Our babies need to start learning pretty much as soon as they’re born, and as a mom, you likely want to encourage that in any way possible. That’s where Montessori toys come in!
Table could not be displayed.These toys teach children to experiment during play, which helps them develop fundamental skills like hand-eye coordination, object permanence, and more.
Elite Montessori Object Permanence Box
Mama’s Choice – Best Overall
Elite’s object permanence box teaches our babies several different skills at once, making it our top choice overall. Made from durable plywood, you can choose between a red ball and a wooden-colored ball with which your baby can play.
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What I Love:
- Baby only has to drop the ball in the hole and watch it roll out
- Precise hand movements develop hand, finger, and wrist control
- Babies want to experiment with larger and smaller objects
- Specifically made for babies who put everything in their mouths
Babies drop things all the time, and this ball will roll away, prompting your child to go after it and bring it back, stimulating their curiosity and helping them learn to scoot and crawl.
One concern for many parents is how many things their babies will try to put in their mouths. This toy comes with a ball specifically made for that, so you can confidently let your child play for as long as they want.
With so many ways to play, your baby should enjoy playtime while learning necessary motor skills.
No products found.Toys Rain Rush Dexterity Toy
Mama’s Choice – Best Budget
Let’s be real. We don’t always have the money for expensive toys, even Montessori toys. Take comfort, though; we did find an outstanding toy for moms on a budget that still teaches babies essential skills.
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What I Love:
- Inexpensive but well-made with smooth wood and rounded edges
- Dual-function; baby can rattle the marbles or roll across the floor
- All paints and varnishes are safe for your entire family
- Lightweight so babies can easily play
- Similar idea to a rain stick
If you’re a mom on a budget with a baby that’s ready to start scooting or even crawling, rest assured that you don’t need to settle for lesser-quality Montessori toys. This one stimulates your baby’s natural sense of curiosity, as well as introducing them to colors, and teaching them hand-eye coordination, all in an affordable package.
Your baby can also turn it on its side and roll it away, and then scoot or crawl after it. With smooth edges and baby-safe finishes, your baby gets a quality toy from a company with over 100 years’ experience.
A portion of B. Toys’ sales goes to WE.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering our younger generations.
No products found.Mushie Stacking Cups
Mama’s Choice – Best Bath Toy
Fewer places are better for playtime than bath time. Babies love splashing around and playing with the suds. When they have a learning toy to play with, bath time becomes more productive.
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What I Love:
- Stacking cups create the foundation for fine motor skills
- This toy also helps babies with language skills
- Muted colors are good for babies and moms alike
- Tiny fingers can’t get stuck in the cups’ holes
- Holes are shaped differently from one another
Bath toys are among the most popular toys for babies and toddlers alike. Bath time is bonding time, so what better time to play and work on the skills your baby can learn with these stacking cups?
The softer colors are also calming and can help your baby wind down for sleep even as they play.
You and your baby can use these cups to build sand castles, too!
No products found.How To Choose the Best Montessori Toys for Babies
Generally, Montessori toys are all great learning toys, but we moms need to be certain we’re buying age-appropriate toys that will do what they promise. The best Montessori toys for babies are durable, safe, and simple, in addition to delivering on their promises.
As moms, we should all be well aware of hazards involving children’s toys, so when we look for something that’s “safe,” it shouldn’t have harsh chemicals in it, use breakable materials, or contain parts small enough for our babies to swallow.
If you can, find toys that are free of BPA, phthalates, and PVC. Wooden toys with rounded edges are the best.
3 Important Factors to Consider When Choosing Montessori Toys
What are the main factors to look at when you’re trying to decide on Montessori toys? Your baby deserves the very best, so there are a few key things to consider. Knowing what these are will not only help you choose the best toys for your baby, but it will also make your shopping easier.
- Look for simple toys. Montessori is built around simplicity that assists your baby’s natural development. Remember, they’re learning to make sense of their world, and they do best with easily organized information.
- Limit the number of toys you buy and that you already have. The more toys babies have, the more likely they are to lose interest quickly. Since Montessori is a learning method, you want them to maintain as much interest as possible.
- Buy toys that use natural materials whenever possible. Since your baby is learning about the world around them, toys made from wood or metal are often superior to plastic toys. However, plastic toys work well for bath time and water play.
Other Montessori Toys You Might Consider
Our babies are all different, so they’ll show interest in different toys early on. They may show different learning preferences, too. Besides the three toys above, here are some other Montessori toys you might want to look at.
Litand Soft Stacking Blocks for Bath
Another bath toy, Litand’s soft stacking blocks for bath time has 12 blocks with shapes, textures, numbers, and letters. Your baby doesn’t just begin developing the skills that come with learning to stack objects, but they also learn to alphabetize, count, and match things to one another.
These blocks make a squeaking sound when your baby squeezes them, too, and are soft enough to serve as a teething tool.
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What I love:
- Food-grade silicone makes them safe for babies to chew
- Babies grow into them quickly and take a long time to grow out of them
- Squeaky sound sparks babies’ natural curiosity
- Different learning elements exist on each side of the blocks
What’s Meh:
- The squeaky sound can attract the family dog
- They don’t always stack as tightly as expected
These come in muted colors, so your eyes don’t start to burn from the stark primaries most children’s toys use. While babies learn primary colors first, they can expand their understanding of colors with toys like these.
Litand works to provide quality Montessori toys for babies and toddlers that teach a wide variety of skills. They’re a solid brand if you choose to go the Montessori route for learning.
Give your baby a set of blocks that can help them grow without the worry of harm.
No products found.Cutie Pie Montessori Rolling Drum
This is a simpler version of the rolling dexterity toy we listed above. The five brightly-colored balls inside make a pleasant rattle for curious babies while they roll it away from them.
As moms, we sometimes find it hard to get our babies to scoot and crawl across the floor regularly. They lose interest unless they have a reason to move. This toy gives them a reason.
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What I love:
- Uses unfinished wood and non-toxic paint for safety
- Excellent size for a baby’s hands
- Rattling sound further encourages your baby to crawl
- Builds early motor skills
What’s Meh:
- Unfinished wood isn’t always smooth
- Difficult to sanitize fully
You don’t want your baby learning how to throw this because someone could get hurt. However, it rolls wonderfully, and curious babies will scoot and crawl after it.
When they get a little older, they can lift and shake it in addition to making it rattle by rolling it across the house. Its lack of finish on the wood and non-toxic paint make it safe even if your baby likes putting things in their mouth.
This kind of toy is perfect for Montessori learning.
No products found.Promise Babe Baby Rattle
Baby rattles are one of the oldest toys available, but these days, you have a choice between many different versions of rattles for your little one.
Promise Babe’s baby rattles come in shapes and colors specifically designed to stimulate your baby’s auditory and visual processing skills. Their wooden construction provides a somewhat muted rattle, helping to avoid scaring your baby with its noise (and helping to prevent all of us from getting headaches!).
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What I love:
- Shaped specifically for baby fingers
- Montessori teachings inspired each of these rattles
- Each piece makes a different sound
- Straightforward toy so even the youngest babies can play
What’s Meh:
- Can’t wash with soap and water, wipe down with damp cloth only to clean
- Must be used with parental supervision
These come in beautiful pastel colors that help your baby begin learning colors beyond stark primaries. The shapes on each rattle further help your child develop their visual skills, and the sounds pique their curiosity and stimulate their hearing.
These rattlers can also act as teethers, although you should watch for signs of wear and replace them as soon as you notice any.
Promise Babe’s toys are all handmade with quality and care in mind.
No products found.Closing Thoughts
Montessori toys for babies simplify the early learning process and optimize the things your baby learns early on, putting several different foundations in place at once on which they can build as they get older.
We moms simply don’t have the time to try and figure out which learning toys are best, which is one reason going with the Montessori learning method can work so well. Remember that you’ll need to buy new toys as your child gets older, but they’ll have the fundamental skills they need when they graduate to big-kid toys.
