Whenever you shop for toys online, you likely see tons of product listings and "best toy" lists for little ones' development. You can see bright, noisy plastic toys, nostalgic vintage toys, durable silicone toys, adorable wooden toys, and so much more. The problem is that they all say they are excellent for baby and toddler development. But are they?
Of all the toys out there, Montessori toys are ideal because they engage little minds through quiet, active engagement rather than noisy distraction or passive entertainment. Montessori toys get kids moving to play and figure things out, and they encourage open, imaginative play.
The beautifully engaging simplicity of Montessori toys makes them magnificent choices for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Yet the enormous mountain of marketing- and salesy-content to dig through makes choosing authentic Montessori and quality Montessori-inspired toys difficult.
No worries! This mom of three has got you covered with a ridiculously in-depth guide to the best toys for each age, backed by real experience with each toy and a no-nonsense review. But if you are confused about Montessori toys, start with the brief introduction below.
In This Article
What Makes a Toy Montessori?
A toy is Montessori if it has a thoughtfully simple design to engage a specific skill in children. Montessori toys are passive, meaning they do not move on their own to distract or entertain children. Instead, they require kids to take the initiative to play with them.
Now, there are an awful lot of toys on the market claiming to be Montessori that don't quite fit this description, and many children's toys that existed before the Montessori Method was created do.
If you want to incorporate Montessori ideas into your child's education and playtime, consider the principles of the Montessori method when shopping.
In case you are not familiar with them, I've spelled these principles out in The Montessori Philosophy for Parents: Why It Works and How to Make It Work for You.
Once you understand the Montessori Principles, you can see why the toys don't matter much. Environment, freedom of choice and movement, sensory exploration, and playing with others are far more impactful than the toys kids play with.
However, simply designed passive toys engage growing minds far better by exercising multiple skills in open-ended, creative play than plastic Disney dolls do.
Do Montessori Toys Have to Be Wooden?
Dr. Maria Montessori believed in using a range of natural materials in children's toys to provide a rich sensory experience. Natural materials have various textures, densities, sizes, colors, and smells to take in.
Wood is the most popular material for Montessori toys because it makes simple, sturdy, long-lasting toys that are beautifully weighted and textured. However, not all Montessori toys have to be made of wood.
Montessori toys can be made of organic cotton, natural rubber, high-quality silicone, or even plastic. Still, you need to consider the sensory experience these materials afford, along with their care.
For example, wooden toys cannot be sterilized, soaked, or wiped down with beach water because the porous material will absorb the chemicals or water, weakening the wood. High-quality silicone, on the other hand, can be boiled, put through the dishwasher, or soaked without issue.
I break down exactly how to clean and sterilize various toy materials in The Dos and Don'ts of Disinfecting Baby Toys: A Comprehensive Guide. It's surprisingly tricky!
Though a Montessori purist will say Montessori toys must be completely made of natural materials, the Montessori philosophy does not require that. It is crucial to provide little ones with a range of material textures, weights, sizes, colors, and densities, most of which should be natural materials.
However, a few beautifully designed hypoallergenic silicone toys in the mix will not ruin a child's sensory experience. Plastic is another story altogether, though, especially for babies. For more on that, read Are Plastic Toys Bad for Babies?
15 Best Montessori Toys for Babies
Montessori baby toys are simple, passive toys that do nothing on their own. When babies play with Montessori baby toys, they engage their senses, practice motor skills, and discover more about how the world works around them. Wooden blocks and shape sorters are examples of baby Montessori toys.
The purest Montessori toys are made of wood and other natural materials. Still, some families have severe allergies or a need to sterilize toys often, which natural materials do not handle well. The following list includes silicone Montessori-inspired toys as well as toys made of natural materials.
1. Stacking Cups
Stacking cups are at the top of this list because they serve several purposes. Babies playing with stacking cups can practice grasping the cup shape, releasing, making sounds in the cups, scooping, pouring, sipping, stacking, and balancing.
Moreover, cups make different sounds when they are dropped, rolled, clapped together, or slapped on something soft. We added a raised pattern on the top of each cup so your little one can also practice stamping sand. They are handy learning toys!
Moonkie is at the top of my list for baby toys and products because they use high-quality food-grade silicone for durability, softness, and easy cleaning (backed with rigorous testing and multiple quality certifications).
So, if your little one plays with these adorable stacking cups in the dirt, you can pop the cups into the dishwasher or sterilize them for a few minutes in boiling water before handing them back. Nifty!
2. Silicone UFO Pulling Toy
Moonkie's silicone UFO Pulling Toy is a unique challenge for tiny hands working on fine motor skills! With multiple patterns and textures, this toy offers plenty for babies to explore and discover. The best part? As your baby pulls the silicone strings, a unique sound happens!
Moonkie uses excellent-quality, 100% food-grade silicone, so don't worry about your wee one chewing pieces off. This UFO pulling toy has been a favorite travel toy for my babies and toddlers over the years, so this gift will probably see hours of playtime in your family, too!
3. Fabric Sensory Balls
Classic as they are, fabric sensory balls are a sensory delight and cognitive challenge. The textures of the various fabrics, the oddly shaped handholds, and the sound of the bell engage your baby's senses of touch and sound, while the brightly colored fabrics catch the eye.
Your newborn will primarily stare at or accidentally grip or whack a fabric sensory ball at first. Before long, however, she will intentionally grasp it, chew on it, toss it, follow it with her eyes, and look for it when she hears it. This is a wonderful baby gift!
4. Wooden Rattles
Folks go back and forth on this one. On the one hand, wooden rattles are fantastic for infants because they are easy to grasp, made of natural materials, make pleasant sounds, and stimulate several senses.
On the other hand, wooden rattles are not easy to clean, cannot be sterilized (porous materials hold bleach or other chemicals and can crack easily), and new teeth can damage the surface.
So, if you like the benefits of wooden rattles, it wouldn't hurt to have a few at the beginning. However, you should watch your baby closely to ensure he isn't denting them or getting them super nasty.
5. Silicone Teething Ring Set
Babies have been chewing on teething toys and playing with stacking rings ever since ever! Those sore, itchy gums drive little ones to chew on whatever is at hand, so why not hit two birds with one stone and turn a classic toy into a teething ring set?
To ensure babies' safety, Moonkie opted to create this teething ring set with high-quality food-grade silicone. It's durable yet soft, sturdy yet chewable, and textured yet easy to clean! With various weights, sizes, patterns, and colors, babies have a lot to explore in this set—all while alleviating those sore gums.
My babies have gone through the same set of Moonkie's stacking teething rings, and there is no damage to them! As a busy working mom, I've appreciated how durable, long-lasting, and easy to sterilize these rings have been. Moreover, the variety of shapes and hardness levels has given each baby exactly what they wanted throughout their teething phases.
6. Bamboo Rainstick
Adding a noise-maker to this list is a must! Babies playing with a bamboo rainstick explore different sounds and cause-and-effect relationships, while learning to grasp something unusually weighted. It's a win!
The sound of a bamboo rainstick is both mesmerizing and calming, so babies playing with these are rewarded with an interesting sound. Instead of dreading the noise, let your baby explore "making rain music" and join in for some goofy giggles!
7. Wooden Ball Box
No list of baby Montessori toys is complete without balls! A wooden ball box is a tactile, aural, and visual challenge for babies due to the variety of smooth wood, the sound of the balls in the box, and the ball's disappearance and appearance.
Once your baby can sit up independently, this box will likely entertain him for hours. You can mix things up a bit by handing him different toys that fit through the hole: cars, rocks, keys, soft things, and marbles work well with supervision.
You can also try adding a little piece of fabric to the tray so your baby can hear the difference in sound. There are many creative tricks to explore!
8. Wooden Play Gym
Before your little one can sit up independently, she needs something to look at and reach for to practice early physical skills on the floor. That's where a wooden play gym comes in! Ideally, you will choose a gym with high-contrast toys of multiple materials for your baby to fixate on.
A note about play gyms: the market is saturated with brightly-colored play gyms blasting obnoxious music and flashing buttons. All this is overstimulating for an infant. Sure, your little one will get used to it and even learn to like it, but what would that teach your baby's mind?
Babies are not born needing constant overstimulation or a new thing to look at every thirty seconds; they are not addicted to TikTok yet! They have short attention spans, but they need to focus that little bit on one skill at a time to develop it.
So, foster that from the beginning to work with your child's natural development. To learn more about how babies develop, read 7 Things Every Parent Should Know About the Early Stages of Child Development.
9. Wooden Cars
Around six months old, babies become fascinated by moving parts. By then, they've learned to grasp and release, pull and push, and pass things from one hand to the other. So, they begin to focus on refining those skills (more control) and applying them purposefully to toys.
Wooden cars are excellent for this practice because they have a clear result when pushed in the "right way." You'll be surprised at how quickly your little one realizes that pushing a car sideways or on its roof is ineffective compared to its wheels forward and backward.
Some babies even like to hold a wooden car in one hand and use a finger to move the wheels studiously. My first did this often with such fixation that we had to put our hand on the toy to get his attention!
Once your baby's first teeth poke through the gum line, it may be wise to put the wooden cars up for a bit because your teething baby may puncture or splinter the wood or even pop a wheel off. At least keep an eye on your little chomper as he plays with a wooden car during this time!
A more baseboard- and teething-friendly car set is Moonkie's Surf & Go Silicone Mini Cars. These sturdy little cars are easy to grasp and sterilize, making them my go-to baby car set for baby showers!
10. Wooden Blocks
Wooden blocks are classic but definitely worth the investment in your little one's education! They are tactile, colorful, perfectly sized for little hands, textured, and stackable—perfect for all kinds of fine motor skill practice!
The only thing that isn't great about wooden blocks is their inability to be sterilized. The porous material will hold onto those cleaning chemicals, dry out, and crack easily after sterilization, so you've got to just wipe them down with warm, soapy water.
Otherwise, wooden blocks are fun for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, so they will entertain for years. Moreover, little ones are quick to realize that wooden blocks are perfect to combine with other types of toys for more imaginative play!
11. Woven Basket
As your baby gains mobility and starts exploring his home, he will need a basket to store his treasures. A cotton woven basket is perfect for this because it is soft, lightweight, sturdy, and won't hurt if fallen on.
In the coming years, woven baskets will be your best friend in organizing your little one's toys on a play shelf, but for rolling and crawling infants, they are a fun bin to sit in, wear, put things into, and dump things out of.
12. Wooden Cup and Egg Set
Here is a unique challenge for babies! A wooden cup and egg set is exactly what it sounds like. But why? These smooth, odd shapes are challenging for babies to grasp and manipulate, but they are sized well enough so babies cannot resist them!
Babies learn to grasp, release, and pass things from one hand to the other from months one to six. But putting things together is a different skill, primarily when those things are oddly shaped.
When not trying to put the egg in the cup, your little one can observe how the egg wobbles as it rolls or practice drinking out of the cup. Your baby can also hear different sounds of things dropped into the cup. Lots of lessons from something so simple!
13. Sliding-Top Box
A sliding-top box is ingenious for babies working on fine motor skills! It is a simple box divided into two compartments. The lid covers only half of the box and has a hole in the center that perfectly fits a ball. When a baby pushes a ball into the hole, she cannot see the ball until she slides the lid over.
This toy trains your little one's concept of object permanence, meaning the ball will still exist when out of sight. It also exercises your little one's ability to grasp, drop, slide, and pull.
This particular sliding-top box has three balls of different materials (wood, felt, knit), so your baby can feel and hear different weights. How neat is that?
14. Interlocking Discs
In the early months, infants practice a lot of finger and hand pinching, grasping, and releasing. A wooden interlocking disc toy is a fantastic challenge because it requires babies to twist their wrists or open their hands more.
As simple as it is, this toy is an excellent skill-builder toy for babies learning to pass things between their hands!
If you are feeling a bit lost as to how such simple toy constructions are beneficial for your baby, read From Comfort to Language Skills: The Many Benefits of Toys for Infants.
15. Key Ring
The Montessori Method encourages parents to let their babies and young children explore many real-life items. Gaining familiarity with everyday items helps little ones become more grounded, understand their environment, and be less likely to steal "forbidden" things around the house.
One great example of an everyday item that enchants babies is a key ring. The shiny, jingling metal is irresistible to rapidly growing minds, especially since they see their parents carrying them!
You can let your little ones explore your key ring or make one out of stainless steel keys from the store. This is one of the few full-metal items your baby will explore in the first year, so it is a good one to give your baby under supervision.
15 Best Montessori Toys for 1-Year-Olds
One-year-olds are so fun because everything is an adventure! As they grow from sweet babies to busy toddlers, the sheer amount of development at this stage means every moment counts for long-term growth. What are some of the best Montessori toys for one-year-olds?
The best Montessori toys for one-year-olds are simple in design and engage their mind and motor skills. Montessori toys do not distract little ones with flashy lights and loud sounds; they engage their curiosity and challenge their sensory exploration and spatial awareness skills.
But finding sturdy toys that do this well is not always straightforward. If you feel overwhelmed by search results for Montessori toys, this list narrows down the best age-appropriate options.
I've worked with many one-year-olds as a mother, foster mom, and nursery volunteer. Though I haven't always had the luxury of sticking with purely Montessori toys, I can confidently say that the following toys have been the best for holding attention and building fine motor skills.
These toys are not overwhelming, flashy, or difficult to keep up with in a play area. Some focus on a single skill set, while others are more open-ended. Nonetheless, your little one will benefit from playing these together with you, siblings, or friends.
1. Geometry Puzzles
Geometry puzzles are simple wooden shapes meant to be placed in the matching space on a wooden board. Some have a peg that toddlers can grasp easily and place in the matching space.
You can make these or buy one. Geometry puzzles become more complex for each developmental stage, so if your little one takes to them, you'll have plenty of options to upgrade them to!
A quick note on wooden toy pieces: Stay away from little pieces or "travel-sized" wooden puzzles until your child is well past the "must-stick-everything-in-the-mouth" phase.
Also, if you notice your one-year-old chewing on a wooden puzzle piece (or any wooden toy), it's best to replace it with something gentle that won't puncture easily, like a silicone teething ring. Wooden toys are amazing in so many ways, but tiny teeth can make dents that harbor bacteria.
2. Coin Boxes
There's just something about a coin box that enthralls toddlers. Maybe it's the challenge of holding all the coins or the process of making them disappear through a slot. Whatever it is, this toy has entertained the toddlers in my home for hours.
It's fantastic for practicing fine motor skills, counting, and picking things up! You can easily make a coin box or metal can at home, but one-year-olds are still big on putting things in their mouths. That's where a wooden coin box like this one comes in handy.
3. Sorting and Stacking Toys
Sorting and stacking toys are ingenious because they challenge your little one's hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, identification, and stacking skills. These can be super simple pegs with colored rings or colored shapes with multiple holes for several pegs.
Sorting and stacking toys with multiple pegs are challenging for little ones who haven't figured out they can twist the shape a bit to make it fit, but once they've got that down, they have fun with it.
4. 4-in-1 Sorting Toys
The 4-in-1 sorting toy fascinates one-year-olds who have already mastered simpler peg sorting toys. This one has four pegs, but two of them are a puzzle to put the pieces on: one requires twisting to fit mini-pegs through, and the other is threaded so that its pieces need to be screwed on.
This sorting toy will keep a toddler busy for a while! However, if your one-year-old doesn't figure out the twisting motion until next year, that is totally okay, too. Little ones develop at slightly different rates, and they have unique interests. My kids had these figured out by 26 months old, but they got interested somewhere between 18 and 24 months old.
5. Balls in Cups Toys
One-year-olds love tiny things and are fascinated by using tools to move things around. So, here is a ball and cup toy that combines these interests to create an open-ended challenge!
Though this is a fun toy, one-year-olds will want to stick the balls in their mouth, so only let your little one play with this set when you sit with her. It's fun to practice scooping, sorting, and dumping skills with a spoon!
6. Wooden Discovery Blocks
Discovery blocks are wooden cubes that spin, fidget, rattle, or have buttons to press. One-year-olds are intrigued by the different sounds and movements these colorful blocks are designed to perform.
As little ones explore them, they practice skills such as twisting, pinching, pressing, stacking, and pulling. These are fun!
7. Assorted Wooden Blocks
Wooden blocks are a classic toddler toy that sticks around because kids love them! While playing with wooden blocks of various shapes and sizes, toddlers practice creative open-play, stacking, grasping and releasing, planning, problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, and balancing skills.
With so much practice packed into such a simple toy set, it's no wonder these have been around for generations!
8. Hammer Box Sets
Toddlers love to bang on things with anything swingable! Why not give them something they are allowed to hit? That's where a hammer box set comes in. These are typically balls, pegs, or blocks set in a tight hole that, when hit hard enough, fall through to a box or a ramp.
Annoyance and fear aside, you've got to marvel at the skills toddlers are learning as they hit things: hand-eye coordination, self-control, spatial awareness, aim, grip, swing, expectation, and problem-solving. Who knew skill-building could be so fun?
9. Bead Mazes
Bead mazes are nostalgic to many kids who remember sitting in a doctor's or dentist's office as a kid because they are the perfect "do something" toy. Typically designed with a wooden platform, a few colorfully coated wires, and big wooden beads, bead mazes are a cool toy for one-year-olds.
A unique skill that bead mazes exercise in toddlers is tracking. When pushing a bead along its path, a toddler must keep an eye on the bead to push it along properly. This is surprisingly tricky for a little one to do while looking away!
10. Rainbow Wooden Block Sets
A rainbow wooden block set is a beautiful and simple addition to any toddler's block collection. These wooden shapes have a clear-colored acrylic window inside that allows light to shine through them. Essentially, your little one can make his own window pattern!
Rainbow blocks are a fun and brilliant way to teach colors; you can hold two together and make secondary colors. How neat is that?
11. Stacking Cups
Stacking toys, like blocks and cups, are super beneficial for one-year-olds. They exercise spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, grip-and-release control, gentleness, and balance.
Stacking cups are excellent for one-year-olds because toddlers understand other ways to use them. Whether your little one uses them to hold other little toys, pours water with them in the bathtub, or stacks them just to knock them down again, stacking cups are an open-ended toy.
Stacking toys are not just good for one-year-olds; they benefit babies, too! Read up on the benefits in 5 Ways Stacking Toys Benefit Your Baby.
12. Ball Towers
Ball towers come in various shapes and sizes, but they all offer benefits for listening to balls roll down a track, practicing dexterity, observing cause and effect, and improving hand-eye coordination.
You can buy your little one a wooden tower with a mallet for hitting the balls at the top, like this one, or a free-rolling one. Some ball towers are taller and more musical-sounding, like this one. Make sure that whatever tower you choose has balls larger than your little one's mouth and pieces that don't break off easily.
13. Car Towers
Along with ball towers, wooden car towers provide hours of fun for little ones! These can be pretty elaborate, but a one-year-old will more readily enjoy a simple car tower.
Car towers are more challenging than ball towers because they require little ones to place the car correctly. Some one-year-olds pick up on this quickly, but some may become frustrated and need some time playing with an adult or older sibling to learn the tricks.
14. Xylophones
Xylophones are an amazing toy for one-year-olds because they help them practice associating action with sound, coordination, and aiming. You can find wooden or metal xylophones on the market; some even sit at an angle so a ball can roll across the pieces.
Babies less than a year old can play with xylophones, too, but they are also cool toys for one-year-olds that bring lots of smiles and giggles!
15. Shape Sorters
No list of Montessori toys for one-year-olds would be complete without a wooden shape sorter set. These simple match-the-shape-to-the-hole box sets help build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, shape identification, spatial reasoning, and problem-solving skills.
Of course, such a great toy concept is made in a thousand different ways, so you can find shape sorters in various themes, levels of difficulty, and sizes. I stuck with a simple, colorful shape sorter like this one for my littles between 12 and 18 months old.
When they got comfortable with that one, we graduated to a garden-themed shape sorter to challenge them with more difficult shapes and practice naming food. They played with this one throughout the rest of toddlerhood and preschool!
15 Best Montessori Toys for 2-Year-Olds
Two-year-olds are intense; they go 100% as soon as they wake up, run hard until they hit 0%, and recharge with sleep. Whatever toys and activities you choose must support skill-building at this stage and hold your toddler's attention — do such toys exist?
Montessori toys and activities are brilliant for two-year-old minds seeking to soak up everything there is to know about the world around them and how it works. However, for a Montessori toy to be effective, it must be age-appropriate and stimulating to your two-year-old.
Every child has a unique personality and different interests, so I've narrowed down a list of Montessori toys and activities to those that two-year-olds just cannot resist. Let's dive in!
What's the Difference Between Montessori Toys for One-Year-Olds and Two-Year-Olds?
Due to teething, less dexterity, and less patience, one-year-old Montessori toys are simpler and safer than those for two-year-olds. However, by age two, many toddlers are ready to practice even finer motor skills with smaller pieces, communication, and more complex problem-solving.
You'll also find that Montessori toys for two-year-olds often encourage more independence and creative play combinations with other toys than toy sets for one-year-olds. This is simply because your two-year-old's mind is already working to do this independently.
Moreover, though the two-year-old in your life has probably not shaken off the hand-to-mouth habit entirely, his desire to figure things out and fascination with little things have likely grown tremendously.
So, the list I have for you reflects this fascination and includes several fantastic toys with pieces meant to be played together with others under an adult's supervision.
1. Wooden Montessori Rainbow Tree
A wooden Montessori rainbow tree looks and sounds enchanting to toddlers. Designed with wooden pedals set at an angle and affixed to a sturdy central rod, a rainbow tree directs marbles down and around the center rod. The sound of marbles tumbling down the pedals is hypnotizing!
For those of you raising red flags, yes, marbles are involved with this toy, and an adult should absolutely be present when a toddler plays with it. If your toddler is still particularly stubborn about putting little things in her mouth, it may be best to avoid this toy for now.
However, suppose your two-year-old is more interested in playing with little pieces than swallowing them. In that case, a wooden rainbow tree is a visually and aurally mesmerizing option.
2. Surfer Balance Board
Active two-year-olds love to run, climb, swing, and jump, so why not give them a toy to help them hone their balance skills, too? A surfer balance board is a curved piece of wood for little ones to wobble around on.
There are some obvious rules of engagement with this one:
Place the balance board in the center of the floor, away from walls, furniture, and toys.
Put the balance board on a carpet or rug to avoid scuffing the floor and to provide padding.
Don't let your toddler grip the board while wobbling (it will hurt fingers).
Though spinning is fun, don't let your toddler stand and spin on the board.
Our toddlers have had some bumps with balance boards, but they've also shared loads of fun and laughter while practicing their balance skills.
3. Wooden Musical Instruments
Toddlers LOVE making noise! Though they can be a bit rowdy and boisterous, making noise with wooden musical instruments is a beneficial sensory skill-builder activity for two-year-olds.
Toddlers playing with wooden instruments learn hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and the ability to identify cause-and-effect relationships. They also practice rhythm and pairing sounds. You can join your toddler to make a lot of noise and giggles!
4. Silicone Beach Toy Set
Moonkie's silicone beach toy set is super cute and lots of fun for two-year-olds at the beach or in a sandbox! Your little one will practice refining fine motor skills, shape recognition, positioning with the silicone shapes, and scooping skills with the shovel and bucket.
Though these beach toys are not traditional Montessori toys, they are passive toys that keep little ones active. And since they are silicone, they are easy to clean and tolerate hot summers and freezing winters.
5. Water and Sand Sensory Table
Okay, this one is pricey, but if you are handy, you can make a version for less at home. Toddlers LOVE this kind of open-ended, messy activity! A water and sand sensory table engages little ones' senses while satisfying their desire to get their hands dirty.
Using a few tools and pieces on a table like this puts two-year-old minds to work on what is possible with gravity, water, and sand. Your little one will practice hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, prediction-making, problem-solving skills, and engage multiple senses.
6. Sensory Bin
Toddlers of all ages enjoy sensory bins, and these are easy to make at home! All you need is enough small things to fill the bottom, a scoop, two or more small cups, and some other little toys. Typical fillers are water, dried beans, dry or cooked pasta, sand, dirt, pebbles, and cereal.
Just ensure your little one knows he isn't supposed to eat the filler and stay nearby to keep an eye on him. Sensory bins work wonders for stimulating the senses and exercising foundational skills like scooping, spooning, and pouring.
I listed several types of sensory activities in 7 Unique Preschool Sensory Activities for Homeschool if you are interested in more ideas like this one!
7. Wooden Train Set
Montessori or not? A wooden train set captivates two-year-olds' attention at libraries, making it a fantastic option for play at home! Toddlers place the wooden tracks however they please and pull their trains along the tracks in imaginative play.
Though wooden train sets are not traditional Montessori toys, they engage the senses, allow for freedom within boundaries, and target foundational skills such as hand-eye coordination, spatial reasoning, problem-solving, and orderliness. Moreover, a group of kids can have fun with a wooden train set together!
8. Rainbow Stacking Arches Set
No early-development Montessori toy list would be complete without a stacking toy! Two-year-olds who have grown up so far playing with wooden blocks and stacking cups are likely ready for a challenge: stacking arches.
The curves will certainly throw your two-year-old off at first, but you will be surprised at how quickly your little one will grasp the concept and enjoy making unique towers and patterns. Balancing, bordering, problem-solving, matching, hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skills will all be exercised as he plays with a wooden arch set.
This particular set comes with simple wooden people to give your little one's imagination more to work with. How neat!
9. Knobbed Cylinder Block Set
Two-year-olds are fascinated by little things, especially putting tiny things into places where they might fit. Interestingly, this fascination exercises a wide range of skills in a toddler. Take a look at this knobbed cylinder block set; you can see so many ways your toddler will problem-solve, organize, and stack with these!
To add a twist, you can roll out play-dough, bread, or cookie dough on the table for your two-year-old to play with and stamp with these cylindrical blocks. This is a fun toy set!
10. Art Easel
Bring out the little artist in your toddler by providing a standing easel. This particular easel is awesome because it has a marker board and a paper roll, so your little one can practice with pencils, pens, paintbrushes, and markers at the same station.
Coloring is an excellent way to engage your little one's visual sense while exercising her fine motor skills, color identification, and imagination. Littles explore colors and lines as they color, scribble, and brush, practicing creative focus, which is helpful in school and beyond!
11. Cleaning Set
Whether you purchase a toy cleaning set or just smaller versions of what you already use around the house, giving your two-year-old his own cleaning set is a great way to foster independence and get some chores done!
Your little one often wants to be your helper because he wants to belong. Teaching and equipping your two-year-old to clean the house alongside you is a brilliant way to help your little one see that he can contribute his effort to the family's well-being.
The same idea for cleaning the house can be applied to anything else your little one sees you doing: working, gardening, lawn care, renovating, caring for animals, farm chores, baking, selling handmade items at a market — literally anything!
12. Wooden People and Stacking Ring Set
Here's another toy set with many little pieces to keep two-year-olds busy! With a wooden people-and-stacking-ring set, your little one may practice sorting colors, play imaginatively with the people, stack lots of little things, or put the little rings on a string.
Since the pieces are small, you should be nearby as your toddler plays with this fun little toy set. My littles spent hours playing with these, seamlessly incorporating boxes, other toys, and blocks for more creative, open-ended play. This toy set is a great way to get your two-year-old thinking!
13. 3-in-1 Montessori Climbing Set
Bring the playground inside on rainy days with this 3-in-1 Montessori climbing set! The Montessori Method advocates for movement between activities and educating the whole child, including exercise. Toddlers playing on this set practice climbing, balancing, sliding, and other gross motor skills.
Though the creators designed this climbing set to be close to the ground, creative toddlers can still find ways to hurt themselves with it. So, stay nearby! It also wouldn't hurt to put a soft rug or some pillows around it. This is another item that has consumed my littles for hours!
14. Wooden Puzzles
Wooden puzzles are a classic toy for two-year-olds. You can find some with geometric shapes, numbers, letters, or odd shapes. The sheer variety of wooden puzzles available on the market attests to how effective these are for cognitive growth and fine motor development.
If your toddler was once a studious one-year-old, she might be ready for more complicated wooden puzzles or wooden geometric shapes to arrange on a tray. Otherwise, start simple with wooden puzzles and praise her for patiently working it out. It is a joy to see your toddler celebrate finishing a puzzle!
15. Wooden Marble Run
A wooden marble run is a super fun Montessori activity for older two-year-olds! My littles spent hours on a set like this as two-year-olds and still play with it years later. Marble runs are like 3D puzzles that kids put together to get a marble from Point A to Point B--a tantalizing challenge for littles!
Marble runs are also fun for older siblings and adults, which makes playing with them even more worthwhile for a little one's enjoyment and development. Practice everything from problem-solving and communication skills to fine motor development and planning. How cool is that?
Do Two-Year-Old Montessori Toys Have to Be Sets With Lots of Pieces?
No, not at all! You could stick with larger Montessori toy sets that don't have many small parts (balance board, climbing set, wooden instruments, etc.), but your little one will probably seek out tiny things to explore, for better or for worse.
Little pieces are mesmerizing for toddlers because they are typically forbidden, easy to handle, and dazzling when spread everywhere. However, playing with little pieces is excellent for fine motor skill development, sorting skills, and cognitive development.
One thing you can do is have a toy set or two with small pieces stored in a box that only comes down when you are nearby for supervision. I certainly would avoid putting a set like that out for play anytime because pieces will get lost or swallowed.
Two-year-olds throw several curveballs that are natural in their development. If you're looking for some answers for handling them well, read25 Questions First-time Parents Ask About Their Toddler's Development.
15 Questions First-time Parents Ask About Montessori Toys
If you are a first-time parent wondering what the heck Montessori toys are and why so many bloggers, influencers, and homeschooling parents talk about them, you are not alone.
Montessori toys are designed with the principles of the Montessori Method in mind. The Montessori Method is a child-led educational approach developed by Maria Montessori around 1907. Montessori toys and activities are simple and have no batteries or electronics, so children can focus on figuring them out.
Seems straightforward enough, right? Well, not quite. The Montessori label is thrown about frivolously these days, making it hard to know the difference — or even whether it matters. There are a lot of questions about what Montessori toys are and how they work, so let's get into them!
1. What Are Montessori Toys?
Montessori toys are simple educational toys designed to encourage child-led learning and discovery. They are made from natural materials, such as wood, natural rubber, and cotton, so children can explore the textures, weights, and feel of real-world materials.
By reducing toys to their natural simplicity, Montessori-minded parents and teachers promote children's sensory exploration and motor skill development.
Can Montessori Toys Be Made of Non-Natural Materials?
Yes and no. Montessori purists will say they can absolutely not be made with artificial materials because Dr. Montessori stuck with natural materials. However, others are more lenient and say that Montessori toy designs made with high-quality silicone or high-end plastic are acceptable as long as these aren't the only toys.
Though only playing with natural-material toys offers a rich and varied sensory exploration experience, Montessori toys made of food-grade silicone are hypoallergenic, easy to clean and sterilize, and hold up to wear and tear far better than natural materials do.
Plastic toys are comparatively weak, can leach chemicals, and offer only a smooth texture, so they are not ideal.
For more on comparing baby toy materials, read Pros and Cons of Silicone Baby Toys: A Comprehensive Guide for Parents.
2. How Do Montessori Toys Differ From Regular Toys?
The main difference between Montessori and regular toys is that Montessori-minded designers create open-ended toys that encourage creative play. Many regular toys are intended for a specific purpose and can limit a child's imagination.
Montessori toys and activities are brilliantly tailored to be open-ended within boundaries. That is, there is no one right way to play with Montessori toys, but there is a goal.
A goal may be stacking rings on a post, sorting colorful wooden shapes, or pouring water into little metal cups to hear different sounds. However, this goal does not stop little ones from experimenting with different ways to play or combine with other toys to achieve something else.
3. Are Montessori Toys Suitable for Newborns?
Yes! Newborn Montessori toys are perfectly suitable for newborns because they stimulate babies' senses. Sensory observation and exploration encourage early development (source).
However, newborns will not play with toys in the same way that three-month-olds and older babies do. Newborn Montessori-inspired toys focus on catching attention with colors, patterns, and movement. Think of a simple black and white mobile hanging above the crib or a wooden rattle painted with bright colors.
For more about newborns and toys, read Are Newborns Too Young for Toys?
4. How Do Montessori Toys Help Babies and Toddlers Develop?
Designers of Montessori toys focus on creating toys that engage little ones' natural curiosity and desire to play. When little ones become focused on figuring out an open-ended toy, they practice fine motor, problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, and sensory skills.
Electric toys distract babies and toddlers to entertain them. Since Montessori toys are passive (no batteries or electricity), they require a baby or toddler to take the initiative to play actively with them. The difference? An engaged little one is practically teaching themselves!
Suppose children of other ages regularly play with your little one. In that case, Montessori toys go even further by providing opportunities for your baby or toddler to observe and practice communication, sharing, teamwork, and conflict (let's be honest, conflict happens).
If you want to read more about child development, check outEarly Childhood Skills and Montessori Education: What You Should Know.
5. Can Montessori Toys Be Made At Home?
Yes! Montessori toys and activities can be made at home at a low cost. Some toy designs are more straightforward than others, but generally speaking, you can make the bulk of them at home.
Consider your little one's age and skill level when creating toys and activities. On the one hand, you shouldn't give a bin full of dried beans and little race cars to a baby because he's going to stick everything in his mouth. Likewise, you shouldn't give a baby mobile or rattle to a toddler.
On the other hand, giving your toddler a small toolset and some scrap wood is likely to lead to frustration or injury. So, keep the toys and activities you create at home appropriate to your little one's ability: 10 Easy Toys to Make for Busy Babies at Home.
6. How Often Should I Rotate My Child's Montessori Toys?
How often you rotate your child's toys depends on your child's personality, contentment, developmental stage, and whether siblings are around. The best thing to do is watch your little one closely. If she quickly grows discontent with or loses interest in her toys, it's probably time to rotate a few out.
If there are multiple siblings around, rotating toys every week or two may minimize arguing and snatching. With just one child, however, you can simply rotate toys when she seems to need a fresh playtime.
7. How Do Montessori Toys Fit into the Montessori Method?
Montessori toys are not the focal point of the Montessori Method. In fact, they are just a piece of a much larger philosophy. Toys are simply tools used in the activities that Montessori teachers arrange to practice essential life skills.
For instance, simple toys and activities in a newborn, toddler, preschool, and kindergarten Montessori classroom will serve several purposes (source):
Many toys outside the Montessori approach also provide children with opportunities to build these skills! So, if your child becomes enamored with a non-Montessori toy from time to time, look for ways that toy helps your little one develop and incorporate it where you can.
8. How Do Montessori Toys Encourage Socialization?
Montessori toys primarily encourage socialization by being passive. Electronic toys encourage socialization by entertaining kids and giving them something to talk about for a time, but passive toys require cooperation, sharing, and communication.
Imagine a group of kids playing with a remote-controlled car. They may laugh, run, and take turns driving the car. But constructive communication may not happen until they decide to build a track for the car or share the controller.
Now imagine a group of kids on an open floor with boxes of blocks. Those kids can mill around in complete boredom, play individually or in pairs, or work together to build a huge track, wall, tower, or building---whatever they come up with! They will communicate to build and play together.
9. Can Montessori Toys Be Used Alongside Other Educational Methods?
Of course! You can use Montessori toys alongside other educational methods as long as the activity's goal is to play freely. Montessori toys complement homeschooling, Waldorf education, liberal arts curriculum, and STEM activities.
Since Montessori toys are open-ended, they encourage creative play at each child's unique pace. Parents can even reinforce what their children are learning in preschool or school with Montessori toys and activities at home.
For example, if your child is learning about shapes in school, you can use Montessori wooden shape puzzles or geometric shapes to help reinforce what they are learning.
Homeschooling parents can use Montessori toys and activities during their regular school day to provide their children with hands-on learning experiences. Get ideas for these in Montessori Language Activities: Helping Your Child Learn Through Play.
10. Do You Need Montessori Toys to Practice the Montessori Method?
Montessori toys are just one tool in your educational toolbox. They can be an excellent way to supplement whatever you teach that day, but they are not absolutely integral to practicing the Montessori method.
The Montessori principles below are the guidelines. You can use toys, but they are not necessary to educate your child through these principles.
By adhering to these Montessori principles and involving their children, parents can bring elements of Montessori education home!
11. Can You Use Montessori Toys in a Home With Multiple Kids of Different Ages?
Absolutely! The Montessori classroom typically includes kids of all ages to encourage natural social skills and for older kids to teach younger kids. So, Montessori toys and activities are even more effective when shared with others!
It is entirely possible that arguing, snatching, and tantrums will happen anytime more than one kid plays with the same toy or activity. That's okay! Just model once or twice how the argument should be handled and give them space to work out the rest.
If you have another large family in mind as you shop, check out The Ultimate Gift Guide for Families with Multiple Children.
12. How Can I Ask for Only Montessori Gifts at a Baby Shower?
Have mixed feelings about your impending baby shower? On the one hand, it's so kind and sweet that friends and family want to shower you and your baby with gifts. On the other hand, you may be afraid of offending those lovely people when you give away loud plastic toys or battery-operated baby products.
You can get around some of this by creating a baby registry and passing it on to whoever is putting together the baby shower. That person will probably send it to everyone invited.
But not everyone buys from a registry. These are the individuals you'll have to talk to directly. You could send a short, sweet email or text message directly to each person invited to the baby shower, asking for only Montessori gifts. Provide a short list!
13. What Should I Do With Noisy, Plastic Toys I Don't Want?
For whatever reason, folks give babies and toddlers noisy plastic toys for birthdays and holidays, even when they know it's not their family's lifestyle. Maybe it's 80s and 90s nostalgia. You can donate whatever plastic toys you don't want your baby to have. You are the parent!
Broken plastic toys can be recycled according to the recycling number on the bottom. If you are not sure whether a toy is made of bad or good plastic, read Are Plastic Toys Bad for Babies?
What if your toddler loves this toy? Well, that's up to you. You can let it live in your house until your toddler doesn't play with it anymore, or you can talk to your toddler about replacing it with a new toy.
14. What's the Difference Between Open-Ended Toys and Montessori Toys?
It depends on who you ask and what toys you look at. Proponents of the Waldorf education method will likely hold that Montessori toys and activities are too structured to be truly open-ended. However, teachers and parents who take a Montessori approach know better.
Sure, some activities and toys can be fairly structured, but they don't have to be. Young Montessori students play with open-ended wooden blocks, shapes, and sensory bins just as much as Waldorf students.
15. Should I Get Rid of Dolls, Cars, and Other Non-Montessori Toys?
No! Don't throw out your child's dolls, cars, and other non-Montessori toys just because they are not Montessori. In a Montessori classroom, there should be very few non-Montessori toys, but at home, your child can have toys he likes alongside Montessori toys.
Montessori toys and activities are a lot of fun to explore during sensitive periods of focus, but they don't have to be the only things your child plays with. Toys without batteries, electrical components, or choking hazards in the early years are all beneficial to a point.
For example, cars and dolls are among the most common toys for young children's imagination. My son learned all kinds of lessons about friction, gravity, obstacles, force, and shapes from playing with cars — and all while working on hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills!
In a Nutshell
There you have it! The Montessori Method is a solid approach to raising curious, rapidly developing children into observant, well-rounded adults. Incorporating Montessori toys into your child's education will promote focused play, exploration, and self-directed learning.
Based on my experience, these are the best Montessori toys for children ages 0 to 2. Whether they held their attention marvelously, stimulated their senses, or challenged necessary cognitive and physical skills, each toy on this list has earned its place.
And hey, if you cannot afford name-brand Montessori toys, you can always get creative and make your own!
