5 Ways to Use Sensory Filling Trays in the Classroom

If you have been following along with my journey into sensory play resources, you will know I am a huge fan of filling trays. As a nursery practitioner myself, I have seen first-hand how these simple, open-ended resources can transform learning in the early years. Whether you are a nursery practitioner, childminder, teacher, or parent looking for meaningful play ideas, filling trays are one of the most versatile tools you can have in your toolkit.

In this post, I am sharing five of my favourite ways to use sensory filling trays in the classroom (or at home!), along with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) links that make them such a powerful learning resource.

What Are Filling Trays?

Filling trays are 3D printed trays with shaped compartments that children fill with sensory materials such as rice, oats, sand, pasta, lentils, or coloured water beads. They are brilliant for fine motor development, concentration, and exploring a wide range of curriculum areas through hands-on, playful learning.

Top tip: For younger children, I would recommend starting with larger filler materials like dried pasta or chunky oats, then progressing to finer materials like rice, lentils, or sand as their pincer grip develops. Always supervise sensory play with small materials.

1. Colour Sorting and Matching

One of the simplest and most effective uses for filling trays is colour sorting. Children use coloured rice, dyed pasta, or pom-poms to fill each compartment with the matching colour. This is a wonderful activity for developing early mathematical thinking around categorisation and classification.

Our Colour Monster Filling Trays Set (6) is perfect for this. Each tray features a monster shape in a different colour, so children can match their filler material to the correct monster. It ties in beautifully with the popular picture book The Colour Monster, making it ideal for exploring emotions and colour recognition at the same time.

EYFS Links

• Mathematics: Sorting, classifying, and comparing by colour and attribute.
• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Naming and discussing feelings when used alongside The Colour Monster book.
• Physical Development: Fine motor skills through scooping, pouring, and using tools like tweezers or spoons.

2. Themed Topic Work

Filling trays are a fantastic way to bring your weekly or half-termly topics to life. When you are covering a farm topic, for example, setting out Farm Animals Sensory Filling Trays with oats, straw, and dried lentils creates a multi-sensory experience that reinforces the vocabulary and concepts children are learning about throughout the week.

Likewise, our Weather Sensory Filling Trays are brilliant for a weather topic. Fill the sun with yellow rice, the cloud with cotton wool, and the raindrop with blue water beads for a truly engaging sensory exploration of weather types.

EYFS Links

• Understanding the World: Exploring the natural world, talking about animals, habitats, and weather patterns.
• Communication and Language: Building topic-specific vocabulary through purposeful, contextual play.
• Expressive Arts and Design: Exploring textures, colours, and materials creatively.

Practical tip: Set up your filling trays as part of a wider themed invitation to play. Add small world figures, books, and mark-making materials alongside the trays to extend learning even further.

3. Story Sack Fillers and Literacy

This is one of my absolute favourites. Filling trays make incredible story sack resources and can bring well-loved books to life in a really tactile, memorable way.

Our Very Hungry Caterpillar Filling Trays Set is a brilliant example. Children can retell the story of the caterpillar eating through different foods by filling each tray as they go. It is a hands-on way to develop sequencing skills, narrative language, and comprehension.

The Five Little Ducks Sensory Filling Trays work wonderfully for number rhymes too, combining literacy with early maths. You can find more ideas in our Story Telling Props collection.

EYFS Links

• Literacy: Retelling stories, sequencing events, and engaging with books in a meaningful way.
• Communication and Language: Developing narrative skills, extending vocabulary, and building confidence in speaking.
• Mathematics: Counting, one-to-one correspondence, and number recognition when used with number rhymes.

4. Maths and Counting

Filling trays are a natural fit for early maths. You can use them to practise one-to-one correspondence by asking children to place one item into each compartment. They can sort by size, count how many scoops it takes to fill a shape, or compare which shapes hold more or less filler material.

Try providing a range of different-sized trays and asking children to estimate and then check: "Which tray do you think will need the most rice? Which will need the least?" This kind of hands-on investigation is far more meaningful than worksheet-based maths for young children.

EYFS Links

• Mathematics: Counting with one-to-one correspondence, comparing quantities, exploring capacity, subitising, and early estimation.
• Communication and Language: Using mathematical language such as "more," "less," "full," "empty," "bigger," and "smaller."
• Physical Development: Developing hand-eye coordination and fine motor control through careful filling and pouring.

Practical tip: Add child-friendly tools like small spoons, scoops, funnels, and tweezers to your filling tray activities. These extend the fine motor challenge and give children more ways to explore the materials.

5. Free Play and Self-Directed Exploration

Sometimes the very best learning happens when we step back and let children lead. Filling trays are ideal for setting up as part of continuous provision or as an invitation to play. Leave them out with a selection of filler materials and tools, and watch what happens.

Children will naturally experiment, create patterns, mix materials, and develop their own games and narratives. This kind of self-directed play is at the heart of the EYFS and supports children intrinsic motivation, creativity, and problem-solving skills. It is also wonderful for children who need a calming, repetitive sensory activity to help them regulate.

EYFS Links

• Personal, Social and Emotional Development: Building independence, self-regulation, and confidence through child-initiated play.
• Expressive Arts and Design: Creating patterns, exploring textures, and using materials in open-ended ways.
• Characteristics of Effective Learning: Playing and exploring, active learning, and creating and thinking critically.

Getting Started with Filling Trays

If you are new to filling trays, here are a few of my top tips for making the most of them:

• Start simple: One tray, one filler material, and one tool. You can always add complexity later.
• Rotate your fillers: Swap between rice, oats, sand, pasta, lentils, and other materials to keep the experience fresh and exciting.
• Layer your provision: Add small world figures, books, or mark-making materials alongside the trays to extend learning.
• Observe and document: Watch how children use the trays and note the learning you see. Filling trays generate brilliant evidence for EYFS observations.
• Let children lead: Resist the urge to direct the play. Some of the richest learning happens when children use the trays in their own way.

All of our filling trays are 3D printed using PLA, an eco-friendly, biodegradable plastic made from renewable resources like cornstarch. They are lightweight, durable, and safe for use with young children under supervision.

Browse the full range of Sensory Filling Trays and find the perfect set for your setting. Whether you are a nursery practitioner looking to refresh your continuous provision or a parent wanting to bring more purposeful play into your home, filling trays are a simple resource that delivers big results.