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 »Exploring mini beasts – A Tuff Tray invitation for pre schoolers
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 »Messy Play – 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
This article features a product I was given free of charge in exchange for social media content. All views and opinions expressed are my own. I put all Arlo’s favourite toys in to slime last week and we ended up having to set up a washing activity because he wasn’t too impressed with all of his dinosaurs getting the Tuff Tray experience. I decided to… Read More »Tuff Tray – Car Wash
It seems crazy to add this in as an activity but trust me on this one….. add bubbles to a plastic bowl in the garden and children seem to suddenly want to complete chores. You will need: Washing up bowl Washing up liquid Sponge Cloths Brushes After my messy dinosaur themed tuff tray Arlo was very disappointed that his dinosaurs were covered in slime and… Read More »Washing up