I don’t know about you, but my students look forward to having new sensory trays/tuff trays every week. Today was a huge hit. In this blog post I’m going to share with you my Valentine’s Day sensory tray/tuff tray. Along with how we use these in my classroom.
The Tuff Tray
Here is the tuff tray that we put together to make a sensory tray for Valentine’s Day. As you can see we like to include a range of different activities. This is so that we can target different skills for our students. It’s also a very sensory task in that we like them to be working hands-on in our tuff trays.
What’s Included?
In my Valentine’s Day tuff tray I had;
- Rose Petals and Number Circles (download free printable here). Students had to put the amount of rose petals onto each of the circles to match the number.
- Playing Cards (I only used the heart suit) and Mini Erasers. Students had to count out the mini erasers and put them onto the playing cards to make the same numbers.
- Red Play Dough, Rolling Pin and Heart Cutters. I bought heart shaped biscuit cutters, and gave these along with a rolling pin for my students to use with their play dough. It was great watching them get creative with their hearts.
- 2 Light Up Candles – they just add to the tuff tray, and my students like to switch them off and on – cause and effect.
- Red Sand, Tray and Letter Hearts (download free printable here). Don’t be afraid to use trays inside your tuff tray. I use a small tray for messy bits like sand because I don’t want it getting everywhere. Then, I provide letter hearts for my students as visual prompts for them to form letters in their sand tray.
- Red Bells – students could shake them to make a noise, count them – do whatever they want with them.
- Heart Confetti – I just sprinkled this around the tuff tray. Some of my students like to make pictures out of them, play with them, pick them up with giant tweezers etc.
- Red chalk – students can use chalk to draw on the tuff tray – it just wipes straight off!
Where to Buy?
One of the best things about this tuff tray – is that the stuff was all really cheap to buy and I got most of it in supermarkets! The tuff tray is a little pricey to get – but once you have it, you can use it for SO many different activities! I’ve also included some affiliate links below where you can purchase some of these items.
- Mixing Tray / Tuff Tray
- Ink Tray
- Play Dough
- Rolling Pin
- Heart Cutters
- Heart Confetti
- Red Sand
- Light Up Heart Tea Lights
- Jumbo Playing Cards
- Heart Mini Erasers
- Rose Petals
My Top Tips for a Successful Tuff Tray Session
We’ve been using tuff trays for a long time in my classroom. Which means, we’ve had some – experiences – on the way. But, this means that we’ve been able to learn lots of different ways to ensure the sessions are successful.
- We used to have our tuff tray on a table but the children just couldn’t sit and relax with it Now, we put it on the floor. Children sit down while using the tuff tray and it’s a lot more controlled.
- We always have one member of staff by the tuff tray. The staff will also model creative play and how to use the tuff tray.
- We found it best to limit how many children access the tuff tray at once. We try to limit it to 3 children at one time.
- Be mindful of what you put in the tuff tray. Especially, of allergies and items that children can’t eat – avoid using these.
- Look in local £/$ stores to find items that you can use – and buy items when they are on sale after a holiday has finished! Keep them for next year.
- Don’t expect your tuff tray to stay perfect. If you want to take photos – take them before the children come in to use it!
So, what do you think about our Valentine’s Day tuff tray? Are you going to use one? Each month I’m going to try and share a few pictures of the different sensory trays that we have used in class. so be sure to return and check out my posts for some new ideas! You can find great Valentine’s Day activities here.
Let me know in the comments below about tuff trays/sensory trays. Do you use them? Will you use one? How do you incorporate sensory into your learning? If you liked this blog post, please consider sharing it on social media with your friends!
