, & Copywork & Cursive. 

Much of what they have available is for grade 3 & up.  They do offer copywork and cursive course for K-2 which is the age bracket that our daughters fall in.  Our daughters have been begging to learn cursive.  It’s nearing the end of the school year so I was just going to wait until next year.  Memoria sent us  2 copies of their New American Cursive to try out and our daughters REALLY like it!  How often do children grab their penmanship/writing curriculum and do it first because they enjoy it so much.  Our daughters gladly do their cursive each day and are very excited to be learning it!  They have almost progressed through the entire alphabet and can now write their names (very legibly) in cursive after only doing this several weeks!   Children used to learn cursive/script at an early age, now we hold off until older grades.  If your child struggles in penmanship, I’ve even read that starting them on cursive can actually improve their handwriting.  The letters have been very easy for them to learn!   They have simplified some of the more difficult cursive letters.  These books cost $22.95 each. This is the teacher & student guide together in one book.  It is consumable. You can see a sample of the letters here.

We also have the opportunity to use the Christian Studies I. Although this is for older students, we have been able to use it easily with our girls.  I appreciate that it gives me something on a simpler level that is actually more than just a Bible story!  It has maps available to show them where geographically the events occurred. Also, the questions and supplemental information are very helpful for background information to be included in the lessons.  I have a Bible College education and the curriculum is an excellant reminder of what extras I can be adding int to our Bible instruction for our children, even at this young of age!  The Christian Studies sets cost $38.90 per set and that is for both the teachers book and the student book.  Additional student books are $20.95.  They do utilize the Golden Children's Bible - and it is based on KJV style, but you can use the scriptures and your own preference on translation and adapt very easily.

Also the copywork books were one other product we had the opportunity to look at. I appreciate that there is a sense of purpose with the copywork that they provide.  I appreciate al lthe products we have received from Memoria Press and we intend to continue using them.  Each copybook costs only $14.95 or you can purchase the entire set for $39.95.

As I said previously, even if you are not a complete classical educationist - I believe Memoria Press is worth your consideration. They do have a wide variety of products.  I appreciate their product, and we will continue using and complete what they have sent to us.  I even appreciate reading their catalog!  They include not only their products, but articles written in support and consideration of classical education.  I have always enjoyed their catalog. You may request one here.

Check out their web site today and see if they have something to offer your little homeschool!

ws

So what's the verdict? (Homeschool Topic)

First place is a 3 way tie here!  The three companies holding first place are:

1.                  a.  Homeschool in the Woods (these products are phenomenal!)

b.      All About Spelling (The best spelling program I have seen!)

c.       Artistic Pursuits (If the cost weren’t a factor – I would buy them all!)

Second Place here holds a 4 way tie.  All of these each had their own merits that placed them in this category.

2.

a.       ABC’s of Homeschooling (this is an excellent program with wonderful information!)

b.      Critical Thinking Company (a wide variety of great activity books and programs to enhance education  & thinking skills!)

c.   Bible Songs (truly beautiful uplifting CD’s!!)

d.   Spell Quizzer (My daughters REALLY like this little program! – they think it’s fun to do and even willingly come in and run through it.  My K level daughter thinks it’s grand that she can do the whole 5^th grade sample spelling test correctly simply from running through it again and again!)

3. Trigger Memory System (My children still pull them out to do their chores)
4. Apologia (We have 3 in the elementary series now!)
5. Aurolog Spanish (Truly a quality Spanish program!)
6. Truthquest (A Great way to learn history!)
7. Memoria Press (Classical ed can be a lot of fun! [Contrary to some myths])
8. One2Believe Toys (A wonderful selection, I hope we can get more!)
9. Core Learning –Crayola Art CD (My children really enjoy this and the sample programs they sent to us!)
10. Salem Ridge Press – (I appreciate what this company is doing for our reading opportunities.  I’m excited to see what additional titles they will be able to add to their selection in the future.)

Honorable Mention:

            Spears Art Studio (this is a great product for art, I appreciate that so many grades are included, and that it is seasonly themed.  It is very flexible for the homeschool setting!

            Schoolside Press - The Little Man in the Map (a very cute pneumonic product that we intend to pull out and read again and again!)

All of the above mentioned companies are companies worthy of your consideration in my opinion.  All of them offer a quality product for you to consider!

If you click on product reviews on the side you can read more detailed reviews about each of the companies listed here.

wendy

Making yogurt using a crock pot - step by step with pics

I have been pleasantly surprised with the results of using a crock pot to make yogurt.   The cost is much more economical and the product much healthier!

Plug in your crock pot and fill partially with water.  Take you containers and place in your crock pot.  Set your crock pot on low or warm and plug in.  This will warm up the yogurt environment for optimal temp. {Make sure all components are clean and sterile so that bad bacteria does not grow in your yogurt!}

I start out with whole milk and heat it up to 180 degrees Farenheit.  Measure one quart of milk - or the amount that you will fit into your crock pot. My amount was just slightly over one quart.  Heat over medium heat and stir constantly to avoid scalding. 

Once the milk has reached temp then remove from heat and allow to cool to 115 degrees Farenheit. while it is cooling I add 1/3 cup of raw sugar and a couple dashes of vanilla. Stir well to dissolve sugar.

Then once the milk has cooled to 115 degrees you can now add your yogurt culture.  You can purchase yogurt culture or simply use plain yogurt from the store.  I purchased 1 quart of organic plain yogurt.  I froze the amounts in an ice cube tray and pull out 2 yogurt cubes and allowed them to warm up to room temp during my process so far.  When I used fresh yogurt I added 2 T to approx 1 qt of milk.  There are a variety of recipes and amounts. Then add the yogurt when your milk has reached 115 degrees and stir until it has mixed in well with the milk.

I have also read that you can use your own yogurt as a starter later on - but after a while it looses it's "zip" to make yogurt. My yogurt cubes will last some time, and the cost is fairly minimal when factored out.

Next you will fill your containers with your milk (you can use any type of small glass jar that has a lid). {pardon the blurry photo}

Then place your lid on your container and place in your warmed crock pot.   Make sure the temperature of your water is 110 to 115 degrees (any warmer and you will kill your yogurt starter).

Place your lid on your crock pot, unplug, and wrap up well with a warm towel. My crock pot has an insulated carrier. I place it in the insulated carrier and then wrap with a towel.  You have created your own yogurt maker.  Doesn't it look quite vogue sitting on my counter?

Incubate your yogurt for a minimum of 6 to 7 hrs. You can go longer up to 10 hrs -  the longer you incubate, the tarter it is according to what I've read. I've always tried the 6 to 7 hour range.  You can peek in your cover only to insert a thermometer to check your temp to make sure it is maintaining. It must remain at 105 to 110 degrees to create yogurt. If it has cooled to less than that, plug in your crock pot until it warms again.  The first time I made yogurt I had to reheat part way through the process, this time I did not have to.  After your time as passed you can remove your yogurt cups and check to see if they have set. If they have not set - if it didn't work, if they have set then place in the fridge to cool. 

This was my finished product:

My daughters enjoy flavoring their yogurt with 1 or 2 T of home made jam that we have from last canning season.  They also enjoy it plain.

Since I have a dairy allergy - I must recruit a taste tester.

Quality control department has approved!

Happy Yogurt making!!

Growing bigger...growing bigger all the time!

The Adventures of High Fligh the Flying Zorse...

WriteShop is a company that strives to assist you in teaching your children to write well.  They offer a variety of products to assist you in this venue for ages K-12.  You can see a listing of their products here. 

Our first experience with WriteShop was the Story Builder cards.  This time around we had the opportunity to go through the WriteShop Primary – Book A.  This book is to begin teaching writing skills at the K-1^st grade level. 

 The books are set up in mini-units of sort with a variety of activities that focus on learning to properly build and write a story.  Each lesson carries a different theme.  There are activity pages that support thte theme and each lesson walks children through stages of writing.  WriteShop begins with brainstorming, then building some thoughts on the subject, then structuring the paragraphs.  All this is done with keeping a good eye on punctuation and capitalization.  WriteShop does give you recommendations on how to apply these activities to both your older and younger learning writers.  The books are very flexible and are easily tailored to each need. If your child writes well you can do a variety of sections each day and work quickly through the text. If your child is just beginning or encountering some struggles they can move more slowly through the text.  As a teacher you can use it however much or little you are able to.  I have a friend who needs everything laid out for her, even what to say in her teacher texts.   I think she would enjoy that portion of the WriteShop Teacher’s Guide! If you don’t need that – you can take the ideas and run using your own creativity and style in your writing course. 

The book we reviewed retails for $26.95 for the print copy, the e-copy retails for $24.95 and the worksheet packets can be purchased for $4.95 printed & $4.50 e-copy.

There is a lot of time that could be spent on all the activities that are included in this book. If you are a mom/teacher who enjoys hands on, learning center, creative fun, then you will have a hay day with this wonderful resource!  You will be cutting, pasting, writing, and playing to your heart's content as you learn and progress through directed writing activities and your children learn the art of writing.

The activities are repetitive, so once you get the routine down, the children will understand the process and you can progress much more quickly through the lessons.

My daughters enjoyed the worksheets,  However, after our normal schoolwork load which includes phonics workbooks (sentence writing, and other writing activities), spelling workbook (sentence writing, story writing, and other writing activities), beginner cursive workbooks, and our general penmanship workbook they were written out!  So for us, this book at this current time added too much to the workload. This is not the fault of the program, but rather how we choose to do our homeschool.  I see this as a valuable resource for our family to use during summer vacation as an enrichment program.  Because it is set up to be fun, I would have more time to build the fun centers. Our children wouldn’t already be taxed in the area of writing during summer break and would enjoy the activities much more!  Our children tend to get bored occasionally during the summer and my daughter already has asked if we could continue school during the summer.  I think this will be a fun program for us to throw in as an educational boredom buster!

If you would like to see a sample lesson layout – click here. You can try this lesson out on your children before you buy.  You can get a feel for the routine of the program and the way the lessons are structured and laid out.  This will help you sort out if this product is a fit for your homeschool environment.   The price of the program is reasonable and I would recommend buying the preprinted workbook as your savings for the e-copy isn’t enough to compensate for your cost to print it. But if you are limited on space – perhaps the e-copy is a better match for you!

Overall this is a very well structured writing program geared for the younger elementary age bracket.  It does require extra time on the part of the mother or teacher.  You certainly can pick and choose based on the amount of time you have available to you.  The time factor would be the main draw back that I see from this program. But this drawback is also a benefit of the program as it is very well structured to teach your little one writing, and WriteShop isn’t skimping on content!

You can check out Writeshop’s Primary books that they have availablehere and see if this might be something you can add to your little homeschool!!

Happy Writing!

wendy

Preparing for spring/summer...

Mom… did you see the markings on the bird?

Also, as we walked out of a store earlier this week we heard a bird singing and our children stopped to listen and identify it as a song rather than a bird call (do you know the difference?).

This came from my 7 yr old. Now when a bird flies into our backyard and one of the girls sees it, they excitedly tell their siblings, and they all run to the window for a look.  They have identified blue birds, cardinals, robins, turtle doves, and sparrows so far this year.  We built a bird feeder and next week plan to paint an additional birdhouse to add to our small back yard.   Also the girls have mapped birds and continuing to learn more details about them. 

This excitement has come as a result of Apologia Science Elementary studies.  Our children have always enjoyed animals and birds, but never paid as close attention to them as they do now.  This is our study in Zoology as we are studying Flying Creatures of the Fifth day.  The science curriculum I used previously was a Charlotte Mason style – although it utilized secular books.  The books were informative – but did make reference to evolution and millions of years ago, etc.  They also skimmed over a large number of topics giving just some basic information before moving on to the next subject.   I really appreciate having a text that makes reference to God and how He created His animals.  As the text studies animals more in depth, these concepts are sprinkled throughout the text and I really appreciate them. 

The Apologia texts are much more in depth than your normal elementary age science class. Most touch on topics briefly as they move on to study something else.  Apologia focuses on one area for your school year and your children will learn it thoroughly!!!  You can educate a wider range of ages with Apologia.  The elementary texts run at $35, considering this is for several ages and one year of science study, I think this is a bargain!

I actually have three books from this series of texts for our children for the next several years!  They are wonderful references, full of beautiful pictures in addition to being great texts!  Apologia texts are not set up in a “traditional” textbook fashion and keep the information fun and educational at the same time.  There are also additional resources and links on their web site that correspond with your text you are studying.  A couple companies have also published companion lapbooks that you can do along with your Apologia Study.  Apologia is also in the process of adding to the study helps for their texts. They currently offer a note booking module for purchase to go along with Astronomy series for elementary. This offers notebooking support and mini books that can be used in a lapbook. They intend to increase these study helps as they are able.

Apologia Ministries states that they exist to give the home-schooled student a scientific education that will help him or her make a reasoned defense of the Christian Faith. I find this very exciting and very encouraging! I want my children to grow up with a strong scientific foundation that will enable them to defend their faith as they grow older.  I once watched a seminar put on by Ken Ham that said the basic foundation of your children’s faith should be based on creation.  If you give them a rock solid start on creation then the arrows of the evil one will be less effective as they grow older.   When their faith is challenged either by another’s words or by events in their life, the strong Biblical and scientifically supported faith will give them the tools with which to combat the assault.  The also intend to expand their study offerings and begin including apologetic studies as well!

I found the Apologia text to be a phenomenal study.  The only downside I see is if you are a person who finds constant change invigorating, then perhaps this study might prove to be to in depth or too focused on one topic. 

I appreciate Apologia's focus and well laid out texts.  I also enjoyed the layout of the chapters. It is set up in a form that requires you to read certain pages each day.  It is laid out so that you can pick it up and read however much or however little you have time for.   Apologia has a recommended amount of reading, but it is very flexible.  Because you remain focused on the same topic of study it is easier to pick up and drop off and the children still remember what we have been studying. 

Apologia offers a whole line of studies in science for all ages.  In addition to the elementary science they also offer Chemistry, Biology,  General Science, Physics, and a variety of supportive products for these topics.  This is a science resource for K through high school!

You can see more about each of these topics on their web site. If you are looking for a strong creation based, in-depth, scientific study that allows you to study with multiple ages and gives you some flexibility for your busy homeschool days –I recommend looking into Apologia!  We are enjoying it and plan to continue in our Apologia studies!!

Free $10 certificate - Homeschool

Jam, Crammed, Packed Coat Closets.... the sign of a family living in Ohio

I made yogurt and it worked! woo hoo!

Curl up on the couch, read fun books and call it history class!!

Now that’s my idea of a great class!!  One of our favorite things to do together is read, especially when we can find great books that interest us all!  Truthquest   history curriculum sets up this exact format for teaching your children in history! 

Truthquest History covers from the beginning of time until now and is setup for use with a variety of ages. There is the the American history for young Students which covers Grades 1-6 (I even use with with my K age daughter) and then world history which is for grades 5-12. 

You may have heard that Truthquest is just a book list.  It is a very rich literature based history curriculum.  In a sense it is a book list for you to reference, but it is much more than just a book list!  Each list of recommended reading falls into a category you are studying and coordinates with period of time or event.   Truthquest also includes commentary within each section.  The text of the Teacher’s guide is Christian oriented and the author's comments reflect that.  Truthquest believes that the exploration of history should reveal God and His truth, not glorify the achievements of mankind.  I appreciate this slant on the study of history.  Truthquest also seeks to teach your children that the only source of freedom is God's laws, and the only source of human worth is God's love for us.

As you explore each section of history Truthquest gives you a list of books you can read on that particular era.  The work is done!  Some are historical fiction, some are based on true stories, some are biographies.  Beside each title Truthquest teachers guide will tell you what grade level that book is appropriate for and even some personal opinions on the book (such as don’t miss this one).   

All the books we wanted were available at our local library. I know that not all have the larger library options, but Truthquests definitely gives an extensive enough list that you will be able to find at least a few if not many more that will support your time period of study.

All the books we obtained that were recommended in ourTruthquest guide were delightful!   Of the books we referenced all were very appropriate for the age I am teaching (level K & 1^st grade), were interesting, and informative.  There were a few that were simply fun, and the kids really enjoyed those.  I really appreciated the approach that Michelle Miller takes in her Truthquest history guides.

The price is amazing!  The guides vary in cost from $25 to $35 per teacher’s guide.  Then you use your library to supplement the rest.  For an entire year's worth of history curriculum that can be used with various grade levels I find this a steal!   I think all budgets should be able to fit this curriculum in!!  If you want to see a sample of this curriculum you can find it here. 

If you are a Charlotte Mason style educator, or simply interested in a break from standard textbooks and looking to add some fun and interesting changes in your history curriculum, I’d encourage you to take a look at Truthquest today!  Our family is enjoying this history study!

Hence where "pecking order" comes from....

Reinstill the Wonder of Childhood

What is childhood?  It is a time for play, a time for imitation and imagination!! 

My 5 yr old daughter has fallen in love with horses.  At our local farm/country store they have a large display of beautiful animal figurines that are very realistic looking!  She has always looked and pleaded for one of the horses on the display! For her birthday last year we let her pick one out!  She adores this little figurine!  We recently added to our figurines from this same line.  When the box arrived and I opened it – the figurines disappeared immediately from the box!  I didn’t even have time to remove the little S tag off their legs before little hands grabbed them away.  The children huddled on the floor and began playing with them, among them was another horse and my 5 yr old was thrilled!!  They are Schleich figurines!  And there is simply no comparison to their quality!!

Schleich as a company believes strongly in the importance of childhood play- they  set forth to create beautiful, realistic, and to scale figurines of a wide variety of animals!   Schleich produces approx 500 figurines that fall into a wide variety of categories including: farm life, pets, sea animals, animals from around the world, prehistoric animals, mammals, frontier life, knights, American Indians, and fantasy.    They uphold to all childhood safety standards in the products they produce.  The figurines are designed by a master toy designer to resemble the animal they depict as closely as possible. Each figurine is hand painted especially for your child (or your own personal collection!:0)

Schleich is sold in over 70 countries!  They are carried by a variety of mainstream retailers such as Toys R Us and even in little farm country stores near us!  We recently were visiting the farm store for some antiseptic meds for the chickens when my children spied the Schleich display with the chickens among the animals! Even my husband was tempted to purchase the small chicks to place on his tool box at work for fun!!  They offer a wide variety of mother and cub/chick/calf combos and the baby animals are to scale to their mothers so that they combine in beautiful play and action!

Look up a Schleich display at a store near you and see if you can walk away without purchasing at least one of the little figurines!  Make sure you check out the little hedge hog, or the chicks,  Their cuteness and quality will capture your child’s heart, if not yours as well!!