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 a few creatures in the garden. This afternoon I set… Read More »A mini Beast Tuff Tray
Continuing on with our Antarctic and winter themed play activities today I decided to make Arlo up a messy sensory bin of icebergs…. but instead of using a tuff tray outdoors I used a storage container which has a depth of about 20cm which is enough to contain the mess for indoor play. You will need: A storage box Slime Orbeez Various plastic containers Plastic… Read More »Arctic indoor sensory bin activity
Continuing on with our winter themed activities I have made a batch of snow dough, Thai is slightly different to our usual play dough recipe and has a texture which is a bit like kinetic sand. I added glitter and provided Arlo with a tinker tray and invited him to build snowmen with me. You will need: One cup of oil Two cups of cornflour… Read More »A snow dough tinker tray
This is another really simple ice tray play and one which requires very little set up – inspired by our trip to Warwick Castle where we saw a real life ice rink! You will need: A flat baking tray An ice cube tray Water Small plastic animals Gellibaff slime A large play tray Overnight I froze water in a flat baking tray and popped some… Read More »Ice skating messy play tray
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 and some bamboo sticks, pine cones and straw. As you… Read More »Nature printing Tuff Tray
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 the bits and bobs to good use I covered Arlo’s… Read More »Nature painting tuff tray
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 me. Boil and drain off the pasta as normal, before… Read More »Under the Sea Tuff Tray with Spaghetti
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 So here’s a time lapse of me creating the set… Read More »FireMan Tuff Tray
You will need: Ice cube tray Water spray bottle Salt Toy hammer Mini chicks (or small toys) Small oven tray Ice excavation activities have always been a firm favourite in this household, but we have very limited freezer space at the moment and so I had to find something small enough to fit inside the ice cube trays. I provided Arlo with a a spray… Read More »Cool chicks
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 add in random textures which match their favourite toys (like… Read More »Tuff Tray – Construction