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Sensory Tuff Trays
Here at Best Start Abacus, our Kaiako have been inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach using the environment as the third teacher to set up these amazing play and learning experiences in the tuff trays. A Tuff Tray is a type of tray that makes sensory play easy and fun. These trays are large and shallow, and you can fill them with a variety of items for your child to explore.
There is no right or wrong, good or bad, successful or unsuccessful tuff tray! Learning within the tuff trays: Infants and toddlers learn to explore their world through touch, smell, sight, sound and when safe, taste. Science and nature play helps children learn to observe things closely, explain their thinking and communicate their ideas. They learn to classify, measure and predict.
Manipulative play encourages children to learn to make decisions, learn about sequencing, comparisons, patterns, colour and texture. Through purposeful setups and observations about how children respond and want to play with the sand, adults can provide many learning opportunities.
Children develop their hand-eye coordination, as they scoop, pour, mix and measure the mixtures. They don’t always have to be complicated or beautifully presented or even have a rationale as the children will often determine their worth.