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Tuff tray ideas for early years

Blog
The YPO Team
01 Apr 2025

Tuff trays are a staple learning tool in early years play with countless benefits, providing the perfect opportunity for little ones to engage in exploration and sensory play and allowing interactions regarding different topics. They are often used as an invitation to play to extend children’s interest and to offer a vast variety of learning and development opportunities across the EYFS.

Tuff trays offer a versatile resource that can be filled with various textures, materials and objects to offer an imagination playground for children that ranges from messy play to small world adventures and different science and art endeavours.

In this blog, we explore three different tuff tray play ideas that range from social and emotional development to learning maths and a wonderful messy play set up where children get to make their own magical potions.

Emotions tuff tray

This tuff tray encourages children in early years to learn about different emotions and self-regulation through interactive and creative play. Learning about emotions is a crucial milestone in children’s development and equips them with the skills to understand themselves and others.
Using a variety of products with different colours and textures, such as sand, emotion sensory bottles and hand puppets, the children in your nursery setting will be able to explore the different emotions through a playful set up.

Learning experiences and key benefits of this tuff tray set up:

Enhances fine motor development through pom pom picking activity. By using tools such as the tweezers and transferring pom poms to the colour coordinated bowls, children can develop their pincer grip.

Grows colour awareness by prompting children to sort the pom poms into the matching-coloured bowls, which can be used as a fun maths, colour matching and sorting game, while also developing language skills by prompting EYFS children to name the colours they are seeing.

Improves emotional development and self-regulation abilities, which are skills that help to lay solid foundations to support children's emotional, social and academic success.

Our Sensory Bottles “Express Your Feelings” pack provide a visual and tactile way for children to connect with and show their feelings, while they can also be used as a tool to help children self-regulate and feel calm by shaking the hourglass shaped bottles and watching the liquid swish and swirl.

emotions tuff tray

What you’ll need:

• Kindness Hearts (306763)
• Cosy Felt Bags and Balls (306826)
• Sand Shakers (306214)
• Bags of Buddies (520006)
• Bags of Buddies (427368)
• Express Your Feelings (307761)
• Feelings Hand Puppets (308691)
• Pom Poms (309844)
• Bowls and Tweezers (800193)

Image credit - @tufftray_adventures on Instagram.

Number picking tuff tray

This tuff tray encourages children to learn the first and most basic numeracy skill in early years: Number counting. Learning about numbers early in life helps to lay a strong foundation for children’s future education and success in maths.

Using a variety of natural products, this tuff tray activity will allow little ones to gain this skill in a fun and educational way.

Learning experiences and key benefits of this tuff tray set up:

Improves fine motor development through natural product picking activity. First, mismatch the materials and using the tweezers, the children can sort the natural products into designated sections on the tray. Not only will this improve their pincer grip, but it will also provide tactile stimulation and help them enhance their hand/finger awareness and coordination.

Helps gain functional maths skills by counting the natural materials. Learning this skill will allow children to feel more prepared for the advanced numeracy concepts that will be taught later on in their education journey.

Encourages children to do independent learning as they begin to work out how many items go into each tray. Independent learning allows children to think critically and solve problems along the way.

number picking tray

What you’ll need:
• Number Trays (465301)
• Cosy Natural Sorting Set (820817)
• Loose Parts Sorting Trays (307545)
• Jumbo Tweezers (307544)
• Number Pebbles (801039)
• Natural Materials Collage Set (334556)

Image credit - @missgeyfs on Instagram.

Potion making tuff trays

Create a magical concoction with our potion making tuff tray activity. Perfect for outdoor and indoor use, it allows little ones to dabble into the world of magic and creativity. This is perfect for children to love to explore different textures and promotes messy play which offers numerous benefits, including social, cognitive and physical development.

Learning experiences and key benefits of this tuff tray set up:

Creates a magical sensory experience where children can freely add an array of products they like, including a handful of glitter and sequin shapes and watch it all float to the top. This will stimulate creative exploration for children and allow them to step into their own magical storybook.

Improves fine motor skills by using the pipettes to draw up the potion liquid and mixing the ingredients with a wooden spoon. Motor skills are important to learn as they improve overall hand-eye coordination, as well as pre-writing and pre-reading skills for children in early years.

Encourages messy play which fosters curiosity and exploration in children. Messy play provides many benefits, including hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills as children figure out the steps to creating a magical concoction.

potion making tray

What you’ll need:
• Metal Scoops (801216)
• Cosy Mud Pie Kit (D78579)
• Pipettes (820915)
• Cold Water Dyes (319910)
• Glitter Flakes – Bright Colours (301704)
• Sequin Shapes – Assorted Colours (302333)

Image credit - @create_make_and_play on Instagram.

These fun tuff tray activities for early years can be a great way to keep your little ones occupied! If you’re looking for similar products, check out our Early Years Resources area!

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.