The Best Montessori Toys For Babies and Toddlers

The Best Montessori Toy for Newborns

These mobiles are your baby’s first toys. At birth, babies are visually attracted to high contrast. The black and white mobile fascinates our newest family members and you can introduce the others shortly thereafter. At this age, the baby’s only “task” is visual observation. On the outside not much appears to be happening, but on the inside, her brain is already developing. Soon, she’ll try to reach out for a mobile, and that’s when you know she’s ready for a batting toy.

A Perfect Choice for Babies Who Like To Reach for Objects

This activity gym is perfectly designed for your baby’s developmental stages. Start with hanging objects for the infant to bat and later move to rings to grasp. The Lovevery Play Gym is designed with Montessori in mind, so it is simple and not crowded with unnecessary stimulation. You can adjust it so that only the objects your baby is “working” on are available.

The Best Toy for Babies Struggling With Separation Anxiety

The object permanence box is one of the first Montessori materials that has a very clear task. Before this, babies are mentally processing information so the actual work that they are doing is less apparent. Around seven or so months, babies begin to realize for the first time that an object still exists even when they cannot see it. This concept is called object permanence, as the Object Permanence Box is designed to reinforce it. The task is to drop a ball into a hole at the top of a box. The ball is “gone” but the baby can then retrieve it again from the box’s side. Dropping the ball into the hole also works on fine motor skills and visual discrimination. The child can self correct and does not need adult assistance to play with this toy. It has one, clear task, that focuses on one developmental skill.

A Good Choice for Babies Who Are Just About To Crawl

When babies play with this toy, they quickly discover that they can push it and roll it a short distance away from them. They are then encouraged to crawl towards it and push it again. The rolling drum is ideal for pre-crawlers who can already sit up. This toy has a specific task of rolling and retrieving, but you may also see babies shaking it or using it as a teether. That is fine because their natural curiosity will guide them towards its purpose when they are developmentally ready. Because it rolls a short distance, adults do not need to intervene to bring the toy back to the baby--in fact, resist the urge to do this and let your little one experience a little bit of frustration as they figure out how to retrieve the toy.

A Good Choice for Babies Who Want to Touch All of Mom and Dad’s “Toys”

This toy works on visual discrimination, as babies work to push the shapes into their correct holes. The task at hand is very clear and engaging. Adult assistance is not required--the child can tell if each shape is correctly positioned because that is the only way it will fit through. Little ones love this toy and the feeling satisfaction it provides.

The Best All Around Montessori Toy for Babies

This stacker toy focuses on the variable of size--each cup is slightly larger than the next, and they can be nested or stacked up into a tower. This toy can be used for open ended play but there are Montessori works tasks, like making a tower, that kids will naturally discover. Control of error is embedded into these tasks; for example, if the cups are stacked incorrectly, they will be left with an odd cup at the end. Toddlers can self-correct an error like this without needing to ask what to do.

A Good Toy for Parents Who Want to Introduce Their Little One to Music Early On

Montessori musical toys are accurate albeit tiny representations of the real thing. A toy piano is perfect to introduce when toddlers can sit up or are beginning to pull up and stand. The most basic task of any musical instrument is to make a sound, and during the first year of life babies are exploring the idea of cause and effect, so they love banging on the keys.

An Ideal Choice for Pre-Walkers Who Almost Have It

This toy has a very clear purpose: the task is to push it along! And doing so incorporates the very important milestone of learning to walk. Using a push cart is a developmentally appropriate way to learn to walk and practice walking with some support. Unlike walkers that strap the child in, the push cart lets your little one use the same muscles and balance required for fully independent walking.

The Right Toy for Toddlers Who Only Want to Do What Mom and Dad Do

Once toddlers become confident walkers, they attempt to imitate everything their parents or the adults in their life do. One year olds are obsessed with household tasks like sweeping the floor, washing the dishes, or preparing a snack. For this reason, the Melissa & Dog Dust! Sweep! Mop! kit is an all-time favorite. To keep things in line with Montessori, let your little one try their hand cleaning up real crumbs.

The Best Toy for Toddlers Who Want to Be By Mom’s Side At All Times

A learning tower is a must-have for one year olds, who want to do everything mom is doing. A step ladder with added barriers to prevent falling, a learning tower lets your toddler reach up to the kitchen counters where he can help you prepare snacks or do other household tasks. In Montessori, toddlers are taught practical life skills as part of their basic education. For example, you might teach your little one to slice a banana with a butter knife.

The Best Montessori Outdoor Toy

A balance bike is an alternative to the classic tricycle, and it allows toddlers to bike independently at a much earlier age. The balance bike is a small, two-wheeled bike without pedals. The child pushes along on it, while developing their sense of balance. Kids who start with a balance bike generally do not need training wheels later on. Toddlers can ride independently on these bikes by simply placing their feet down when they begin to wobble.

The Right Choice for Toddlers Who are Interested in Buttons, Snaps, and Velcro

A classic in the Montessori classroom, dressing frames help children learn to manipulate buttons, snaps, zippers, and other clothing fasteners. Each board has one individual skill, so that you can give your child the boards that she is developmentally ready to practice with. It is very clear to the child what she needs to do and whether she has done it correctly. Dressing frames support independence, a key component in Montessori.

An Ideal Choice for the Toddler Who Won’t Stop Reaching for Your Keys

This set of locks and keys has a clear task: to unlock or lock the locks! The child matches the key to its corresponding lock by its color. This toy works on fine motor and real life skills. Adult assistance is not needed since it is clear if the key is correct based on whether the lock opens.

The Best Outdoor Practical Life Skills Toy

Get your young child involved in gardening by letting him rake, dig, and care for plants. A set of child-sized tools is the perfect way to make these activities accessible to our youngest family members. Gardening fits in well with the Montessori practical life curriculum, and kids love it.

The Best Montessori Puzzles for Toddlers

The five wooden puzzles in this set detail the anatomy of various plants and animals. The knobs on each puzzle piece help toddlers handle them easily and work on developing the pencil grip. The task is obviously to place the pieces correctly, and a child can tell on his own whether he has done that. Vocabulary such as “roots”, “fins”, or other parts can be introduced when you first present the puzzles.