Fizzy Earth Day Fun in a Tuff Tray – A Small World Sensory Activity!
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In early childhood education, small world play refers to creating miniature, life-like scenes using toys, natural materials, or household items. Children use these mini environments to act out real-life experiences , explore ideas , and develop storytelling skills through imaginative, open-ended play.
Some common small world setups include:
🧚 A fairy garden with pebbles and flowers
🚗 A construction site with trucks and gravel
🐴 A farmyard with animal figurines and straw
These scenes help children build language, problem-solving, social, and fine motor skills—while having fun in a way that feels meaningful and magical.
🌍 We Made a Small World in a Small Tuff Tray
This Earth Day, we decided to take the idea of small world play quite literally… and made a SMALL world in a SMALL Tuff Tray!
We used colored baking soda to shape our blue oceans and green continents, added animals from around the world, and then brought our world to life with fizzing vinegar bottles . It’s playful, hands-on learning with a fizzy science twist!
🧪 How to Make Your Fizzy Earth
You’ll Need:
Baking soda
Blue and green food coloring
Vinegar
A squirt of dish soap
Squeeze bottles or droppers
Tray or Tuff Tray
Small animal figurines
Steps:
Mix baking soda + blue food coloring in one bowl.
Mix baking soda + green food coloring in another bowl.
Shape the blue and green baking soda into a simple “Earth” map inside your Tuff Tray .
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Add mini animals and talk about where they live!
Example: a deer in Canada , a kangaroo in Australia , or a starfish near Vietnam’s beaches .
Fill squeeze bottles with vinegar + a squirt of dish soap .
Let your child squeeze the bottles and watch the fizzing, bubbling Earth come alive!
✅ Safety Tips
Baking soda and vinegar are generally safe for touch, but always supervise children.
After play, wash hands well.
Skip this activity with toddlers unless you're adapting it safely and closely supervising. For this activity, we worked 1-on-1 with a 5-year-old , who understood not to mouth materials.
Watch the video - see how the EARTH will fizz and how to make it at home 💙
Around the World in 52 Weeks: Kids Learning Countries Through Play
Want a low-mess option instead? Not every caregiver or classroom is ready for a fizzy, messy day, and that’s 100% okay!
Try a more low-mess activity with our “52 Weeks Around the World” Flashcards instead.
✨ This printable set includes:
52 cards featuring adorable illustrations of children from around the world
Traditional clothing, scenic backgrounds, or cultural icons
A perfect resource for multicultural learning, diversity displays, or geography games
Play a Game with the Flashcards:
Spin a globe
Stop it and see what country you land on
Search for that country in your flashcard deck
Teach Diversity Through Play: 52 Children Around the World Flashcards
Our 52 Weeks of Children Around the World flashcard set is the perfect printable resource for classrooms and home learning! Each card features a child from a different country, illustrated with charming artwork that includes traditional clothing, scenic backgrounds, or cultural symbols. Whether you use them for circle time, globe games, or a classroom bulletin board, these cards make multicultural learning simple, engaging, and beautiful.
Perfect for promoting inclusion, global awareness, and early geography skills —one card, one country, one week at a time.
52 Weeks Around The World is available on TPT (TeachersPayTeachers.com) along with the extended activities for EACH country.
🌍 Earth Day Sensory Play Ideas 💚💙
Celebrate Earth Day with hands-on, creative activities that help children connect with nature and the world around them!
These Earth Day sensory play ideas are perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and early learners—whether you’re teaching in the classroom or playing at home.
Bunny Nature Craft - FREE DOWNLOAD
To wrap up our Earth Day celebration, we shifted from fizz and fun to something soft, sweet, and spring-inspired— a Nature Bunny Craft! 🐰🌸
With Earth themes in mind, we talked about reusing natural materials and how even simple petals can be repurposed for beautiful art. For this craft, just print a bunny stencil, gather some leftover flower petals (from nature walks or sensory play), and glue them on to create a spring bunny masterpiece . It’s a gentle, calming activity that also teaches the value of reuse and caring for our planet. 🌍💚
So simple.
So cute.
So perfect for Earth Day!
👉 Download your free bunny stencil HERE!
Brown Tuff Tray for Nature Crafts - Watch how we do it 🤎
At Learning Through PLAYtrays , we believe big learning happens in small, thoughtful setups—where children are free to explore, imagine, and discover the world around them, one playful moment at a time.
Happy Earth Day, and Happy Playing! 💚💙🌿