Reviewed April 2021
I’ve been following their Instagram page for a while after I saw a couple of pictures which were right up my street … lots of wooden toys, sensory play, Montessori ideas, child-led play! The photos screamed out to me that this place was going to be amazing so when I got asked to go and do a review, of course I jumped at the chance and took the Mini Mumblers along to try it out (nearly 6 years old and 6 months old)!
Rainbow PlayRooms is based at The Art House in central Wakefield, with its own dedicated room as well as an outdoor roof terrace. There’s lots of parking around which is made even better with the council recently announcing 2 hours free parking! Currently it is open to childminder bubbles (due to Covid-19 restrictions) and will hopefully be open to everyone in June!! There’s a secure place to store your pram / pushchair and a huge toilet / baby change area!
I follow quite a few sensory play pages and I am always in awe of things that people create for their children. To be completely honest, I really don’t have the time to be creating wonderful homemade play-scapes and learning areas at the moment and this is where Rainbow PlayRooms is absolutely perfect!!
The room is divided into different areas to capture the imaginations of children and let them lead their play. My son headed straight for the ‘Explore’ area and got out the train set whilst I look our 6 month old into the gated baby play section – perfect to keep the bigger kids separate! My little girl loved playing with the coloured water bead packs and discovering the sensory bottles. The equipment shelves are a foot or so high and were the perfect height for her to hold herself up as she is desperate to be on her feet like her big brother!!
My son kept going between the outdoor play terrace, which is a lovely suntrap, and the indoor area, finding lots of treasures and natural toys. Both areas flow into each other nicely so I was happy playing inside and could see him playing outside by himself. He likes playing chef and being a waiter at the moment and cooked us up pinecone corn on the cob on the outdoor kitchen as well as planting a runner bean to take home!
Also running at Rainbow PlayRooms on Thursdays is Baby Story Massage. We were given a sneak preview to the class and using the story of “We’re going on a bear hunt” we were shown different moves using massage and props along to the story. You’ll see from the photos that she was absolutely captivated!!
The resources are amazing in Rainbow PlayRooms and the two ladies, Sian & Jen, who run Rainbow PlayRooms are inspirational!! The positive energy and creativity they have installed into every corner of Rainbow PlayRooms makes it a very warm, happy, fun and loved place to take your kids to. We all loved Rainbow PlayRooms and can’t wait to return! It’s a such beautiful environment!!
It absolutely didn’t surprise me that when we got back to the car my son said:
“Mummy that was the best place ever, when can we go back?”
I don’t think I need to say anymore!!
Rainbow PlayRooms is now open to everyone & if you would like to know more please visit the website – click here
They will be open Monday – Saturday, 9:30am – 3:00pm. Closed Fridays for classes and groups.
You can also follow Rainbow PlayRooms on their Facebook page and Instagram
Disclaimer: Mumbler was asked to review Rainbow PlayRooms and was paid for this, however, all comments are from myself (and my son!) and are an honest and accurate account of us having fun! I enjoyed the Rainbow PlayRooms so much that we’ll be returning as soon as we can and I am perfectly happy to pay for this myself!!