Best Gifts to Add to Your Child's Wish List: Montessori Aligned Toys
There are many toys out there that claim to be Montessori and you’ve probably seen the term “Montessori toys” being thrown around on gift guides all over the internet.
Don’t be fooled, there’s really no such thing as a Montessori toy.
Dr. Maria Montessori didn’t design any toys. Her work was focused on materials for educational settings. As a Montessori-inspired family, you can still use Dr. Montessori’s philosophies to guide your decisions about what toys you choose to bring into your home.
Here’s a list of Montessori friendly toys that my kids have loved over the years plus a little information about how to present them in a Montessori aligned way!
Count and Lace Fruit
The Count and Lace Fruit set is the perfect fine motor toy! It’s Montessori aligned because it is simple, closed ended, and focuses on a single skill. You can use it with toddlers simply as a lacing toy - the included wooden needle and thread is super toddler friendly.
As your child gets older incorporate the included pattern cards to add other layers of skill building like visual discrimination. These cards give children a pattern to replicate and serve as a perfect control of error. This set is recommended for ages 3 and up.
Flower Pot Sort and Match
Building flowers with this set has become a favorite activity for my kids. The Flower Pot Sort and Match set comes with a building board and several different flower pieces. It can be used in an open ended way by providing your child with the pieces to build flowers as they wish, or you can use the included cards to make this work super Montessori aligned as it provides the child a visual discrimination task as well as a control of error to compare their work to. This toy is recommended for ages 3 and up.
3D Feel and Find
The 3D Feel and Find Set is such a versatile toy and that’s why it’s probably my favorite item on this list! I’ve been using our set with my kids for learning and play for years.
How can you use a feel and find set for Montessori friendly learning and play? For your youngest toddlers, feel and find sets are a Montessori friendly puzzle. Select just one or two shape pairs to present and model fitting the shape into its matching piece. For slightly older children organize a handful of shape pairs for them to match. Try selecting shapes of all the same color to help isolate the skill without colorful distractions.
As your child becomes more comfortable with this work you can begin to introduce this set as a stereogenic bag activity. This is a traditional Montessori work that helps kids isolate their sense of touch to find items hidden inside an opaque bag.
To set this up select a few very different puzzle shape pairs and put them in the bag. Then, organize the puzzle pieces on a tray. Model deciding which piece to locate in the bag and use your sense of touch to find it. It often helps when modeling this work to vocalize your thought process so kids can understand how you’re doing the finding. This set is recommended for ages 3 and up.
Nature Feel and Find
The Nature Feel and Find set is a more nature inspired take on the feel and find set. It works very similarly to the 3D Feel and Find set, so you can use it as a puzzle first and then for matching work in the same ways I described above. This set is special because the pieces are textured and three dimensional. The egg is egg shaped. The pinecone is bumpy. It’s such a fun toy for sensory play as well as visual discrimination and tactile exploration. You can even extend play by using the puzzle pieces with a sensory filler in your sensory play system! This set is recommended for ages 3 and up.
Little Bricks
Little Bricks can be a great open ended addition to your child’s play. They’re a very realistic building toy which is definitely a Montessori aligned perk. Little Bricks are soft to the touch but weighted to mimic real bricks. This makes them not only realistic, but also a really satisfying toy to build with.
Pair them with Little Pavers or your favorite realistic animal figurines for free play, or present them with the build cards that are included with the set to encourage your children to try some architectural challenges. Try these in play for your children aged 2 and up.
Interlox
Interlox come in a few different shapes - leaves, squares, and discs. They’re a super fun open ended building toy but if you want to present them in a more Montessori aligned way you can pair them with the build cards that come with the set. These cards are a fun challenge as they show the materials needed and a picture of the finished build but don’t include step by step instructions.
In my children’s play with these materials I’ve found this kind of three dimensional visual discrimination work to be a really fun challenge, especially for big kids. These are recommended for toddlers and children ages 2 and up.
LED Activity Tablet
A light tablet is a wonderful sensory-based addition to learning and play in any environment. Adding light to your play (especially in the darkest season of the year) is a perfect way to spark new interest in old favorite toys while also being a great tool for art and science exploration.
We’ve loved the LED Activity Tablet for years and it gets used constantly for play with translucent toys (like Interlox) as well as for art and science work. My kids use it for tracing, creating diagrams, and investigating objects and their opacity. I can't recommend this one enough! This item is recommended for children age 3 and up.
This holiday season, give the best Montessori aligned toys to every little one on your list. No matter their interest or developmental level, they will be inspired to explore, play and learn long after the holidays are over.
