100 ways to play with the Mirror Tray

This mirror tray has become super popular over the past 12 months. Super shiny and magnetic, the options are endless on how to use it. It fits well on our Mini Deep Spot Tray Stand or you can get the sensory mirror tray and stand together. It adds a real mirrored sensory element to play. When used outdoors, it reflects the clouds, trees and leaves above - sparking conversation and reflective play.

It is also a bargain at just under £18!

Here we feature your favourite ways to play with the mirror tray:

Exploring Colour

Looking at colour - encourage children to find objects of a certain colour, display them, look in more detail. Are some colours brighter than others? Rainbows look magical in the mirror tray too!

Floating Flowers

Flowers look beautiful floating on a small amount of water in the mirror tray. Watch them dancing in the breeze, twirl them with a stick, add food colouring to the water and a splash of milk (beware of allergies).

Twinkling Nursery Rhymes

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Create a story tray featuring objects from the book. This one includes fairy lights to make it more inviting and magical.

Lavender Investigations

Explore Lavender in the mirror tray - collect it from your pots - a true sensory delight. Display it in an array tray. Add play dough.

Art and Mark Making

These children are deep in concentration whilst drawing with chalk pens on the mirror trays. Beautiful artwork, especially with the tree branches above reflected.

Dinosaur dig

Bury Treasure or dinosaur skeletons in sand for children to discover. Add a book to engage the children further with interesting facts and skeletons and fossils.

Weather

Looking in more detail at the weather with @learning_play_and_wonder

Magical small worlds

A magical small world set up on our mirrored tray. We love the use of the rainbow reflective balls and chickpeas. So inviting.

Exploring nature

Explore natural treasures on a mirror tray. Autumn leaves, conkers, acorns and pinecones. What can your children identify?

Potions

Making love potions with crazy soap on the mirror tray. Add bio glitter and 100s and 1000s for extra magic.

Alphabet Magnets

Add magnets to the back of our alphabet lozenges and stick them to the magnetic mirror tray.

Shiny metal objects

Metal kitchen objects to bash, mix and sit in!

Sandy Sensory Tray

Include sand and scoops, coloured rice and chickpeas, pinecones and shells. Be careful in the summer as the tray will get hot in direct sunshine. Try to keep it in the shade.

Christmas Loose Parts

Explore Christmas decorations and sparkly twinkly lights on the mirror tray.

Mandalas

Get creative and make mandalas using loose parts and natural treasures on a mirror tray.

Loose Parts

Display loose parts, create transient art, mesmerise at the natural beauty of natural treasures and buttons. Beautiful reflections from the trees above.

Play Dough

The mirror tray is a great base for play dough and creates depth to your creations.

Valentines Day Sensory Mirror Tray Play

We love these ideas for valentines play from our cosy club members on our mirror tray.

Snowy Mud Kitchen Hot Chocolate Making

Leave your mirror tray out when it snows to collect a tray full of snow. Use it to make snow tea, mark make and stamp with cookie cutters.

Wintery ways to play with the Mirror Tray - snow play

Either use fake/instant snow or use the real stuff! Just be careful not to freeze your hands to the tray as the tray will be very cold! Add pots and scoops and natural treasures.

Baking

Add magic by making gingerbread on our mirror tray.

Space Mirror Tray Play

Space set ups look great on the mirror tray. Add fairy lights to create even more stars.

Bubbly Water

Water play is magical on our mirror tray. Simply add dish soap and other items if you wish such as petals or leaves.

Or simply just add water.

Add straws to blow bubbles.

Art and mark making

Use your mirror tray as a canvas - paint on it or draw on it using chalk marker pens. It all easily wipes off.

Wintry scenes

Create wintry scenes on the mirror tray. How beautiful is this set up from @thestayathometoddler with rice and black beans. So magical.

Light panels

Add a small light panel to your mirror tray. The mirror will reflect the light and colours.

Bird Watching

Use the mirror tray to set up a bird table for the great british bird watch, or at any time of year. Children can keep referring back to the items on the table to identify birds in their setting.

Adding magic

Add the mirror tray to your regular tuff spot tray setups to create a feature area. We love these trays using our blue tuff spot tray and mirror circle tray.

Magnets

Add your magnet collections to the magnetic mirror tray. The bonus of the tray is that it is magnetic so why not see what the children can find that will stick?

Trees and leaves

@playwithus2 creates some beautiful invitations to play on our mirror tray.

Chinese new year

Create beautiful sensory Chinese new year set ups on the mirror tray.

Messy Play

Add any messy materials to the tray and then simpy wipe it clean - or spray it off with a hose pipe.

Counting

Count strawberries, tomatoes, green beans, conkers, acorns - virtually anything using our wooden ten frames on a mirror tray.

Exploring and counting Conkers. Display treasures in our wicker sorting round and use five and ten frames to count and sort.

Counting minibeasts and dinosaur counters with our smaller wooden ten frames.

Remembrance Day - Poppy Tray

Add water and poppies to the mirror tray to create a beautiful memorial for soldiers and family members that fought in the war. Watch the Poppy petals float and dance around on the water in the breeze.