Play and Learn Every Day

Peter Rabbit Party

2:09 PM

We were invited to a very special Peter Rabbit Party over the weekend, to celebrate the release of the new Peter Rabbit Movie on DVD as well as Beatrix Potter's birthday! The party was hosted by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and Cine Mini Film Club and took place at The LookOut in Hyde Park.

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We were so excited to arrive, be handed our Peter Rabbit ears and then meet the main bunny himself! Ethan bravely ran up for a hug, but Ivy needed a bit more convincing.

She did not need convincing, however, to rush off to join in with the activities!

Our first stop was to meet the animals! There were bunnies, goats, ducklings a hedgehog and guinea pigs! Many of the animals were a bit hot and tired, but we did get to meet this very sweet little guinea pig and give him a pat.

Next we planted some sunflower seeds and decorated the plant pots with bunny ears and a fluffy tail.

But the kids' favourite activity by far was the fruit and vegetable printing! This is something that we've done at home in the past (we cut heart shapes into potatoes for Valentine's Day stamping and did some apple printing on cards for the teachers) but we've never just had a load of fruit and veg to choose from and a picture to complete. It's a fantastic idea and kept the kids busy for ages!

Then it was time to watch the Peter Rabbit Movie! We were given these brilliant movie prop boxes from Cine Mini which the kids adored! They were so thoughtful and perfectly themed. There were plenty of items to keep them busy during the film if they wanted something to play with (and a carrot shaped bag full of popcorn to munch on!)

They absolutely loved the movie (and so did we!) it's a great one to watch with the whole family. And we've been inspired by Cine Mini and their creative ideas (we often plan activities to match with books and songs, but we've never done movie activities or baskets before!)

Why not buy the Peter Rabbit movie on DVD and hold your own Peter Rabbit Party with themed snacks and activities to go along with it? Such a fun way to spend a day over the summer break from school!

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* This is a review post, we were invited to the Peter Rabbit Party in order to view the Peter Rabbit Movie DVD, and join in the fun activities, all opinions are our own.*

4 1/2 years old

Dinosaurs in the Wild - Review

4:41 PM

We went to Dinosaurs in the Wild in Greenwich, London a couple of days ago and I am still amazed at how incredible it was, and I think it's something that the children will continue to talk about for a long time to come. It's the perfect family day out over the summer holidays and it's on until 2nd September in the Greenwich Peninsula.

It was such an amazing experience, Ethan has referred to it as the most thrilling day of his life! But because it is so unique I worry that I might give too much away in this review and spoil it for you! So I'll start with a brief overview, then give some spoilers later and tips later on.

The experience begins before you even reach the building! When we exited North Greenwich station we weren't sure exactly which way to go (as it is about a 10 minute walk) but we needn't have worried as there are dinosaur footprints and signs to lead you to your destination.

Then once you enter and show your tickets, you can go straight over and have a green screen photo taken (which will later have a t-rex behind you) which of course we highly recommend, any chance for a photo opp! We also recommend that you go to the loo at this point, as there are no washrooms available during your journey through time.

At the beginning you go through a series of waiting areas to the departure lounge, where you are briefed about the journey and given your safety glasses. It is all very serious right from the start, and you are immersed in the experience as soon as you set foot into the departure lounge. They have thought of every single detail throughout, giving you lots of information to read on the walls about the history of Chronotex and how they developed the time travel system.

We got ready to board our time travel device, again being reminded to keep our safety glasses on and to follow all instructions. They don't allow flash photography throughout the experience and the low lighting really adds to the whole ambience, but unfortunately it means that my photos and videos really don't do it justice, it is something that you need to experience for yourself.

We entered the time machine and found our seats, the journey through time does not take very long, and we were soon able to open the shutters and get our first glimpse of the dinosaurs (you can see a clip of this in our video further down.)

Our vehicle then drove to Time Base 67, where we were briefed on all of the different areas of the base that we would be visiting.

Again I was amazed at every little detail that they thought of, there were too many things in each room to even look at. I am sure that every person who visits notices little things that others don't. I quite liked these monitor panels which display the current time and date, all part of the experience.

First we visited a specimen room which we were free to walk around and see a variety of different samples from the dinosaurs. This T-rex claw was particularly fascinating to the children.

I really liked how many facts there were to be found around the room. You can tell that all of the information here has been well researched and a dinosaur fan could definitely learn a lot from all of the little signs around the room. Our guide was also very knowledgeable and told us about many of the items in the room, and also answered any questions that we had.

And of course who could pass up the opportunity to get a good feel around some Tyrannosaurus dung!

Next we moved onto a room where we could witness a dinosaur autopsy take place. Again there was a lot to learn here and everyone was completely fascinated (but I won't give too much away).

We moved on next to the hatching room. This was Ivy's favourite room by far, there were a few different incubators that we could look at filled with a variety of dinosaur eggs and another expert to talk us through it all.

We even got to see a newly hatched Dakotaraptor, whom they decided to name after one of the children there; meet Ivyraptor! (You can see a bit of this in the video clip as well.)

Onto the nocturnal room, where we could watch a few of the dinosaurs while they slept during the day.

And then onto a few dinosaurs who were recovering from illness, we really liked this triceratops!

And finally we took the life to the lookout, where there were four large windows with the shutters down, with information tables in front of them.

When the shutters opened we were once again witness to all sorts of interesting goings on outside of the time base with all of the dinosaurs.

Spoiler alert! This is where things started to get intense with what we were seeing outside these windows. A few different incidents occurred with the dinosaurs outside and our vehicle was no longer available to take us back to 2018. So we had an emergency evacuation, which did cause some concern for the younger children. In the end of course we made it safely back to the present (well, 2019, but who's counting right?) and I wasn't sure how the children would react, but that's when Ethan said that it was the most thrilling day ever and that he absolutely loved it. And even though Ivy is below the recommended age range (they say from 5 but she is only 4) she seemed completely unfazed by it once it was all finished.

Here's a little video of our experience, including a clip of the time travel journey and when they named a baby Dakotaraptor after Ivy!

Our tips for attending Dinosaurs in the Wild:

make sure that you eat beforehand as there are no stops during the journey (there is a small cafe stand in the entrance / exit though)
make sure that you go to the toilet before you begin as there are none during the experience
consider bringing a baby carrier if you're bringing a little one as you can't bring pushchairs / strollers through (but they can be left at the entrance)
make sure that you only bring children that can handle the intensity of the experience, I mistakenly thought that I would be able to bring Ivy out if it was too much for her, and am not sure now how that could have happened (but luckily she handled it well, so also don't underestimate a four year old!)

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* This is a review post, we were given tickets to attend Dinosaurs in the Wild in order to write this post, all opinions are our own.*

4 years old

Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom Magical Days of Summer

1:25 PM

We love Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom, so of course we were happy to be a part of the their Magical Days of Summer campaign. There are bound to be rainy days eventually, and we will be spending them watching Ben & Holly and playing with these fantastic toys!

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We have received the Ben & Holly's Little Kingdom: The Magical Collection set of 4 DVDs, the Thistle Castle Playset, a Violet Figure and Accessory, a Little Library collection of 6 books, a Memory Game and a Puzzle as well as the Big Star Fun App to play with on the go.

The DVD set includes 4 different DVDs which each have a selection of episodes of the programme. This is going to be perfect for rainy summer days or even to take away on holiday and watch on the go!

Ivy absolutely loves a little set of books, so this Little Library of six books is absolutely perfect for her. It's so small that it's easy to bring along with you on long car trips or on holiday as well, these books are definitely going to be read many times over the summer!

The six books focus on the different characters in the show, which the children love as they each have their favourites and choose to read those ones first.

Of course I am also loving the fact that these books are easy enough to read that Ethan can read them to Ivy himself, and they're both kept busy without any interference from me!

There are also pictures on the back of the books which you can line up to make a sort of picture puzzle, which the kids love to do as well!

The Memory game is also lovely, it comes in a small box which would also make it ideal for travel if you're spending some time in a cottage and might want some indoor fun. It is easy to set up and can be played by children of all ages.

Ethan and Ivy love playing the memory game together, it's so great for building their memory and observational skills. And they have so much fun collecting their favourite characters.

The puzzle is also a great one for playing indoors on those less than perfect weather days.

It's got 35 pieces which are fairly small, so it was a bit advanced for Ivy (4) on her own, but perfect for Ethan (6) to help her with and make together. I am sure with a bit of practice she will be building it on her own as well!

The box is also not too big, so it could be easy to take along with you for a trip (just be careful not to lose any pieces!)

We also received a little figure and accessory set, of which we got Violet and her butterfly.

These are really sweet and small, but also quite robust, perfect for some small world play.

The children were most excited to open up the Thistle Castle Playset! It's just like the castle on the show and comes with quite a few different accessories including Holly, her bed, throne and mirror as well as some magical items.

The children absolutely love all of the magical items, like the treasure chest that opens on both sides so that it can appear full or empty. Ivy thinks she's doing real magic when she plays with that one!

It is also great for some small world play, because we also have the Violet figure the children each had a little fairy to play with and could make up a little story about them causing some magical mayhem within Thistle Castle.

There are so many little touches that the children can be kept busy for ages! The toadstool in the front of the castle turns and that opens up the front door, which they actually discovered themselves and were so excited! This is definitely becoming one of their new favourite play sets!

There is also a great app called Big Star Fun that the children are loving. It has a variety of different activities that they can do, and it's perfect for keeping them occupied when you've got nothing else to hand (like on on a long hot train ride home, it worked perfect yesterday!)

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* This is a review post, we were sent a bundle of Ben and Holly merchandise in order to write this post, all opinions are our own.*