Best recent discovery/purchase for my setting

**jadavi** · 10-01-2013, 07:06 AM

I thought it might he useful for us to have a thread where we shared great new items we've got for our setting.
I got the large egg timer (one minute) for turn taking last week and it has transformed turn taking for us. The one waiting loves to watch the sand running. it's nice and large and lovely to hold.

Got it from eBay (tinknstink seller ) for £7.99

**lynncjt** · 10-01-2013, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by jadavi

I thought it might he useful for us to have a thread where we shared great new items we've got for our setting.
I got the large egg timer (one minute) for turn taking last week and it has transformed turn taking for us. The one waiting loves to watch the sand running. it's nice and large and lovely to hold.

Got it from eBay (tinknstink seller ) for £7.99

I like the idea of a large egg timer! The older ones ask me to set a time on my phone but a visual one for the little ones is a great idea.

**k1rstie** · 10-01-2013, 07:35 AM

I have a 5 minute big sand timer. From eBay, under the sen section.

It's great for turn taking, and also for very slow eaters, to help focus the eating before a yogurt/dessert!

**sarah707** · 10-01-2013, 08:01 AM

I was hunting the local charity shops at the weekend when I found a basket full of squares of sensory material.

I already have a sensory treasure basket with bits of ribbon and cord but this has all been washed now and the children are loving it!

**TNT** · 10-01-2013, 09:55 PM

I finally bought a tough spot and it has transformed our messy play! We love it and it inspired me all over again so have got lots of new resources together to use in it (we have had risotto rice, glitter, strips of foil, penguins and seals today for our cold and winter theme.)

**AliceK** · 10-01-2013, 10:02 PM

Mine has got to be the big plastic buckets and also the surprise bag of material remnants I bought for £5. It was a bit of a gamble but when I opened it at home there were some lovely pieces in there

xxxx

**TAZ** · 10-01-2013, 10:12 PM

I bought a pack of 'makedo' haven't used it yet but it looks great. I hadn't heard of it before but you can make so many things. Has anyone else got this & done any creating?

**MessybutHappy** · 10-01-2013, 10:25 PM

Some grippy stuff, sold to hang christmas cards, but great for putting up artwork quickly and with no damage to walls or time spent collecting blue tac!! Oh, and my big blue tub for speedy tidy up time....

**RainbowDrops** · 10-01-2013, 11:05 PM

Originally Posted by TNT

I finally bought a tough spot and it has transformed our messy play! We love it and it inspired me all over again so have got lots of new resources together to use in it (we have had risotto rice, glitter, strips of foil, penguins and seals today for our cold and winter theme.)

Thank you for this post! I've never worked out what they were called before, but had a google and realised that they are tough spot / tuffspot! We love messy play etc but usually use a small paddling pool, and I thought these looked great when I saw them at my local sure start.

Had a google and have got one off ebay now - AKA 'cement mixing tray'

Can't wait till it arrives

**Lilylulu** · 11-01-2013, 12:50 AM

we have a gel timer, there is something quite fascinating about watching the gel bubble and gloop through the timer, so much that its often in use just to sit and watch, the children forget they are waiting for a turn with a toy/game and turn the timer over to see it drip through again and again, its a bit hypnotic and relaxing

Another favourite atm is a little set of nesting owls, bought from the fair trade display at our local library, a lovely resource for about £6.

**jadavi** · 11-01-2013, 05:56 AM

What is a tough spot?

**jadavi** · 11-01-2013, 06:00 AM

Thanks just saw the answer. We use a pant sand table and a large flat garden tray with high rim for all our messy play. Is a tuff spot different to this?

**lynncjt** · 11-01-2013, 08:08 AM

Originally Posted by TAZ

I bought a pack of 'makedo' haven't used it yet but it looks great. I hadn't heard of it before but you can make so many things. Has anyone else got this & done any creating?

I was looking at this and thought it looked good but was not sure if the mindees would like it as much as I would! I'd be interested to hear how you get on with it.

**christine e** · 11-01-2013, 08:15 AM

Originally Posted by Lilylulu

we have a gel timer, there is something quite fascinating about watching the gel bubble and gloop through the timer, so much that its often in use just to sit and watch, the children forget they are waiting for a turn with a toy/game and turn the timer over to see it drip through again and again, its a bit hypnotic and relaxing

Another favourite atm is a little set of nesting owls, bought from the fair trade display at our local library, a lovely resource for about £6.

your gel timer sounds good - do you have a link to one?

**christine e** · 11-01-2013, 08:21 AM

Just ordered one of these book boxes - think I first saw them via the forum but was able to use the GIFT25 discount code for a 25% discount

Tidy Books Box | Handy book box for kids book storage with a play clock

**TNT** · 11-01-2013, 01:07 PM

Originally Posted by jadavi

Thanks just saw the answer. We use a pant sand table and a large flat garden tray with high rim for all our messy play. Is a tuff spot different to this?

No I dont think so, it is a large tray with a big rim. It is used to mix cement on driveways so is very sturdy yet small enough to fit on a normal table.

**loocyloo** · 11-01-2013, 02:03 PM

i have a couple of these that i use outside, but i found them a bit big for inside. i use a large potting tray (from the garden centre) or some (clean & new!) cat litter trays for messy play inside.

**lynncjt** · 11-01-2013, 08:07 PM

At the moment I'm using large under bed storage boxes on wheels, they also have lids which is great if you want to keep something in them for another day.

Found out the hard way though that they are not watertight if left outside for long - dried beans/peas that I had in them were starting to grow which was another interesting experience for the children!

**lozzy23** · 12-01-2013, 12:57 AM

Originally Posted by christine e

Just ordered one of these book boxes - think I first saw them via the forum but was able to use the GIFT25 discount code for a 25% discount

Tidy Books Box | Handy book box for kids book storage with a play clock

I have got one of these, it is lovely. The children seem to look after the books better and put them away with more care. When I had the books in a wicker basket they would just throw them back in.

**Telabelle** · 12-01-2013, 09:28 AM

One of my parents bought us a black sheep hand puppet as a Christmas present. We have all had great fun with it, as it has reminded us of our hanging fabric puppet theatre. We have been 'introducing' the new puppet to all the existing puppets, children, song props, even cars trains etc...