Latest News
Careers
Contact Us
Sign in or register

Email Invalid Email Address

Password Invalid Password Address

Forgot your password?

Don't have an account yet?

Create your YPO account today to enjoy exclusive offers and discounts, easy order tracking, saved wishlists and more.
Register

Toddler tuff tray activities to engage young minds

Blog
The YPO Team
23 Jul 2025

Ah, the magnificent tuff tray! One of the most open-ended and hands-on resources that breathes so much life into early years settings.

As well as being so versatile, tuff trays open the door to endless learning opportunities for toddlers that spark curiosity, encourage exploration, stimulate the senses, and ignite imagination.

To give you some tuff tray inspiration, we enlisted the help of students studying Early Education and Childcare T-Levels at Kirklees College in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The students planned new and exciting activities that support different areas of the EYFS, putting their knowledge and creativity to good use.

Activity 1: Seek and sort!

Seek and sort

The students designed an exciting colour sorting and matching tuff tray to help children learn about colours, develop fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, and encourage problem-solving. To add to the learning experiences, they also added a range of different coloured numbers to help support the development of early maths skills during play.

What you’ll need:

801659 – Tuff Tray – Black
809503 – Rainbow Wooden Spools
427319 – Natural Flower Tray
801679 – Number Fan
801134 – Frame Trays
801998 – Jelly Sparkles Numbers
306507 – Chalk Markers – White

Activity 2: Nature detectives

Nature detectives

This tuff tray includes seven sections of natural materials for children to explore, each with prompts encouraging them to think about what they can see, hear, feel, smell, and touch. The variety of materials not only makes learning about different textures and smells enjoyable but also inspires interesting chats about where things come from, such as sea shells and urchins.

What you’ll need:

801659 – Tuff Tray – Black
308650 – Mixed Shells
308651 – Urchins Set
308653 – Wicker Balls
308649 – Thika Pods
308658 – Whole Dried Oranges
308659 – Dried Orange Fruit Slices
427114 – Dried Leaves
750024 – Coloured Chalk Markers

Activity 3: Going on a bear hunt

Going on a bear hunt

Based on the book ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’, this story-based tuff tray was created to allow children to feel the experiences each of the characters go through in the book. The students included resources featuring different textures like soft, fluffy snow, smooth, vibrant leaves, sturdy sticks, and even a splashy ‘muddy’ wet play area to create a sensory-rich experience.

What you’ll need:

801660 – Tuff Tray – Green
520720 – We’re Going on A Bear Hunt Story Set
532324 – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Wooden Character Set
532320 – We’re Going on a Bear Hunt Story Talk Cards
876820 – Lowercase Alphabet Pebbles
306507 – Chalk Markers – White
800160 – Natural Tea Branches
306844 – Stacking Leaves
307769 – Discovery Trays
320951 – Instant Snow

Activity 4: Shake, rattle, play

Shake, rattle, play

This musical-inspired tuff tray helps children explore the magic of music and sounds. The students included various instruments and colours to offer an exciting, interactive experience where children can lead their own play. They also added thought-provoking questions to help lead conversations about different sounds and how to make them.

What you’ll need:

801659 – Tuff Tray – Black
308645 – Early Years Music Pack
306507 – Chalk Markers – White

Activity 5: How do you feel?

How do you feel

Students designed this fun tuff tray to support children in developing a positive sense of self, learning how to manage their feelings and recognise expressions. The tray has been designed to encourage children to talk about their feelings with each other and help them connect over shared experiences. The students filled the tray with diverse faces to celebrate uniqueness and different sizes and shaped features to help foster an inclusive environment.

What you’ll need:

801659 – Tuff Tray – Black
801088 – Small Senses Book Series
308696 – My Emotions Wooden Tiles
520012 – Little Looking Mirrors
750024 – Coloured Chalk Markers

Searching for early years inspiration?

Find the above activities among several others in the latest issue of Little Learners. Don't forget to subscribe for free to receive all future issues and be entered into our exclusive subscriber competitions.

Don't forget to check out our full range of early years products!

Author

The YPO Team

YPO supplies products and services to a wide range of customers including schools, local authorities, charities, emergency services, public sector and other businesses such as nurseries and care homes. YPO are 100% publicly owned, by 13 local authorities, which means the profits made are returned to public sector customers, delivering even better value for money.