My five year old is a big lover of animals, and animal toys, so it goes without saying that he is a huge fan of Schleich products. I must admit, so am I, their quality always astounds me. Last week we discovered that Schleich had bought out a new range of play sets, so we thought we would road test one of them; The European Forest Dweller Play Set.

It consisted of a wild boar, a red deer, and a fox. They all live in the forests of Europe. My five year old loved them, and of course the animals ended up having a fight! Of course!

These animals have been subjected to an awful lot so far here with us; Show & Tell at school, Scooby Doo adventures, sandpit adventures, and have travelled a lot of places with us. They are definitely a big hit. These animals are aimed at 3-6 years and cost £13.99.

If the forest play set isn’t your kind of thing don’t fret, there are many more sets to choose from. They have three categories of play sets; Wild Life, Farm World, and Eldrador. The first two are pretty self explanatory really, but Eldrador…it’s dragons! (This set is aimed a little higher in age range at 5-8 year olds). Prices range from £9.99 through to £14.99.

If you haven’t given Schleich a try yet you most definitely should, you won’t be disappointed!

This weekend we were extremely honoured to be invited to visit the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham to explore their Ancient Oceans event. We love the Sea Life Centre, and it never ceases to amaze us, so with the added lure of Dinosaur Detection it was a great day out.

The Ancient Oceans event is running until 21st February, and takes you back in time to when dinosaurs roamed the land, and fearsome creatures lurked in the depths of the bubbly blue. There are challenges to complete and secrets to discover which can be exchanged for a Dinosaur Detective certificate at the end, plus a Sea Life Centre medal. There are lots of different activities going on during the event, and you’re also given a timetable for the centre at the admissions desk.

One of our challenges was to keep a look out for seven bones as we made our way around the centre. We had a sheet with the bones on and a sheet of numbered stickers to add on once we discovered them on the  journey around. My two boys (three if I include my husband) loved this.

Our first port of call was the penguins. There is a big wall of frost and ice as you reach the penguins, and my boys love leaving their handprints on there, it’s a lovely way for the children to get a full-on sensory experience. The penguins always amaze my children, and being able to see them both on land and in the water is fascinating.

As you make your way around the centre there is always something to look at. The floor to ceiling fish tank is amazing, and always captivates my three year old. There is also a rock pool area where you can get hands on with some sea creatures. My boys are usually too anxious to touch any of the sea creatures, but this time they decided beforehand they were going to be brave and touch a starfish, and my 5yo carried out his plans, the 3yo ran a mile.

The coral cave also captured the attention of my children, it was so lovely being able to get so close to the fish, even this yellow fellow below!

The Sea Life Centre has really taken interaction on-board in it’s structure. A favourite part for us was the Starfish area, my boys loved this. It’s a fantastic way to get up close and personal with these sea creatures. There are pop up domes to stand under, tunnels to climb through, and portholes to look through. They really enjoyed this part.

The jelly fish are another part my boys loved. It’s great being able to get so close.

During the Ancient Oceans event there are activities in a small room by the otter enclosure.  My boys loved discovering dinosaur fossils, and as a reward they were given a real shark tooth! These teeth are now their pride and joy!

There are several fun interactive boards around the centre too, this one was a big hit with my 3yo!

The 360 degrees Oceanic Tunnel is amazing at the Sea Life Centre. It’s such a wonderful experience, and my children and I are always amazed. They always look out for the giant sea turtle too!

And, of course, at the end there is a mini soft play for the kiddies that always ends our trip well!

Thanks for another great day out National Sea Life Centre Birmingham, we’ll definitely be back soon!

We are big fans of Peppa Pig in this house, we have lots of figurines, and playsets so my boys were very excited to be sent the Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train to test out!

The Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train was a big hit with my boys who are aged 3 and 4. The carriages clip together very easily and really promote fine motor skills.

The Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train also includes a special edition Peppa Pig Weeble with a lovely heart design. Weebles are great fun, they are figures that wobble but never fall down! We have purchase a lot of Weebles over the last five years!

The Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train has a recommended age of 18 months plus, but as you have read my boys loved it at ages 3 and 4 too. The Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train retails at £17.99, and extra character Weebles retail at £4.99 each.

Peppa Pig Weebles Pull-Along Wobbily Train is great fun and worth the investment, we will definitely be buying some more Weebles characters soon to ride the train with Peppa!

My boys both love watching Cloudbabies, particularly my 3yo, so you can imagine their delight when we had some Cloudbabies goodies sent through the post. My 3yo received a Baba Yellow, and my 4yo received a Baba Blue Blankie.

Baba Yellow is a plush toy with a plastic dolls head and is for age 2+. Baba yellow retails from £6.99.

The Baba Blue Blankie is a soft toy with a very soft blanket attached. It retails from £9.99. This soft toy is great for my 4yo who has sensory issues. He loves soft textures, and finds them calming and comforting. He hasn’t put it down yet!

Cloudbabies have around 8 different toys in their range, and also several books that look fantastic too.

We love our Cloudbabies, and would highly recommend them!

Recently, we were lucky enough to visit the National Sea Life Centre in Birmingham for the launch of their new Sea Stars attraction. We had so much fun!

Before you reach the Sea Stars Attraction you pass an open rock pool with a few star fish in, I even stroked one! Although according to my two year old “Mummy touched the star fish bum bum!” Boys!!!

The Sea Stars Attraction is so lovely. They have peep-holes so you can have a real close look, my boys loved this! Some of the star fish were huge!

My 2yo loved being able to get so close to the star fish, although he did try to recreate the scene from Finding Nemo with Darla and the fish tank – the photo above will give away which scene if you have ever watched it!

There is also a Giant Sea Star to have a look at. My boys were amazed by its size! There was also an interactive screen where you could adjust the speed of the star fishes movements, this was a big hit with my 4yo.

The pop-up-bubbles were my favourite part of the Sea Stars attraction. They gave you such a great perspective of the star fish, and made you really feel part of the whole experience.

We had such a fab day out, the Sea Stars were amazing, and were the highlight of our day, along with the penguins! There is so much to do at the Sea Life Centre; 4D cinema, stingrays, penguins, soft play, photo screens, otters, sharks, ocean walk-throughs, jelly fish, turtles, and even a creative zone which my boys loved!

The Sea Life Centre is an all-year-round, any weather place to visit!