Why I Think EVERY Classroom Needs This Rainbow

If you asked me to choose my ONE FAVOURITE toy for kids - it would be the Grimm's wooden rainbow stacker. I just adore them for so many reasons (possibly all stemming from my childhood obsession with rainbows).

Another way to order the arcs from biggest to smallest

Did you know Grimm's is a German based company, and one question I'm always asked is "Where can you get them here in Australia??". Well you need look no further that one of my fave Instagrammer Brianna's (Notes from a Home Educator) new shop The Creative Toy Shop (*affiliate link). Brianna is a professional nanny + special ed teacher who is (like me) passionate about play based learning and she has so so SO many brilliant ideas on her Instagram page (here's some ways the boys she educates use their rainbow).

Image credit - Notes from a Home Educator

As you all (probably) know I'm still on maternity leave, so today on the blog I get to pretend that I'm back in a classroom and share all the brilliant ways I could use this rainbow stacker with my class, and why I think EVERY junior primary classroom (preschool, kindy, early years classroom, homeschool playroom) should have one. There are many possibilities for learning in various curriculum areas.

*Kindly gifted for the purpose of this review. 

Measuring in Maths

When we start teaching measurement, we usually begin with placing objects in order of their size from biggest to smallest, and that's something children will naturally do with the Grimm's Rainbow. But there are many different ways to learn this concept! Build it up like a tower, make a tunnel, make a spiral, measure your height - are you as tall as the tower? How long? How high? How wide?

Constructing the rainbows - placing the pieces from biggest to smallest

"I am taller than the rainbow tower!"

Creative Block Play

The Grimm's Rainbow will utterly transform your block area. Such a valuable addition to traditional block play and it opens up so many more possibilities for bridges, fences, tunnels and other structures. It brings colour, curves, arcs and children can create impressive cities and towers. 

Weather Unit

I love teaching children about weather; we go outside, look at the clouds, record our findings, we make predictions and identify different elements of weather - rainbows being the most spectacular of all. The look of wonder and awe on a child's face when they see a rainbow is priceless! The Grimm's rainbow stacker would make a great addition to a weather display or discovery table with related books.

Click to get this resource via TpT

You could also browse out the 'printables' section over at The Creative Toy shop for some great weather wall cards to compliment your weather unit.

Mirror Play, Shape & Symmetry

When you add a mirror to this rainbow play experience, something magical happens. The semicircle arcs become full circles! What a fantastic play extention!

Balance, Force & Motion in Science

Some very clever people have come up with some amazing ways to experiment with force and motion using the Grimm's rainbow (including Brianna and the boys!) and have captured and shared them on YouTube...

Check this out!

And these impressive marble rolls!

Art & Creativity 

Knowing the colours of the rainbow in order is a useful skill to have in art, and there are some beautiful rainbow craft projects out there. Identify primary and secondary colours, use the rainbow as a prompt for colour mixing or as a guide to recall the colours in order when completing art works. 

Literacy Prompts

Sometimes a visual prompt might be all a child needs to spark an idea in their mind for a story they want to write or a topic they want to write about... Here are some ideas for how you could use the rainbow as a writing prompt;

• Some people say there is a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. What do you think there might be?
• Write your story in the shape of a rainbow!
• Finish this story... "It was a very rainy day so I... " (ending this story with a rainbow).
• Descriptive writing with colours "Red is the colour of ...", or extend this idea by teaching similies eg "As red as a ..."
• Identify and label a feeling for each colour (red = angry, blue = sad)
• Write a rainbow acrostic poem with a word for each letter of RAINBOW
• Write your spelling words or sentences in the colours of the rainbow (eg 'Rainbow Roll and Write' guide below).
• Nurture store has a fantastic Rainbow Journal you can download for free with lots more ideas!

Click to download from TpT

Click to get it from Nurture Store!

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Be sure to visit The Creative Toy Shop for many other beautiful Grimm's products!

Time and time again parents/teachers who have one of these rainbows tell me that it is their child's toy that gets played with the most. They are of the highest quality, a great investment and the perfect addition to the classroom or playroom!

Lauren xx