dinosaurs – the joy of five

Children, Dinosaurs, East London, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out, Large Families, London, Memories, Parents, Reviews

Dinosaurs In The Wild:Review

April 9, 2018April 9, 2018by thejoyoffive2 Comments

Sunday got off to a fraught start as usual with me dragging children through central London at 100 miles per hour due to the fact we were running ridiculously late on our way to the Greenwich Peninsula to experience the new immersive walk through experience – Dinosaurs In The Wild.

After a quick dash to get our tickets wee headed straight to the start of the experience where we were handed 3D glasses and prepared to get ourselves ready to transport back in time to the Chronotex research station.

The time machine saw us encounter all sorts of hurdles on its mission, but we arrived safe and well and in perfect time to explore the labs.

We stayed in each lab for around 10 mins which was the perfect time for inquisitive hands and minds to stay occupied without getting bored and distracted. Each section had the children transfixed to everything that was going on and i didn’t hear a moan or a groan from my own or any of the other children at all.

They got to see a huge beating heart of a Alamosauraus, get really hands on by touching ‘real’ dinosaur poo and teeth, watching baby dinosaurs hatching and the feeding time of lot of bigger dinosaurs too.

Oscar was really taken with a baby dinosaur that was brought out for them to see and got pretty upset that he couldn’t the one home!

The climax of the event took pace in the Lookout at the very top of the research station and I don’t want to spoil the experience by letting you know what goes on. All I will say is that its not for the faint hearted and although the age rating is 5+ I would say if your little ones are sensitive souls then this is something to consider.

Oscar who is 4 went through pretty unfazed but bolshy Frankie was soon put in his place by the whole experience.

I loved every minute of our trip and the set up left nothing uncovered. The charaters stayed in role fabulously throughout and keep the children involved and engaged for the entire 70 mins. The set and models were so lifelike that the children at not point doubted we have travelled back thousands of years through time and completely believed each and every moment.

The experience is running until the end of July 2018 and whether you are a dinosaur fan or not this is one not to be missed!

*We were given tickets for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Children, Dinosaurs, Exercise, Families, Family Life

Scootaheadz Danny Dino Review

August 21, 2016August 21, 2016by thejoyoffiveLeave a Comment

All of my children have loved scooting and my eldest son got pretty good, which even lead to a little part time job at a local skate park.

This really rubbed off on the youngest two and now it’s hard to go anywhere without them bringing their scooter along!

Scooters for preschoolers have become increasing popular and a trip to the park can often end up with a bit of a puzzle as to who’s is who’s.

When we were asked to try out the Danny Dino from Scootaheadz I knew the boys would love it and it would be something to add a little individuality to make our scooter stand out from the crowd in the sea of scooters at the park!

Danny Dino arrived and we were immediately taken with his loveable face.

Attaching him to the scooter was super easy. You supply have to make a like room between the handle bars, face his nose towards the sky and slip on, then pull forwards to fix in place.

My boys can destruct anything but he stated firmly in place for the whole trip.

There are other fun and colourful characters than can be chosen that are just as cute as Danny.

We might have to get another one just so he doesn’t get lonely!

*we were provided with the Scootahead for the purpose of this review and they are all my own, honest opinions.

Children, Dinosaurs, Education, Families, Family Life, Fashion, Kids Days Out, Large Families, Memories, Outdoor Play, Parks, Photography, Surrey

Sunny Sunday At Godstone Farm

September 20, 2015September 21, 2015by thejoyoffive2 Comments

With such a hit and miss Summer weather wise this year we took the opportunity to visit Godstone Farm in Surrey on this wonderfully sunny day.

We are lucky enough to have this fabulous farm only twenty minutes drive from home; but it is well worth a drive out to as you can have a full day here as there is so much on offer.

Our first port of call is always the petting area as mine love nothing more than getting hands on and getting to know the animals. They had a great time holding the chicks and stroking the rabbits. It took a good while to prize number five away from the chickens.

From here we moved onto the bigger animals and the boys loved shooting the feed down the tubes to feed the sheep and goats.

In between visiting the animals there are several small play areas that the children can hop on and ride toy tractors, wizz down slides and clamber into big wooden cars.

Soft play is always a big hit with all mine and they are never disappointed with the large area that Godstone has to offer. They had a great time climbing and sliding whist we grabbed a coffee.

A relatively new attraction to the farm is the Dino Trail. Number five is a massive dinosaur fan so this is a very welcome addition for us. We walked through the trail where the huge dinosaurs are nestled amongst the undergrowth for you to spot, there are lots of fun facts to read on the way round and some big bones to excavate.

We only had the youngest two with us today but the huge playground area is always the biggest draw for my brood. There is a massive sandpit that we build sandcastle and burried number four in, a brilliant climbing wall that leads to a super steep slide and so much more than I can mention.

We only had a limited amount of time here today as we had the others to collect but we could have happy stayed and eaten at the lovely cafe which serves a good selection of hot and cold food and yummy cakes and taken a ride on the tractor to take in the sights on four wheels.

We will be visiting again very soon and hope to get along in the half term holiday to join in with their spooky Halloween events.

Children, Dinosaurs, Families, Family Life, Kids Days Out, Memories, Outdoor Play, Parents, Parks, Photography, Picnics

Hunting For Dinosaurs At Dinosaur Island

August 2, 2015August 8, 2015by thejoyoffive30 Comments

The sun finally came out for us today and my husband had some unusual time off, so we decided to venture out a little bit and take a drive to Horsham in West Sussex to visit Dinosaur Island.

We were super exited to follow the dinosaur footprints all the way down to the fabulous play area that had everything you could ask for.

There was a great sandpit with buckets to fill with sand and pull up and down, fabulous things to climb on and explore, along with brilliant swings and slides.