Last year my youngest son started his collection of Brio play and his first piece was the fantastic Brio Parking Garage. He plays with this toy every single day without fail , he loves it . He interacts different pieces from other toys into his imaginative games and when we were asked to take a look at the new Train and Bus station which can be joined onto it we of course said yes. Just like the other Brio toys we have tried , we were not surprised by the well packaged boxes that arrived and soon as they arrived they were open and straight into the play . Both the Bus Station and the Train station are part of the Brio World /Travel collection . They both have the ability to connect to each other and to any other Brio track like product. One of the many reasons we love Brio is for their quality products and the fact that their products are made form 100% wood from well managed forests which means they take full responsibility for all wood used . Bus and Train Station 3 years and over Recommended £24.99 5 Pieces included One of the aspects of the Brio World Bus and Train station I loved this time and with this product is that it came with a playable person Figure . You also get an end of piece which adds on to make the Bus parking depot, an over sized suitcase and a Bus that fits your figure in perfectly so play can be enjoyed fully. The bus is a bright and cheerful sunshine yellow and has a roof that lifts up so your figure can fit comfortably inside and its extra added feature of having the magnetic front and back bumpers means all other vehicles that are form Brio will work with it. My son has the transporter wagon which came from the Parking Garage which he loves to add into this piece. He likes to make them all into a train and carriage and adds multiples along the floor , keeping him entertained for hours. The station has three posts, you get two stops and a post where there is a painted machine that makes imagination believe this is where you get to buy your tickets. All you need to do now is to hop on your bus which will take you to the train and bring you back on your return. If the weathers not great, least your able to take cover under the wonderfully green sheltered rooftop. This toy is wonderful for stimulating their hand and eye co ordination skills helping them develop their touch senses. There is no batteries needed with this toy. Central Train Station 3 years and over recommended £33.99 2 pieces included The Central Train Station is a fantastic add on edition to the World Collection . You only get 2 pieces in this product consisting of the Train Station itself and a figure to make that inspirational creativity come to life . I absolutely love that this product has a wonderful feature of sound . Unlike the Bus and Train station previously looked at , this station has a ticket service stand where you place the figure onto the button and it beeps enlightening your child's hearing senses . Your child will also love the added clock featuring on the entrance top of the station . Just like any train station you may have visited , time is important and so having the movable hands to change time will ensure you catch your train on time . I would have loved to have seen a vehicle with this item such as a small train or carriage to add into the role play but luckily my son has interchanged some pieces form previous played with Brio products . This product comes with batteries included 2 LR44 batteries required *We were not paid for this review , all opinions are honest and based on our own experiences and thoughts.
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Squeeze Poppers from Cheatwell Games are our Current choice of playtime fun . After receiving these new and intriguing toy in the post we've had a very lively past few weeks and I have to say I'm still giggling over how funny and amusing they actually are. Cheatwell Games have brought out a new toy called Squeeze Poppers that are aimed for ages 4 years and over . The toys are available form Amazon and cost just £8.99 each . We were sent 3 fabulous varieties of the squeeze poppers but there are so many more ranging from Unicorns , dogs, Garden Gnomes, dinos and monsters, they even have our most loves Emoji Poo Popper which without needing to go into too much information makes the little ones giggle every time they play with it . Playing is so simple and easy to do , no instructions need but they are displayed easily if anyone needs them on the back of the box . I have also included a short Video below to show you how simple it is . You choose your Popper , in our case , we used the Dino Popper , sporting its fantastic brightly colours of green . Each popper is made with a soft rubber like feel plastic and is perfect for stress relief . They come in all shapes and colours and each Squeeze Popper comes with 6 Foam balls except fr the Poo Popper which comes with 4 . All you need to do is place one of the foam balls into the mouth ( the hole is on the head of the Poo) and squeeze . The harder you squeeze , the further it goes . These Squeeze Poppers can reach a wonderful 6 meters and is ideal for indoor and outdoor play. Because they are also made from foam it means they're also safe but I would advise to ensure your children do not aim these at other children s faces as we found them to be quite powerful in the hands of the elder children . If you are interested in winning some of these Fantastic , fun Squeeze Poppers , please keep an eye out for our next post to be in with the opportunity to win 3 to play with yourself.
*We were not paid for this review , all opinions are honest and based on our own experiences and thoughts. We have had a very interesting past few week learning at home in our home educating journey. Over the past month we have learned about Dinosaurs , the Anglo Saxons and the Vikings and on many occasions the conversations came up regarding queries as to how we knew what happened all those many years ago . Talking about Fossils and Archaeological diggers who found remains of past times and events during our talks we thought it would be a fantastic opportunity to bring in the Mine It Diamond and Gold Bar to show them just how fun and how interesting it can be. Mine It from Character Options are fantastic pocket money toys that cost just £4.99 each and are recommended for ages 4 and over. Although the age recommendation is 4 years and above my nearly 2 year old was very well supervised while having a go himself and absolutely loved his experience. We have found that he loves to dig and loves to look at things carefully and lately he has become very open to his senses of putting his senses t good use. We allowed him to use the tools included with each kit consisting of a shovel, a hammer a paintbrush and a magnifying glass and as you can see he especially loved the hammer and looking glass. It did not take him long to understand that looking through the glass made things look bigger for him to enable seeing what was hidden inside the Gold bar. Because we used both the Diamond and the Gold bar inside (although these can be placed in some interesting areas outside for them to find and use) , I recommend placing a cloth, tray or paper down on the surface beforehand as it does end up becoming rather messy and also may scratch the surface that it is placed on being the material that is used. I added a few sensory extras to our play by adding sequin stars and glitter (these are not included) but it does not take long for the sand to start piling on the table or floor and soon actually feels like a real digging site with it ending up everywhere . It is easily hoovered and wiped though so nothing t worry about , it really is great fun. While my younger son had the Gold Bar , my elder Daughter had the Diamond to dig into . We did find out that you had the option of digging (which takes longer and gives the full experience in my opinion) or you can actually use them in water making it fall apart a little quicker . Have you ever seen the old movies where you see them sat by the side of a muddy pond sifting the gold in a sieve ? well this can also be done but we took the digging option as this is what my children were interested about , plus I wanted it to last longer than a minute which surprisingly it did. We bought a few similar digging products not long ago and although a little cheaper in price they seemed to be done with too quickly and they got bored easier . It took Joshua a full 15 minutes before he got to the surprise that was hidden in his Gold bar and Drew only 5 minutes less so it was a good lesson that required a lot of concentration with hand and eye co ordinations skills. In each product you are promised one very special piece of rock and there are 6 precious stones to collect -
Not only that ,If you are really lucky , you may even find real gold or a real diamond inside your block and there is a 1 in 24 chance . The race really is on to find that real precious surprise. Each pack includes either a 1 x Diamond or Gold Bar, 1 x Chisel, 1 x Magnifying glass and 1 x Hammer. You can hammer, chisel and brush away to find them all. Take a look at the short clip below to see how much fun our little Joshua had digging away with his Gold Block. All Mine It Gold and Diamond Bars are available from all leading retailers . *We were not paid for this review , all opinions are honest and based on our own experiences and thoughts.
We all know how much I love Brio . Wooden toys have become my must have toy for any parent looking for long lasting . hard wearing play and Brio always brings the best quality and most fantastic toys that any child would love. We were sent The Brio Bumblebee along with a few other things to try out and I knew that this would be something special . As I took the very well made wooden Bumblebee toy from the packaging , I realised it was quite some weight . The adorable looking insect was not so small and has very cute features such as the subtle smiling face and coil spring antennas which wobble and make my little boy giggle every time he flicks them with his little hands. You have the Brio branding on the very sturdy wheels and a long yellow cord to start pulling your Bumblebee along the floor with. The faster you go , the more the bumble bee flaps his wings which are make of what look like two round extended wings on either side of the product . They spin while making a clacking noise which gives of a sound interestingly that mimics a bee itself as if he was really of to get his honey . Brio Bumblebee is available for £17.99 which to me is a bargain considering I've payed over double that for toys that break and only last a few months . This toy is a suitable for children of 12 months plus and is perfect for those toddling little legs or even a child who wants to pull along the floor through crawling and is a perfect addition to help stimulate a child's development and encourages walking or crawling . The bright colours are attractive and the interesting sounds stimulates senses. My 2 year old son loves this toy, he has spent hours of fun running back and fourth through the house with the Bumblebee and if he's resting he still seems to be sat ( not noticeably to him) spinning the wings in his fingers , almost putting himself into a trance with the relaxing clicking sounds . It really is an adorable and stimulating little insect to have in your home . Your little one will love it chasing them around the house behind them .
I was so impressed with the quality and cuteness, I already bought another and packed it away for my little niece . *We were not paid for this review , all opinions are honest and based on our own experiences and thoughts. I love Brio Brand . They have to be my most loved brand for many reasons but most importantly for the fact they are so well made and in my families opinions, Forever toys. We have been buying and using Brio toys now for as long as I can remember and in fact I know my parents also bought them for me . They are such a wonderful household known toy that are made with such amazing quality that they can last a lifetime and in most families especially ours, they can be kept and then handed down generations from older to younger and from one family to another . We have shared with you a few different types of Brio Toys over on this blog but this one is our new favorite meaning I just had to share with you my reasons why. My youngest son is now 2 years old (I know the time is flying so quickly ). I have come to realize that other children in my area with the same age children as my son are now been asked to be registered into school and being a home educator I am personally pleased that he gets the extra time with me and we get the chance to learn together. For us, as a home educating family, the fun of learning through play and creativity is something we try to do to encourage a more relaxed environment for the children, especially when some have additional needs that need a hand on approach to learning and memory especially. My son however has no additional needs other than the needs for breaking things and building them back up , then breaking them again and building it back up again. This has become his new thing and we are finding some wonderful toys to keep this new trend going with him. The Colourful clown gives my son a new look at how things work and not just in 1 way of piling them up and taking them down but a few educational ways which were not highlighted in their description . On the front of the box , it displays a picture of the toy , a simply wooden toy with what looks like a colourful clown in the form of colourful stacking blocks and this is pretty much exactly what your getting but imagine this from a child's view. My son is not just building a clown with some bricks , he is learning structure of building with shapes and colour , he is using his imagination to swap blocks around and giving the clown a whole new look. Should the clowns face always be on top of his head and why ? We sit with him while he stacks his blocks and we explain to him which part goes where and why and although he is only two , he knows a head is at the top of the body , he is learning about parts of his body as he builds this Clown . He learns that shapes can mould together to give other shapes and just like a jigsaw puzzle, he soon sees that certain things go in a certain place but it is not always about having to do things how your meant to and this clown has no rules. Just because the picture on the box shows the blocks stacked in a precise way, does not mean this is how it has to be . We let him experiment and find out if he likes his clown to look a different way , we all like differences and no clown is the same after all (All of Brio colourful stacking Clowns come exactly the same , I meant a clown from a circus or a show you may go to see in real life). You get 9 wonderfully colourful pieces , imagine the different sequences they could make ? I am in love with their classic wooden stacking toy from 1955 with its retro look and original design and being that it is so durable , it will be another toy we can pass down through the generations. This toy is suitable for 12 months and plus and is available from Brio for just £14.99 (remember this is a lifetime toy, so this is worth every penny ). The product is a lovely size and weight and measures just 242 mm in height which makes it perfect for those little hands to get hold of . I would highly recommend this toy to anyone who is looking for a fun yet educational resource for their younger child , someone who likes forever toys and for those who love to see their little ones concentrate, ensuring you that they're learning though play. Our youngest son loves to play alone and with his siblings .
*We were not paid for this review , all opinions are honest and based on our own experiences and thoughts. |