Today we are talking about the Mega tray , a giant octagonal-shaped tray, made of sturdy plastic, with raised edges, usable both indoors and outdoors, on the ground, on a large table or on special supports. AUTUMN GAMES: THE MEGA TRAY. The large size (1 meter in diameter) and the rounded sides encourage group play (there is room for at least 6/8 children to play comfortably together). It can be used as a sandbox, as a play table, as a base for manipulation, as a support for working with colors … Let’s find out how many activities we can do with this versatile mega tray!

CREATIVITY AND MANIPULATION

Rolling pins, rollers, spatulas, wheels, dies, mirette and then again stamps, molds and molds; how many tools to model and have fun with manipulation. We can fill the tray with the modeling clay of our choice or experiment with new sensory materials such as corn flour, soap flakes or jelly.

WATER OR SAND?
The tray is perfect for holding sand and water . Let’s move it to the open air and use it on the floor or as a table by inserting the appropriate supports (art. 889607). With molds, shovels and buckets, fun is just around the corner!

PAINTING

We can use the tray with supports to lean on and draw on a sheet or fill the tray with paint and use it to paint with hands and feet (being careful not to slip!).

SET UP YOUR SCENARIO
Small worlds can be created inside this tray, ideal for stimulating the imagination and play. We can put a carpet on the bottom – perhaps by cutting it to size – on which to set up a farm and adding some natural materials such as logs, sticks and stones. Or we can create the magical world of fairies and elves , using felt puppets, mushrooms, wooden accessories, sparkling blue materials to create water, glass pebbles and plastic ivy. And why not create the dinosaur park? With artificial grass, plastic plants, a paper volcano, handmade wooden walkways, peas and lentils to create various types of soil. And then of course add your own dinosaurs!

FINE MOTORITY
We use the tray for targeted activities, such as the development of motor skills . Beads, buttons, cereals, pasta, laces, ribbons and ropes are just some of the items that we can make available to children to stimulate their dexterity and refine eye-manual coordination.

GAMES OF REFLECTIONS

Children are fascinated by mirrors and their reflections. Put a mirrored plastic insert in the bottom of the tray or foil: it could turn into a magical lake … And then use any material that can reflect light , such as aluminum spoons and pots or jewelry (which immediately catch the eye of the children), our new metallic stackable pebbles (art.971965), transparent colored blocks (art.872004) or blocks with wooden frame (art.834815). Let’s create a real reflective world!

DO WE PLAY WITH BALLS?
A simple use for the tray is to fill it with balls of various shapes and colors , including sitting and playing just like in a swimming pool. The balls will end up scattered all over the room, but the fun will lie in refilling the tray and starting the game over!

A SPACE TO BUILD
What if we filled the tray with Legos or with the bricks we like best? We could thus create a city within the walls! Or let’s build a big railroad for the train to travel on and for our vehicles to fly over .
A TABLE FULL OF TECHNOLOGY

What if we used it to learn how to program our Bee-Bot (art. 985721) or our little mouse (art. 985723)? The sides of the tray will help us not to let the robots fall and at the same time they will represent obstacles with which to learn to program the movements of the robots to create the best path without making them crash.

GARDENING

We can decide to plant the seeds in pots, leaning on this tray, where there will be the earth, and everything we need to become little gardeners.

Here the tray becomes a fantastic, versatile resource, which can be used in many different ways to carry out new and fun activities with children.