Learning Resources Pretend & Play School Set

I bought the Learning Resources Pretend and Play School for my granddaughters who love, love playing school, and it has been a hit. The girls range in age from 4 yrs to 11 yrs old, and though the younger child will play with it for a while, it is the older children who really use it in depth. Still in frequent use after owning it for an entire year, not an abandoned toy. I appreciate how it all packs away compactly and is portable. The cover is washable nylon, there are carrying handles when it is folded up, and it secures shut with a Velcro tab. There are several inner pockets which store all the accessories. The children frequently bring it out for other play besides school - they love to play movie theater, post office, grocery. The school is quite large when unfolded - it stands 16" high and stretches 38" across. There is a large enclosed pocket for loose accessories, and slot pockets that hold the miniature papers. The dry erase board is constantly used and comes with a little eraser, though I did have to provide my own markers (I believe crayons were intended to be used on the erase board, but they are not very effective). The school also comes with 5 short pencils and 5 crayons. There is a plastic pointer with no sharp edges so it is safe for younger users. It also comes with a small tin bell on a wooden handle, but it is somewhat fragile and was crushed when accidentally kneeled on and now misshapen from attempts to repair it's shape. The calendar and map are reversible and are also write on/wipe off surfaces. Included are a small pad of paper, some worksheets, hall passes, and achievement certificates, as well as quite a few stickers. The older children really enjoy the paper accessories, but they are wasted on younger children who don't understand their particular use and use them as scribble pads. The whole thing folds down to just a couple inches thick and is not a bother to store. I know that there are accessories and add-ons that can be purchased to go along with this set, but the children use it so often that I have saved a fortune by purchasing educator items at the dollar store - I have found achievement certificates, small workbooks for every grade level, dry erase markers, stickers, etc. The girls also love to collect blank forms of every sort, and then play office with the school, or turn it into a movie theater, with show times written across the board and tiny paper tickets to hand out. This has been a great toy for stimulating imagination and creativity, and has remained a go-to favorite. I have given the Learning Resources Pretend and Play School 5 stars for the following reasons: Ease of storage Ease of cleaning Portability Has held interest for the children over a long period of time Really encourages pretend play and imagination Can easily and affordably restock the supplies

Our girls first started using this when the oldest was 6 and youngest 3...it is now a couple of years later and they still adore it! I knew they would quickly burn through the consumables and, although there is a refill packet available, I didn't want us to have to constantly purchase refills. I decided to take 20 minutes and laminate the paper components and just have them use dry erase crayons for them. It is perfect! The girls play school with each other for hours on end and when their friends come over they immediately gravitate toward the set, too. With little worksheets laminated, the kids get to practice their writing over and over and the reverse has been used as a mini dry erase board for other types of lessons. The stickers are easy to stick and re-stick on the laminated surfaces, too, so the kids can use them as part of their "grading" process. They love every part of this kit and it is so much fun to listen to them while they play with it!

I bought this for my daughter the Christmas after she turned five, and it ranked very high on her list of favorite toys. Needless to say, it wasn't something that she had asked for, but she played with it much more than she did with the big-token items I spent WAY too much on! She loves imaginative play, especially playing school, and I felt that this would be perfect. It's very compact, but has almost everything you would need in a pretend classroom. The pointer and the worksheets were her favorite. We would set the case up on a table or desk, and she would pretend the board in the middle was her "smart board" and loved calling the kids up to hand back their dittos. I enjoyed that even though most of the worksheets were very simple, they were accurate and held educational value; along with the map, clock, and alphabet chart. She gets a lot of use out of the "school supplies" storage pocket as well, and it makes me happy to see her learning as she is having fun. Educational toys that children actually enjoy and can fit in the budget are few and far between, and I truly believe this is one that any young child can benefit from!

Kindergartner loves it! This is our family's second set. An older daughter wore one of these out several years ago. Its so fun to relive the school day in the comfort of your own home. The pointer is a favorite as well as the sweet little bell. Only one complaint and that is that it does not come with dry erase markers although it does have the eraser?? The middle white board is perfect for dry erase. Luckily we always have tons around the house but if you dont you may want to purchase some to go with this set. It will be worth it and the little yellow storage bag to the left is plenty large enough to store a few extra supplies. This set folds up nicely and is slim enough to store in a narrow space.

I bought this as a birthday gift for my 7 year old niece who loves to play school. She absolutely loves this school set and plays with it multiple times every day. Definitely worth it! A few things I did not like about this toy: 1) It did not come with any dry erase markers. I was aware of this when I made the purchase, so I went out and bought my own ahead of time. But if you didn't read the description of the product close enough to be made aware of this, it would be somewhat of a downer if you gifted this to a child since they wouldn't be able to play with the dry erase boards immediately. 2) The bell included is somewhat cheap. The handle isn't securely attached to the metal part of the bell, so it's very easy to bend the handle at where it is connected to the metal part of the bell. 3) The dry erase board or the eraser isn't that great. The board wouldn't wipe cleanly with the eraser after writing on the board. It left streaks in certain areas of the board. This isn't to say that the board is just a mess that can't be cleaned because I was able to clean it with alcohol, but it's not as smooth a writing experience as a full scale dry erase board. These were just little things that I think the product could improve on. Despite these issues, I still think it's a great product! 5 stars!

This toy was a Christmas gift for my 5 yr. old granddaughter who is in kindergarten and loves drawing, coloring, making crafts, and playing school. She's always excited about learning new things. So, she has enjoyed playing school teacher, which includes ringing the school bell, drawing, filling out the report cards and learning to write the alphabet, which is illustrated above the marker board. The little clock above the board is helping her to learn how to tell time. This is a very educational toy that can teach little ones quite a lot. After reading other reviews, I did purchase a pack of dry markers for the board, because they are not included, and the crayons don't work as well on the board for writing or erasing. Also, the manufacturer's suggested age is 3+ years; however, I think a more appropriate age for this toy should be 4+ yrs. It seems a little advanced for a 3-year old. I like the way everything folds up into it's own carring case so she can easily carry it with her when she visits. I do recommend this toy for it's fun and educational value.

This was a gift for my two grandchldren, ages 4-1/2 and 6-1/2. It was an instant hit with them, and they were thrilled. It's best to put a support behind the dry-erase board for stability, but the favorite things were the pointer and the bell. And, of course, the stickers. It comes with a few homework-type papers, but we just printed some ourselves. There are hall passes and badges enough to make it seem like a real classrooom and reversible US map/weather map. A plus is the fact that it folds up and closes with a carrying handle, so it's easily put away. One of the favorites this Christmas and definitely makes a good gift.

If your kids like to play school, this is a must have! I was not expecting it to be so big, but it stands about 2.5 ft tall and about 3 feet wide, so you can put it on the kitchen table and the kids have a real classroom atmosphere. Plus it comes with tons of accessories, including a working school bell!! I gave this to a 6 year old as a gift, and it kept her busy for days. My kids also have one and they, as well as their friends, use it all the time. This would be good for kids as old as 8 or 9, and even my older daughter uses it with her sister when no other kids her age are around, although she insists on being the teacher. Very cute. I got mine for about $20 but in retrospect it would have been worth the $40. This is the BEST school set out there.

Kids lobe playing teacher, great item

Nice but it came damaged. It's just a smaller issue that i can fix myself.

Muy resistente, excelente calidad, lo usamos para HS

I gave each of my granddaughters (both 6 year olds) The Pretend School for their birthdays. They both loved it! They play with it frequently and provides good play value. I photocopied the teaching sheets so I can just print them off when they have used up what was provided. I highly recommend this toy!

My 8 year old loves to play school so this was the perfect gift! It seems to be of good quality and the fact that it can be carried around means that school can be played anywhere in the house!!