Have you played with Grimms rainbow? I highly recommend it because it is a magical invitation to creativity and so much more. Of course, we are big fans of the Grimms large rainbow at home (we’ve had it over three years, and we are still playing with it). But the Grimms medium wooden rainbow one is great as well. It’s been our latest addition in our playroom, and it is fantastic.
People may think that you can’t do much with the smaller version, but I am here to show you they are wrong. You can do so much with the medium version, and we’ll share what we do with you. You’ll see it is a fantastic educational toy and great to have around.
In this post:
- Reasons why we love playing with the Rainbow
- About Grimms
- The medium wooden Rainbow
- How do we play with it?
- Wooden Rainbow size options: Medium vs. Large
- Our favorite Grimms medium wooden Rainbow ideas
- How to clean Grimms toys
- Where to buy the Grimms Medium wooden Rainbow?
- Growing with the Rainbow
Reasons why we love playing with the Rainbow
The Rainbow is an incredible open-ended toy, which means that it doesn’t do much by itself, but you must put a lot of yourself to make the most of it. And oh, whoever plays with it will shine!
So there are many reasons why I encourage playing with it, and these are some of my favorites:
– Invitation to creativity
– Work on balancing skills & precision
– Problem-solving
– Building spatial awareness
– Practice fine motor skills
– Hand-eye coordination
– Respect: we have a rule at home; we must respect others’ creations until they say it is ok to take them down. It’s been hard for my 3-year-old, but I feel he is now getting it and respecting us more.
You will be surprised, and the kids will be too.
About Grimms
Before I go any further, let me share a bit about the company that has created this beautiful toy.
Grimms Spiel und Holz Design is a sustainable wood German manufacturer located at the foot of the Swabian Alb. They produce beautiful natural, high-quality, safe toys from alder, linden, beech, and maple wood. Each toy is uniquely hand-made with its unique footprint from nature.
When designing their toys, they say they are guided by the principles of Waldorf education and other reform pedagogical approaches such as Montessori.
The medium wooden Rainbow
The medium Rainbow is smaller in size and number of arches than the large version. So this one has six arches (or tunnels), the three primary colors (red, yellow, and blue), and the three secondary colors (orange, green, and purple). It is made from lime wood and colored with a non-toxic water-based color stain. It has a length of 17cm, so it is also very portable.
This product is recommended by “spiel gut” (good toy guide) and or children above one-year-old. It is very safe, and so practically everyone can play with it. It is fantastic for little ones and children at heart.
Wooden rainbow size options: Medium vs. Large
I profess my love for the large Rainbow any chance I have; it is magical and versatile. I love it. But, I understand that it may not be the best option for everyone – because of its price and size. In which case, there are great reasons to go for the medium wooden Rainbow (which is also fantastic) 😉
Price: Grimm’s toys are handcrafted and eco-friendly, making them more pricey than other toys. Because of their quality and the care put into making them, it does come at a price. The medium Rainbow tends almost a third of the cost of the large Rainbow, and if you are unsure about welcoming open-ended toys such as these in your home, this is a fantastic way to test it out. Or you might be considering it as a gift, and the large Rainbow is too much… go for this one!
Size: Maybe you want a smaller version. You may feel your little one needs something smaller for toddlers to grasp, or you want a more travel-size version so you can take it away with you on trips. Again, this is an attractive choice.
Your circumstances may define your choice, but I’m here to show you that if you go for the Medium Rainbow, you can still do a lot with it, and it is beautiful, inviting, and a creative toy.
How do we play with it?
So, to be honest, the first time I saw the Rainbow on Pinterest, I thought it was something nice to decorate nurseries. But when we got ours and started interacting with it, a whole world of possibilities opened. It is much more than a beautiful object to have around your children; it is a door to a new way of playing.
How would I present it to the children? At first, I’d simply hand it to them, let them explore, and let them come up with ways to interact with it. You’ll probably be surprised – because they will possibly come up with the idea that you would not have ever thought of. I remember one of their first reactions was to use it as a phone. That is the beauty of open-ended toys. There is no right or wrong way to play with something. Magic happens.
And if they need a little nudge to get their imagination flying, get down and play with them. Show your little ones what you can do or come up with. They will probably want to replicate, or it will stark something new. And another thing is to show them pictures of other ways other children have come up with playing with it. For me, looking at other people’s creations has inspired me to let go and have lots of fun.
Our favorite Grimms medium wooden Rainbow ideas
This wooden rainbow stacker is versatile and one of our favorite wooden toys. True, it is more limited than the large, but there is just sooo much you can do with it. Trust me. It is a toy that evolves with your child. As they grow, they will be interacting with it differently. They’ll gain new skills and, little by little, expand their play portfolio with it.
We’ve introduced this Rainbow recently to our home, but we’ve had the large Rainbow for years, and I’ve seen them grow with it. I’m positive they would have interacted with the medium version in the same way. So here would be my suggestion seeing how my children have played with a wooden rainbow through the years.
If your child is little, around 1, let them explore with the pieces the colors, grab them, and see what sound they make. They will enjoy throwing it and knocking it around a lot.
Around 2, when they can start stacking or placing objects in a line, I would then go for the floor constructions – like the tunnel – or even the primary stacking tower. Color matching and sorting activities are excellent for 2-year-olds. And even if they can’t create them for themselves at this stage, they love the animals.
When my children were three years old, they enjoyed making-believe with the Rainbow and playing with small worlds. They were tunnels, slides, beds for dolls, telephones; you name it! Of course, they also tried the ball runs.
What also worked for me was to show them pictures of ideas and build together the one that has grasped their attention. They were then motivated and wanted to make it themselves. After that, they would usually explore and create other things.
So let’s get started with some ideas 😉
Floor constructions & flat designs
A great way to start with them is with floor constructions. It is easier than stacking and a great way to get them to play with the Rainbow.
Build tunnels, create flat designs, place the arches in line, create patterns, layouts, clouds, flowers, or even animals. The sky is the limit!
Stacks
Next: Stacks. Now, this is where it starts getting trickier… when you have to get the arches balancing perfectly, so the structure holds up. Luckily, this medium Rainbow is very sturdy, and it is pretty easy to balance compared to the large version. Build towers with arches up or down. There are multiple combinations, and it is fun.
You can do some balancing with them as well.
Color matching & sorting
Another fun way to use the Rainbow is for color sorting games and activities.
We love to match the Grimms rainbow balls with the arch colors placing them on top, either straight or spiraling. You can also match with the 6 Grimms friends peg dolls and the forest cones that match the arches.
Ball runs
Now, this gets fun. Use the balls with movement, and it is an entirely new dimension. Ball runs don’t have to be complex. Start simple! We are very amateurs in this category… and our ball runs are simple. Easy, lovely, and fun but no works of complex engineering. 😅 But we do have fun, though. 🤣
Small world play
The Rainbow is also great for creating houses and buildings for small world play. They are fantastic for building tunnels and bridges when playing with roads. And they look so lovely ☺️
We love combining the Rainbow with other toys. Find out different ideas of how we play with Grimms semicircles, Grapat mandala, and the waytoplay road.
Making sounds and rhythms
Use sticks and drum sticks to make sounds and rhythms with the arches. Upside down or downside up, you can play and explore sounds with them.
How to clean Grimms toys
The following is advice directly taken from their website:
TIP: If you want to remove dirt from our products, wipe it off with a damp cloth and a little soapy water (if necessary). Please do not place it on the heater when drying; otherwise, cracks may appear in the wood, but allow it to dry at room temperature. Please do not clean our products with disinfectants, hot water, or the like under any circumstances!
Where to buy the Grimms Medium wooden Rainbow?
You most likely will find the Rainbow in wooden toy shops or stores where they sell Waldorf and Montessori toys. Probably in the biggest nearby city, you might have some that you can go and explore.
If unfortunately, there aren’t any stores of the style nearby, there are beautiful online stores where you’ll be able to find it. Aside from Amazon, I am sharing other web pages I have bought from while living in the UK and Spain (some are local, but others have international deliveries). Also, although I haven’t been there and haven’t purchased from them, I will recommend stores from around the world based on IG accounts of people living there who are happy customers.
Store with International deliveries
- Babipur.co.uk – You’ll even find a wide Grimms section on their site, and they deliver worldwide. Their customer service is fantastic. Although since Brexit, personally getting deliveries to Spain from the UK hasn’t been easy and sometimes returned to the UK. Bummer. If you are in Spain, I’d recommend you go to a local store.
- Smallable – It is a lovely family concept store with clothes, decoration items, and beautiful toys. And yes, the Rainbow is in their selection of adorable toys.
- Oskar’s Wooden Ark – They are from Australia, but they also provide international shipping to selected countries (New Zealand; United States; Canada, Singapore & South Korea) using Australia Post.
- Amazon – check out the sister site of your region and that it’s an original from Grimm’s Holz und Spiel.
Store with delivery in the UK
- Babipur – of course, you have Babipur. They are from the UK, and you’ll find the smaller version of the iconic Rainbow here.
Stores with delivery in Spain and Portugal
- Jugar i Jugar – Their toy portfolio is beautiful. It’s a fantastic option if you are local. Their customer service is excellent. If you purchase before 2 pm, you get your delivery the next day, which is always good to know.
- Aupali – It is a store in Barcelona, located in the neighborhood of Sarrià, filled with surprising toys that you’ll love. If you are ever in town, I suggest you make a stop. They also have an online store that delivers to the whole Peninsula and the Islands.
- mumuchu.com is also a very nice online store; however, unfortunately only local like the rest.
Store with delivery in the USA
- Bella Luna Toys – You’ll find the large Rainbow and an extensive range of Grimm’s toys. I’ve never ordered from them (I haven’t been in the US for years), but they seem very nice, have a lovely online store, and have excellent customer reviews.
Store with delivery in Australia & New Zealand.
- Oskar’s Wooden Ark – Based in Australia, they also provide international shipping to selected countries (New Zealand; United States; Canada, Singapore & South Korea) using Australia Post.
- Little Toy Tribe is currently shipping orders within Australia through their website. If you are from New Zealand, contact them through email with the list of what you’d like, and they’ll send a shipping quote.
Store with delivery in Malaysia
- Bueno Blocks – They are the Malaysian distributor for Grimm’s toys and have an impressive range of toys from them. They are a very kind family-owned business that wishes to bring these toys to families in Malaysia.
Growing with the Grimms Rainbow
Yes, as you’ve gathered, our family adores this toy. It is wonderful to see our children grow and see how they evolve and play differently with it. It has been a magical invitation to creativity and hours of open-ended play. We’ve enjoyed playing so much during the years with our last version, and we are enjoying adding the medium one to our play. If you got the medium one, I’m sure that in time you’d feel the same that we feel for our large one.
Hopefully, you’ll have found some new ideas to play with it even more if you have it. If you were considering buying it, hopefully, this will give you ideas to get started. If you might be considering other Grimms toys you can have a look at the ones we have at home here.
I really hope this has been helpful, and if you do have other suggestions to play with, I’d love to hear about them. We are always looking for new inspiration.
Happy rainbow playtime!*
P.S. Oh! And if you liked this post, you might also like these other posts filled with creative play ideas 😉 I hope you’ll like them!
