What's Missing Tray
What you need
- a tray
- four or five things from around the house: a spoon, a sock, a toy car, a cup
- a tea towel to cover them
How to do it
- Put the things on the tray and name each one together.
- Cover the tray with the tea towel and, while your child closes their eyes, take one thing away.
- Lift the tea towel: what's missing?
- Swap so they hide something from you, and add one more thing each round.
Why it matters
Holding a picture of the tray in their head, then checking it against what's there, is memory work that feels like a magic trick.
What they're learning
- Remembering
- A picture of the tray in their head.
- Naming things
- Spoon, sock, car, cup.
- Taking turns
- Hiding, then finding.
What to look for
Notice them pointing at the empty space where something used to be.
A tip
Use things too big to fit through a toilet roll tube, and keep the number small enough to feel possible.
Make it easier or harder
Easier: three things only, named again before you cover them
Harder: swap two things round as well as taking one away, and ask what's changed
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Quiet & calm activities · Toddler activities with a spoon · Toddler activities with cups · Toddler activities with a tray · Toddler activities with a towel · Toddler activities with socks