Like most three year olds Arlo is absolutely obsessed with bugs and so now that spring is blooming the garden is full of them and they are a great natural resource to explore. We have been moving around the pots and digging up the borders for the last few weeks and so have found quite … Read more
I have been filling the tuff tray with water every night in winter in the hope that it will freeze over, as I wanted to make a giant version of this Ice skating messy play tray. Today we managed to get a thick enough sheet of ice to play with. First things first we did … Read more
I decided to set up an arctic tuff tray outdoors to get a bit of fresh air – this one is not for the faint hearted! As the temperature has dropped so much I filled the tray with water late last night and i dropped in some snow flake decorations left over from Christmas, and … Read more
After the success of our previous nature themed tuff tray I decided to set this one up again. Last time I covered the whole tray in brown paper but we didn’t end up using it to full effect, but I’m glad I provided some sheets of craft paper alongside paints squeezed in to paper plates … Read more
A really simple painting invitation to play. You will need: Paper plates Brushes Paint Collected materials – pinecones and leaves etc. We have been collecting all sorts of random bits and bobs on our nature walks, from pebbles, to pinecones and leaves because Arlo takes his scavenger hunting very seriously. So finally putting all of … Read more
I often use spaghetti for messy play. It’s great to add texture. I always felt safer using edible foodstuffs when Arlo was tiny because everything would always end up in his mouth. You will need: Spaghetti Food colouring Vinegar Olive oil I’ve tried various different methods and this is the one which works best for … Read more
This is the most simple idea which I have seen doing the rounds lately….. and requires minimal set up compared to our recent tuff tray set ups like our car wash, construction and dinosaur swamp so worth trying out: You will need: Water based paint Paint brush Tuff tray Hose pipe Water spray Fire characters … Read more
Here’s another really simple set up using bits from around the garden and more of our favourite toys. Items I used: Sand from the sand box Compost Gravel Stones Toy diggers A really simple and quick activity to set up and another one which keeps a busy little toddler occupied for quite a while. Just … Read more
I set this one up first thing in the morning so that when Arlo came downstairs and couldn’t find his favourite dinosaurs he knew something was up. He tentatively approached the tray and wasn’t quite sure what to do because some of his favourite dinosaurs were sticky. He did eventually get his hands dirty and … Read more
