Are you ready for the holidays, or looking for some ideas? And here are some of the some of the pieces that were new to our family, or that the kids were particularly drawn to this year
All Ages: Gift Ideas
Some things are SO classic and SO good for all ages, they land here. Because Grimms and Grapat are Geofenced, these items are not directly linked on this page, but instead have buttons below.
The Grimms Large Stepped Pyramid is amazing–huge both in presentation and play value. I don’t like it as a first / stand-alone set because it lacks variety in shapes, but combined with any other Grimms building set it is amazing addition!
Grapat Manda pieces are beautifully made and colored and wonderful in play as loose parts, as scenery, as counting manipulatives or to make mandala art. We use these daily. (ages 3+)
Bauspiel Colorstreet (gemblocks) are such a good early building block. They have good grippy texture and a consistent shape that stacks well. They’re Beautiful alone or mixed with other blocks.
Ideas by Age
The pages linked here will take you to ideas by approximate age. These lists were put together with longevity in mind, so don’t hesitate to look back and forward a year or two as you’re looking for ideas. If you’re new to wooden or open ended toys and would like to know more about what to look for, this article is a good place to start.
Some of the links in this page are affiliate links. That means when you purchase through them, Building with Rainbows receives a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
At first glance, the Bauspiel Giant Rainbow looks familiar and perhaps similar to other sets, but on closer inspection, the size and proportions reveal that really it plays more like a remarkable set of blocks than the typical rainbow stacker.
Each year as earth day rolls around the kids and I talk about changes we can make to live more responsibly. Sometimes it means using less of things, sometimes using different things, sometimes it means looking for ways to use things longer, and other times it means making new choices next time you shop. Here are a few of our favorites.