Bring your small world play to life with the Rainbow Islands, Boats, People & Houses set—a delightful mix of open-ended play pieces that invite creativity, storytelling, and a touch of colour to any early years learning space. Learners can create colourful imaginary neighbourhoods, sail vibrant boats across pretend seas, and practise essential numeracy skills by sorting and arranging the pieces. It’s perfect for early years maths activities, imaginative role play or even a bit of colour sorting for added flair in your early years foundation stage maths area.

The tactile design encourages hands-on learning, and the bright, cheerful colours are ideal for exploring basic mathematical skills such as counting, pattern recognition, and even problem-solving. Perfect for structured lessons or open-ended play, it’s a great way to develop numeracy skills while keeping learners entertained and engaged. Add it to a tuff tray with sand and other counters for some engaging cross-curricular fun that develops literacy and numeracy skills while keeping learners thoroughly entertained.

This set is equally at home in structured lessons as it is in free play sessions, making it a versatile choice for teacher resources. The durable, lightweight pieces are easy to handle and store, making them perfect for use in classrooms, nurseries, or outdoor learning environments. Plus, they’re just the right size for little hands—though we’re pretty sure the teachers will enjoy playing with them too!

Features

• Comprehensive set of 28 pieces: Includes colourful boats, houses, people, and islands, offering a variety of open-ended play options. Each piece is perfectly sized for small world play and versatile enough for numeracy ks1 and beyond.
• Dimensions for all pieces: Boats measure W. 7cm x L. 10cm, houses are H. 6.5cm x W. 5cm x L. 4cm, people measure Dia. 3cm x H. 8cm, and islands are Dia. 7.8cm—making them ideal for hands-on activities in both small world setups and maths games.
• Bright, engaging colours: The vibrant rainbow colours of each piece stimulate visual learning and support activities such as sorting by colour, pattern creation, and storytelling in your early years maths area.
• Durable and lightweight materials: Crafted from sturdy materials, these pieces are tough enough for regular classroom use while remaining light enough for easy handling, making them suitable for both indoor and outdoor learning.
• Packaged for easy storage: With all 28 pieces included, this set is designed to be easily stored and ready for immediate use. 

Benefits

• Promotes numeracy and problem-solving: Learners can use the set to explore basic mathematical skills, including counting, sorting, and understanding spatial relationships. Perfect for reinforcing key concepts in early years foundation stage maths.
• Encourages pattern and colour recognition: The rainbow-themed pieces inspire activities focused on creating patterns and recognising colours, helping children develop their numerical skills while engaging in fun, exploratory play.
• Supports storytelling and collaborative play: The houses, people, and boats encourage learners to craft their own narratives, fostering creativity and communication while naturally integrating literacy and numeracy skills.
• Integrates easily into EYFS learning spaces: Whether you’re running EYFS numeracy games, adding it to a small world sand play or using it as part of a tuff tray setup, this set fits seamlessly into a variety of early years maths activities.
• Cross-curricular versatility: The pieces are not just for maths! Use them for creative role play, science explorations (floating boats, anyone?), or simply as part of free play to develop problem-solving and reasoning abilities.