Tinker Trays

Tinker trays are taking toddler play to another level these days! Trending on social media, sensory play has given rise to another realm of playtime for young ones! These trays differ from the classic sensory play because these don’t contain a base material like rice, sand or beans. Don’t worry though, these tinker trays still create open-ended opportunities for play! Little hands delight in exploration, experimentation, manipulation and learning-based play with tiny items carefully chosen by you! Blending together the best pieces of ideologies like Montessori and Reggio with added fundamentals of sensory play and learning-based play, these tinker trays also bolster a big opportunity to fine tune those fine motor skills.

Now, how does one make such a thing?

It’s actually pretty simple. Finding a tray to hold your tinkering items is the quick part. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A small box or even a bowl from the kitchen can work! You can have one tray that you use over and over or have a few different trays for different items.

The thing that makes a good tinker tray is the items. You’ll want high-interest items with some sort of novelty! Keep in mind that picking pieces that all fit the same theme, topic, interest, colour or texture can be visually appealing to your toddler’s tiny senses!

There are two main goals to keep in mind when choosing items for your little one to explore. The first goal is that the items draw your child in visually. The collection should make your toddler keen to observe the items and explore them solely with their eyes. It’s almost like I want my daughter to ask me, “What is this?” while turning these trinkets over in her hands. I know I’ve done well when the first few moments with a tray are simply her staring at all that is in the tray. Eager to play but taking it all in visually first! The second goal is that there isn’t one set way to use or play with the objects. Your child will mentally be asking, “What can it do?” while experimenting! Items might simply be for observing, but they might also be able to be stacked, twisted, rolled, connected, sorted, bounced, spun, etc.

With some trays you might provide a tool to use while tinkering like spoons for scooping or tweezers for picking up if you want to practice an additional fine motor skill! Sometimes I provide smaller bowls or boxes for my daughter to transfer or sort the items into!

Some item ideas for tinker trays include: beads, wooden objects, assorted keys or coins, assorted objects of all one colour, jewellery pieces, crystals or gemstones, assorted pompoms, buttons, real or paper flowers, nuts and bolts, rocks, tiny twigs or branches… the list is endless.

The next tray pictured below features my daughter’s favourite tinkering collection: BEADS! Bright, bold, a challenge to grasp but a beauty to behold… she loves them! She has been tinkering with these for over three months now and it’s still a hit. She requests them by name and will spend a good 15 minutes taking beads out one by one and seeing what they are. Then she’s all about pouring them, taking big handfuls or scooping them with spoons!

Now, total disclaimer: a lot of Tinker Tray items can be choking hazards for little ones! If the items are on the smaller side, I make sure the tinkering time is directly supervised or I simply take the time to tinker side-by-side with my toddler! This can be great for modeling my expectations for this kind of play, too! Bigger items are just as fun to tinker with and trays comprised solely of larger items are totally worthy of your toddler’s time! Ultimately, choosing items you feel comfortable letting your little one tinker with is most important.

Happy Tinkering!