Montessori Wooden Rainbow Stacker

How children play with the rainbow, year by year

From around 12 months, the game is simple: take the arches out one by one, hold them, knock two together, try to put them back. The smallest arch only fits in the middle, so the rainbow itself shows when the order is right. Around 2, arches get stood up in a row, turned upside down to rock like a cradle or lined up as a tunnel for a toy car.

By 3 or 4, it becomes building material: fences for farm animals, a bridge over a blue scarf river, a tall balancing tower that asks for steady hands. Many toys with rainbows are made to be looked at; this one is made to be taken apart.

Which wood rainbow stacker size to choose?

• Small: 5 arches, 16 x 9 x 3 cm, 0.32 kg. As a first birthday present, this one is light and easy to take to the grandparents'.
• Medium: 8 arches and 1 ball, 26 x 5 x 13 cm, 1.05 kg. A good all-round size for building from 2 years.
• Large: 12 arches and 2 balls. The most pieces, for long constructions and play with brothers and sisters.

With a toddler, put out only three or four arches at first. A full rainbow at once tends to end up scattered across the floor; add the rest once nesting them back has clicked.

Colours, sizes and balance in one set

Nesting the arches of a wooden rainbow from largest to smallest is a first lesson in size order, and naming the colours along the way comes naturally. Balancing curved pieces on top of each other takes patience and a light touch. There are no rules and no batteries, which is what it shares with our other Montessori wooden toys: the child decides what the game is.

Characteristics

• Solid wood arches in rainbow colours
• Sizes: small (5 arches), medium (8 arches + 1 ball), large (12 arches + 2 balls)
• Age: from 1 year
• 2-year guarantee on all products