"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery."

When I talk about LEGO I instantly turn into a very excited boy. I'm sure it was the same when I was a child but this reintroduction since having children has taken my love of the brick to new extremes. Back when I was a growing up LEGO was a very lonely thing for me, but it got me through an uncertain and dysfunctional family life. These days though it's all about team building and me and the boys have the most amazing creative times. I get to teach them techniques while building and in return they share with me a world of possibilities through their imagination.

Writing for LEGO has been amazing and although building is such a huge thing in our home, being able to visit the attractions is also very exciting for us. It's great to visit LEGO's attractions and see how the professionals build. A few years back Seth won a Star Wars building competition and we were given tickets to visit the LEGOLAND Discovery centre in Manchester. It was a great evening and because Opeie was only very young then and doesn't remember, we were itching to visit again.

We were definitely in need of a change of scenery from all the Home ed fun we have, so we arranged to visit with our friends Emma and Matthew over at Another Last Story. They are also huge LEGO fans and had been wanting to visit too so the trip worked out perfect. When we arrived at the Discovery centre the boys were very excited which is always great to see as a parent. We had missed out on the rides and Factory tour during our last visit so it was interesting for the boys to learn about how LEGO is made and then follow that up with a ride into the main area where they could shoot trolls and medieval bad guys.

Being originally from Birmingham It was great to see the Bullring included in the Miniland section of the centre but what really took me by surprise was seeing the Ironbridge. Being a Shropshire lad now it was really great to see, as Ironbridge will always be a very special place for me and my family. Whenever I see builds like this it always makes me wish that I had more space at home to build larger pieces for the boys but it is great to see what can be achieved by LEGO pros.

As the lights dropped on the Miniland it was lovely to see the scenes light up. Blackpool tower and the surrounding area look truly spectacular.

The most appealing thing for me as a parent is just how interactive the LEGO discovery centre is. It really does make a big difference if the kids can fully emerge themselves in what's going on. The boys loved being able to take their time building a wheeled vehicle and then being able to send it down ramps to jump into big containers of bricks in the LEGO Racers: Build and test section of the attraction. I was probably getting into it a little too much, I do always say though, Surround me in LEGO and I'll get right in on the action.

A month or so ago we got to see the new Nexo Knights 4D movie: The book of creativity at LEGOLAND Windsor while at a Nexo knights event, which was awesome and we got to share that with our friends this time round.  They also had: The LEGO® Movie™ 4D A New Adventure showing too. Both were great fun for the kids and really added to the fun we had while visiting. 

There is so much LEGO to build with and the boys couldn't wait to climb into one of the pits and start building. As expected I sat right alongside the pit getting stuck into some building myself.

The great thing about the LEGOLAND Discovery centre is how much is packed into the space there. It's a scaled down version of LEGOLAND with rides perfect for younger brick enthusiasts. Opeies favourite part was being a LEGO police man and whizzing around the track chasing Matthew in his police car on the LEGO City Forest Pursuit. 

When we visited last time one of the rooms had an amazing Star wars display, this time though the space was occupied by something even better. For me, the Brand new LEGO city builder was my favourite part because it gave me a lot of inspiration for my own builds. Being able to view other peoples builds this close up is a great bit of research for me and the boys

The LEGOLAND Discovery centre sits in the perfect spot for taking a break from a busy shopping day and although the attraction is a much smaller version of its Windsor counterpart there is plenty there to kep the children occupied and building all day.

"Hey, I just met you, And this is crazy, But here's my number, So call me, maybe!"

Opeie tends to have many imaginary phone conversations during the week. Usually it is Nanny Roo that gets all of the weekly gossip unbeknown to her, but yesterday it was our friend Katie who was deep in conversation while she was supposed to be at work. The conversation was hilarious and ended with a one sided in depth discussion about the time she inserted an ice-cream into our good friends bottom following a Minifigure we made of her the weekend and some photos they sent us.

Personally I think it is ridiculous to give a child a mobile phone too young but at the ripe old age of 3 I thought he was ready for the commitment. So we sat down together and discussed what it was he wanted from his new handset (it was like an immature sales pitch from a car phone warehouse representative).

What do you want it to look like?... LEGO! , colour?... Pink! (No problem). Everything is awesome!!! Okay??? Spinney things! Well I can never say he doesn't know what he wants. So I got to work while Opeie created me the handset I've been pining after for years, guess I won't be needing that upgrade now and we can keep in contact wherever we go (as long as it's in the house).

"Do I look to be in a gaming mood?"

Firstly I'd like to say that working with Nintendo is amazing, if I haven't made that clear with every other post I have written for them. Having the 3ds has rekindled my love of handheld gaming. I find it difficult to find time to play console games on the TV especially due to the fact that Mrs M isn't really that interested in gaming. She asked me a few nights back if I'd love it if she had a DS too and we played some nights, clearly that's a silly question. What I love most about handheld gaming is it fits into my busy lifestyle as a stay at home parent. If Opeie's asleep and I've done everything I need to do around the house, then I'm gaming. If I'm relaxing in the bath... I'm gaming! Seth's physio? We're gaming! and if all is quiet in the house at night and I'm the only one still awake (like most nights) then aside from writing, I'm gaming.

Thanks to those gaming legends me and Seth have gained a new member of our 2ds/3ds gang. A week a go we received a package for Opeie with a very special surprise inside, his very own 2ds, he was so excited and rightly so. If you own one then you know how amazing Nintendo's handheld gaming has developed over the last few years and now Opeie has his very on console to play his beloved Mario 3dland.

As I've said on many of my posts I know across the parenting forums and other blogs, console gaming gets some bad press. I read a great post over at the Bigjigs Bigblog about how you can't replace human interaction with technology and I completely agree. But I also think that anything done in moderation as a family is great for your children's development. Sitting down together and getting stuck in to Mario's many escapades occasionally is great for bonding. With Seth it has been a perfect distraction for doing his physio together and for Opeie I have found it a great way to relax him when he is a little hyper (I'm going to have to film him at some point, it blows me away how good he is at some games at 3)

Well our newest DS member has been making the most of his new console so thank you Nintendo you have made our littlest gamer very happy. His favourite games at the moment include new Yoshi's island, Mario 3d land and Lego Movie. The boys remind me of myself when I was younger excited by completing levels progressing through games. They deserve all the gaming time they get because they are two intelligent and grounded little men.

Thanks Nintendo you are helping to shaping my boys childhoods just like you did mine.