Bunny has been using her trays for about two weeks now. It is time for some new activities! Bunny LOVES her trays and really loves when she gets new ones! Since it is February we are sticking with the hearts theme. We have talked about how a heart is a symbol for love. There are so many activities one can do with hearts! Remember, your pre school or tot trays can be as simple or as in depth as you would like. They can cost a ton of money or not very much at all. It doesn’t take much to make a fun tray!
Our first tray is a stamp tray. Bunny LOVES to use stamps. I happened to have some valentines day stamps that I picked up from an after holiday sale a few years ago. I also have some stamps that have hearts in them. The different sizes are nice because it allows Bunny to fill up the page in different ways and teaches her how to hold different sized objects. This tray is pretty straight forward and simple. There are some ink pads, paper and the stamps. I do add a baby wipe when Bunny uses this tray so she can wipe the stamps when she is done. I don’t like it when she mixes colors! This tray is one that Bunny can do all on her own.
Our second tray is a heart color tray. I had a bucket of foam hearts sitting in my craft area. I fished out the smallest hearts and put them in a container. I found some small tupperware containers that I never use and added them to the tray. There are seven colors and seven trays. Bunny can sort the colors into the containers. This is a tray Bunny has done before when she was much younger. Back then, when she was a little over 2 years old, I had to sit and help her sort the colors. Now, Bunny is 3, she can do this tray on her own. She does like to stack them, sort them, pour them. Whatever, it makes her happy and stimulates her imagination!
Our third tray is a pouring tray. This is also a tray Bunny has used before. This was one of the first trays Bunny was introduced to when she was a little over 2 years old. It was difficult for her to pour by herself. The cup used to pour that I have is not the easiest one. I did buy a new one for Bunny and she was using it to pour things but she has since stolen it, taken it to her kitchen and lost it. Sigh. I suggest using a cup to pour that looks like this
Bunny pours beads into a cup or multiple cups, dumps them back into the pouring container, and does it all over again! She loves it!
Our fourth tray is a color tray. This is a new tray for both of us. I will need to help Bunny learn how to do this tray. The clips have a color name, in that specific color, on either side of them. The point of this tray is to clip the proper clip onto the correlating section of the card. This was a nice $1 deal at Target!
Our fifth tray is a writing tray. I try to always have a writing tray for her. As she is learning to write these trays are always a parent participation tray ALL the time. I can sit next to her and do my own thing if I like but I am always keeping one eye on her and what she is doing. This is a wipe clean book that I purchased at Joannes, but can also be purchased on Amazon. I love Amazon!
Part of why Bunny loves doing trays is because I give her my full attention and we help each other and learn together. Bunny loves teaching me how to do a tray.
We do have a tray from last week present. The heart counting tray. Bunny LOVES this tray and did not want it to leave, so it stays!
