Orchard Toys 'Where Do I Live' - Review

Orchard Toys launched a brand new range of games at the beginning of the year and we were sent "Where Do I Live" to try out.

Elliot is a big fan of Orchard Toys and we do have a lot of their games such as the Giant Railway jigsaw.  I love the fact that they are perfect for his age group and very educational.

Where Do I Live is aimed at children aged 3-6 and is for 2-4 players. The concept is very simple, it tests your child's memory as they have to match the correct animal to the correct board. The first person to collect all their animals and explorer wins the game.

The game includes:

4 double sided boards
24 animal cards
4 explorer cards
Instruction leaflet

To start the game, each player picks a board and all the cards are placed face down on the floor. The players take it in turn to pick a card. If the card matches the board, they can keep it but if there's no match then the card goes back. It's up to the other players to remember where the card is and if it matches their board so they can pick it up on their next go.

It's a great way for children to learn more about animals because each board features a different habitat such as the ocean, rainforest, desert and polar regions. All the animals on the boards are from that specific habitat. I think Elliot has memorised every animal and where it is from!

What I love about this game is that on the back on the boards you can find fun animal and habitat facts and this is such a great way of teaching children about the world. Kids are like little sponges and I know Elliot especially loves to find out new things about animals.

This game was a bit hit in our house and we've already played it several times since we got it. A must for any little animal fans!

Where Do I Live is available from the Orchard Toys website and has a RRP of £9.50

Disclaimer: We received the product for the purpose of the honest review. All views are my own

Orchard Toys Giant Railway - Review

One of my favourite toy brands is Orchard Toys and Elliot has a large number of their games and toys in his games cupboard. (yes, we have a games cupboard - was running out of room in his bedroom!)

Orchard Toys have some brilliant new products for 2016 and one of these was the Giant Railway Floor Jigsaw. Like most little boys, Elliot is fascinated with trains so I knew he'd love this. And when Orchard Toys offered us the chance to review it, we jumped at the chance! 

Like the rest of the range, the Giant Railway floor puzzle comes in bright colourful packaging and you automatically know it's Orchard Toys. 

The puzzle contains 26 large chunky pieces, including two stand up trains, a couple of workmen and a cow! The puzzle pieces are interchangeable which means you can make a different track each time. 

The jigsaw has been designed to: 

• Develop knowledge and understanding of the world - talk about journeys, railway safety and own experiences
• Encourage personal choice and decision making
• Develop manual dexterity - constructing the jigsaw
• promote imaginative play

As I guessed, Elliot absolutely loves this and literally couldn't wait to get it out of the box!! He loves building his own track and actually, some of his creations were better than mine ;)

One of the best things about the Giant Railway is that it can be used with the other products in the Giant Road system. Elliot was given the Giant Road puzzle for Christmas and so he has been able to link this up with the tracks. This has given him hours of entertainment, especially when he bought down a load of cars, animals and people to incorporate into the game. At one point we even had dinosaurs on the track!

Orchard Toys also have a Giant Town which interlinks with the track and road so I'm definitely going to be purchasing this soon.

This is a great addition to the Orchard Toys range and I know that it will continue to be a popular choice for Elliot to play with!

The Giant Railway has a RRP of £13.95 - see www.orchardtoys.com for more toys

Disclaimer: We received the product for the purpose of the honest review. All views are my own