Resources I Use Again and Again in My Provision
You really don’t need hundreds of different resources to create engaging provision.
A lot of the setups you see across Read, Play, Create are made using the same core resources again and again — just presented differently depending on the story, children’s interests and what I want them to explore.
Foam Builders Bricks
These are one of those resources I use again and again because they can become almost anything.
Trees, animal enclosures, shops, houses, obstacle courses, walls, bridges — the list really is endless. They’re lightweight, easy to move around and simple to wipe clean, which makes them really practical too.
Children seem to love them every single time. Building towers is always a favourite, but they also enjoy posting and sticking objects into the holes, stacking, balancing and turning them into whatever their play needs next.
They’re such an open-ended resource, and that’s why I rate them so highly — the opportunities really are endless.
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Magnetic Tiles
These are genuinely one of my all-time favourite resources because they grow so well with the child.
With younger children, even simply discovering that two pieces connect is such a lovely bit of cause-and-effect learning. You can see them testing, pulling apart, trying again and beginning to understand how the pieces work together.
Then, as children get older, the possibilities just keep expanding. Watching a four-year-old carefully plan and build an enormous castle, house, tower or enclosure from the very same resource is something else.
They support so much — problem solving, spatial awareness, creativity, perseverance, fine motor development and lots of natural conversation along the way.
And just like the foam bricks, they can become anything. A zoo, a rocket, a shop, a house, a bridge, a dinosaur enclosure, a story setting…whatever the play needs.
They’re one of those resources I would recommend again and again because they’re so open-ended, so adaptable and children seem to come back to them constantly.
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Helping Hands Fine Motor Skills Tool Set
I love this set — it’s one of those resources that gets used over and over again.
It includes a really useful mix of fine motor tools for grabbing, squeezing, scooping and transferring, so children are strengthening the little muscles in their hands without it ever feeling like a “fine motor activity”.
The Twirler Squirters are amazing and I genuinely haven’t met a child yet who doesn’t love them. They’re brilliant for water play, colour mixing, potions and sensory setups, while all that squeezing and controlling is helping to build hand strength and coordination.
The tools can be used with so many different materials too — water, pom-poms, loose parts, sensory bases, sorting activities and small world play.
There’s also a larger classroom tub version, which is great if you’re buying for a nursery, Reception classroom or setting where several children will be using them at once.
For me, this is an absolute must-have set for building fine motor skills through play — practical, versatile and one children genuinely want to use.
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Jumbo Animals
For small world play, I’m very much the bigger the better!
Jumbo animals are brilliant, especially for younger children. They’re easy to hold, easy to move around and feel much more substantial in play than tiny figures.
They can be used for absolutely everything — farms, zoos, habitats, story retelling, sorting, counting, sensory play, muddy animal washes, footprints, ice play…they come out again and again.
The larger size also makes them really accessible for little hands and means children can properly grasp, carry, line up, group and move them around as part of their play.
They’re one of those resources that can be used across so many different stories and setups, and I always find children are drawn to them.
Big animals, big play opportunities — definitely one of my provision staples.
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Trays, Containers and Bowls
I like to use a real mix of trays, containers and bowls in my provision and, where I can, I like to match them to the activity.
Sometimes that might be coloured plastic bowls to fit a theme, bamboo trays for a more natural setup, or black bowls for something like space. But honestly, they really don’t need to be fancy.
What matters is that children have something they can fill, empty, scoop into, transfer between and collect things in — because most of them absolutely will!
They’re such a simple addition, but they can completely change how children interact with a setup. A bowl suddenly becomes a place to collect treasure, make a potion, feed an animal, sort objects or transport resources from one place to another.
I like having a variety of sizes, shapes and materials available so I can choose whatever suits the play best.
Simple, versatile and used constantly — definitely one of those resources worth having plenty of.
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Keep Checking Back!
I’ve only added a small selection of my most-used resources to get this page started, but there are plenty more to come!
I’ll keep adding the books, tools and resources I genuinely use again and again in my provision, so do keep checking back for new recommendations.
I only want to include things I’ve actually found useful — not fill the page for the sake of it.
Affiliate disclosure
Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. This means that if you choose to buy something through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share books and resources that I genuinely recommend.
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