For the past few years, my kids have been collecting Schleich animals. These simple toys make perfect stocking stuffers.

They’re great for tossing in Easter baskets, and I’ve also loved adding them to the fun of their birthday parties.

Over time, we’ve ended up with quite the collection, and with a variety of other pretend-play animals that we own, our “Animal Basket” is full and overflowing with all kinds of different creatures.

They are perfect for counting! Sometimes we even put them in groups of five or ten. They are awesome for practicing addition! Example: The cow has two front legs and two hind legs – 2 + 2 = 4.

We’ve recently been learning about all different kinds of animals:

- Birds - Reptiles - Amphibians - Mammals - Insects - Fish

One morning, we read the books (picked up from a yard sale for ten cents each – Score!), and then the next day, we laid them out on the coffee table and begin sorting our animals!

We laid the fish on the fish book, the insects on the insect book, the mammals on the mammal book – You get the idea!

Quick Tip: Reserving library books online and picking them up from the hold shelf will make life even easier for you.

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