Tray Play Week #8

I saw this great idea for a homemade marble mazes at Teach Preschool.

If you haven't had a chance to check out Deborah's blog yet, I highly recommend it.

I really like to offer activities for families that they could replicate at home.

This is one of them.

All you need is a box lid and straws.

Glue the straws in any format to make a maze.

Add a marble and you're set to go.

 Another tray has magnet wands and marbles,

 bingo chips with wire in them and some without.

The children have been experimenting with the wands.

How many will stick to it?

Which ones don't stick?

It's also an easy tray to clean up - you use the wand to pick up

all the pieces.

 Magik Stix was on the last tray.

This provides fine motor and creative work.

At first the children and parents didn't know what to do with it.

But as they experimented they made bracelets, letters and

butterflies.

Each day we see something new.

In our sensory table this week I placed pom poms and a variety of tongs.

I'm always on the look out at thrift stores for unusual tongs.

 There are bamboo and metal tongs but

I especially like these tea strainers.

You have to squeeze to open them.

The opposite of regular tongs.