May Play Tray Subscription Box – Bee Theme

This month I was so lucky to receive the play tray subscription from Willow and Wild Organic! 

This is such a great idea, with open ended recourses that can be used to create amazing invitations to create and play! They’re suitable for most ages and can be adapted to suit learning needs if you are home learning too. I was amazed to see that the set even included a Lanka Kade wooden Bumble bee 🐝 

What’s more if you subscribe to a year of play then you get the amazing metal galvanised sensory tray for free!! I’ve had this tray for a while it’s incredible, water tight and the perfect size for children to play alone or in pairs easily. You’ll see in lots of my play it features heavily!! 

This month’s subscription had a bee theme. Protecting and nurturing our eco system is something I’m very passionate about and love to share this with the children I work with. 

My first tray I set up using the pieces included in the set was this stripy sensory activity. I recreated the stripes of the bee using black play sand and delicious citrus scented yellow  sensory rice. 

Activities like this allow children to develop fine motor skills, maths skills such as measure and shape and paired with the fab big book by Osbourne an opportunity to read and learn more about the wonderful world of bugs! 

Included in the sensory kit is magic soil, a pot, seed markers and sunflower seeds! These seeds are so simple for children to independently plant and watch grow. I’ve created a reel that will be shared over on Willow and Wild Organic’s Instagram page 🥰 

Once you’re finished with the pot you could create a bee hotel, rolled up brown paper makes the perfect environment for solitary bees, this could be hung from a tree or nestled in a cosy spot for them to find. We added flowers that might attract the bees and tempt them to our hotel. 

Finally the “pièce de résistance” Willow and Wild Organic’s famous sensory dough. I wanted to keep this really simple and open ended and let the resources speak for themselves! The children love using the cork stampers to create pattern and texture and the subtle scent excites the senses whilst we play! We added flowers and leaves to add to our printed patterns. 

The best and most impressive thing to me is that these sets are eco-friendly and plastic free! So not only are you having fun and exploring amazing resources you’re also helping the planet too!  I am so excited to see the next subscription and what you guys do with your packs!!