Mix up the magic - Tuff Spot play

Part of our regular play is using our fabulous Tuff Spot, a huge plastic mixing tray that can be used for all kinds of imaginative and messy play. I keep Toby interested by changing the theme and using lots of different materials and textures. This week we had a farm set up where tractors and cows crunched around in pasta and a dog came along and ate the dried pasta (silly old girl) whilst a little boy fell about laughing and sat in the pasta.


Changing things around keeps Toby interested and we use the Tuff Spot a lot as it is so practical and easy to clean afterwards. We first used them at speech and language messy play where the staff utilised them with all sorts of toys, textures and materials, encouraging the children to develop their play skills and use describing words for the items in them. The possibilities are endless and here are a few ideas of what else we have done:

Seaside with sand, toy sea creatures and water
Cooked spaghetti with toy creepy crawlies
Soil, plants and petals for muddy fun
Shaving foam, glitter and Arctic animals
Seasonal fun so the last one we did was Easter with all our chicks, flowers and crunchy cornflakes
Soil, stones and diggers for construction play
Any sort of gloopy play so home-made play dough or jelly (a favourite)
Rocks, grass, water and dinosaurs.

Once play has finished I just take the Tuff Spot outside and brush all the bits into the bin, give it a quick hose down and we are all ready to play again the next day. They are such a great tool to mix the magic up in play and the possibilities are endless. Great for when friends come around on play dates, encouraging my little boy to take turns and play nicely. Have you got one? Any more ideas for some great messy play?

This post is an entry for BritMums #MagicSquaresPlaydates Linky Challenge, sponsored by Petits Filous.