Well Winter has well and truly arrived for us here in the UK. It is absolutely freezing!! I did the school run today. It was like getting to school via Ice Rink! The snow and rain has frozen and made it rather lethal out there!
Have you been sharing any Winter themed crafts and activities with the children yet? If you follow me over on Instagram you will have seen me share the fabulous book case I purchased from IKEA last week. I have sorted through all of our stories and put the Winter/Christmas books together in this bookcase. It's a great way to make sure you are enjoying books when they are most appropriate. I have found this has been much more valuable than I could have hoped. Neve has been asking lots of questions and because we are at this time of year, we are able to give her real life experiences to help with her answers. You can see us on instagram here - Learning Through Play.
Today we have the wonderful Sue Baxter joining us sharing a FABULOUS Tuff Tray inspired by the Gruffalo's Child:
The white mat on the base of the tray is the same one we used in the Jack Frost Tuff Tray.
(Details can be found in the Jack Frost post by clicking the link in the line above.)
The natural wooden numbers are from IKEA. They are fabulous as they are chunky for little hands and they also have the ability to stand up.
The two wooden toad stalls came from a garden centre. I am always on the look out for quirky, fun objects like these to add to our play set ups and invitations. They really do spark great conversation and its amazing how much the children take them on board.
I made the wooden story spoons myself. I have observed the children using these when retelling the story and using them to help aid their small world play. I shall definitely be making some more in the future.
The moss stones and wood slices also came from a garden centre and worked great for the 'log pile house'. The snowman puzzle block was created by printing the picture off the internet and gluing onto the wooden blocks.
A friend of mine knitted Stickman which is another story the children adore. The figures from the story you see dotted around the tray are finger puppets. I put wooden peg dolls inside them so that they can be used to stand up and used as small world toys. The cave is from a Dinosaur small world set we have owned for many years.
The animal footprints were traced in the centre of a laminated sheet before being laminated. The foliage used in the tray was brought from pound shops and garden centres. To themed the Winter I simply added a 'dusting of snow (flour)'. I also added Robins which went down well with the children
Lets take a look at the Tuff Tray in action:
Have you joined our Learning Through Play GROUP yet? Its the place you can be inspired by other like minded people and share your photos to inspire too! We have everything being shared from Outdoor Areas, Tuff Trays, Dens, Literacy set ups, Funky Fingers and endless crafts!
You can request to join our GROUP here - Learning and Exploring Through Play GROUP.
More by the lovely Sue Baxter:
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