A little one tips out a bowl of wooden rings and starts sorting them by colour, lining up the purple ones, then the blue, then the green, before stacking a few into a wobbly little tower. These are the 36 Rings from Grapat: 36 wooden rings in 12 rainbow colours, in an equal mix, made from beech that is PEFC certified in Spain. Each ring is small enough for little hands to pick up, turn over and slot together.

On their own the rings invite sorting, matching, stacking and threading. Paired with other Grapat loose parts, such as Nins, they become props for scene building, tucked under, balanced on top of or arranged around whatever a child is imagining. The set is a favourite in Montessori and Waldorf settings for exactly this kind of open-ended play, useful for counting games and colour matching alike.

This set has won a Spiel Gut award. It suits a 2 years+ child ready to sort and stack the rainbow rings, and it makes a thoughtful gift for a birthday or as a first step into Grapat's range of loose parts.