To say I was excited about receiving a tuff tray and the Big Builder Quarry Mat from Early Years Resources this week would be an understatement!

I’ve been desperate to have our own tuff tray for a little while now. I’ve been in awe of various Early Years and Special Needs Teachers creating small worlds, messy play and sensory play activities on their tuff trays on Pinterest.

I’ve even set myself a #tufftraychallenge (see here)

For those, like me not so long ago, who don’t know what a tuff tray is-it’s a huge plastic tray that opens up a world of possibilities for imaginative and messy play. For example we filled ours with cornflakes and porridge oats yesterday and let the kids loose with toy diggers..(see blog post here)

We’ve recently focussed on Construction Imaginative Play on our blog so this accompanying Big Builder Quarry Tuff Tray Mat-by Early Years Resources worked perfectly and complimented our activities well.

What did we like about the mat? 

• Visual Prompt– The clever image of the construction site acts as a brilliant visual prompt to spark the imagination- no sooner had we put the mat on the tuff tray..the kids had dug out all the toy construction vehicles and were merrily pushing them along it and pretending they were at the Quarry pictured!

• Less mess– I do love messy play, but there are times and places when it’s not ideal! This mat allows for an easy tuff tray scene to be set up without all the mess and effort.

• Quality– The photograph is truly beautiful and the Mat is high quality and durable- perfect for withstanding the toy diggers!

• Develops Speech, Language and Communication Skills– The detail in the photograph printed on the mat helps develop these skills through prompting conversations, questions and key words related to construction. Great for getting children talking, questioning and learning!

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