If you’re considering introducing Montessori method to your baby, you may be wondering where to start and what are the best toys aligned with the Montessori approach. Montessori toys are typically characterised by being made of natural materials, focusing on a single skill, self correcting and simple. We’ve used our knowledge of the Montessori approach to put together this guide of 10 Best Montessori Baby Toys for 0-12months.
We’ll cover the skill behind each toy and why we love them. Plus, we will show you some of our favourite Montessori toys on the market right now, so you can get started introducing your baby to a world of learning and development that will last them a lifetime. Let’s dive in!
*Disclaimer: This blog is not sponsored in any way. Recommendations are all genuine, based on personal experience or our communities suggestions. Any sponsored content or affiliate link will be clearly stated.
Table of Contents
Montessori Toys for Babies: 0-6months
Setting up your Babies Play Space
One of the key elements of the Montessori approach is the ‘prepared environment’, an aspect you will find in every Montessori classroom. However, we don’t need to transform our homes into replicas of Montessori preschoolers for it to be a considered and prepared space. You can do so by creating a safe, cosy, and intentional play space for your baby and be mindful of how they’ll engage with each area of your home.
For your newborn and infant, you can start by softening your space with a free movement mat, such as a soft quilted play mat, padded mat or a Tampi Mat.
You may like to add a baby safe mirror, play gym/baby mobile, basket of high contrast books and low shelf to display activities.
As your baby grows and develops, your space will continue to change to support their needs (ie you may add a low table once seated or a pull up bar when ready to stand).
1. Montessori Mobiles
Montessori visual mobiles are a series of 4 mobiles, designed to support your babies sight and cognitive development. Each mobile extending upon the first. The mobiles are: Munari Mobile(0-2 months), Octahedron Mobile (1-3months), Gobbi Mobile (3-4months) and Dancers Mobile (3-6months) I found the entire series available in Australia here.
Other mobiles/ play gym toys for babies wake windows that support visual development: black and white contrast mobile toys by Playology.
Note: As your baby begins to bat at their mobile/reach and grasp, you can change your mobile toys to tactile experiences, like a ribbon with a bell for batting or sponge for sensory exploration.
2.High Contrast Toys for Babies
Did you know, research shows that initially your baby can only see 8-12 inches away from their face and for the first 2-3months of life, high contrast items are easiest for your baby to interpret. Using high contrast books and toys from birth-2/3months will stimulate your babies visual and cognitive development.
- My first book by Playology
- The Crinkle Square by Totli is a high contrast scrunch fabric, crafted from organic cotton.
- Black and White toy figurines from Schleich (that can be used across many ages and stages)
3.Montessori Baby Grasping Toys
Your babies grasp will slowly develop over the months, beginning with a reflex grasp for the first few months of life, and soon becoming an intentional grasp and deliberate manipulation of objects (3-6months). Over the first months, you will notice your babies reflex as they grab onto your fingers. Soon, you’ll observe them discovering their own hands and slowly begin to intentionally grasp for items nearby. Here are some of our favourite Montessori aligned grasping toys to support this natural development.
- Infant Bell via Montessori Australia
- Hand to hand dual discs by Qtoys
- Skwish natural grasping toy available via small folk
- Grasping baby beads available via small folk
- Grimms rolling bell rattle available via honeybee toys
- Montessori hand made grasping ball with bell via My Playroom
- Qtoys grasping rattle available at growing kind
- Gluckskafer Montessori wooden rattle available at growing kind
Montessori Baby Toys 6-12months
4. Object Permanence
Typically, the Montessori Object Permanence box is introduced to your baby once they are independently sitting. This material is designed to teach your baby that items still exist, even when out of sight. While using the object permanence materials, your baby is also strengthening their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and exploring cause and effect. Explore them here:
- Object Permanence box with tray.
- Object Permanence box with drawer
- Object Permanence box with one drawer and coins.
5.First Montessori Puzzles
If you are familiar with Montessori, you’ll already know that materials are introduced to children from simple to complex. Like all toys within the Montessori method, you can follow a natural progression when introducing puzzles into your babies play space. We’ve included 5 baby puzzles below, in an order we believe introduces skills from simple to complex, beginning with the cup and ball.
- Montessori cup and ball set
- Mirror single shape puzzle
- Series of single shape puzzles
- Pincer Puzzle: introduction to the knobbed cylinders.
- Three shape knobbed puzzle
6.Treasure Baskets
Once your baby is sitting independently, it is a good time to introduce Montessori treasure baskets into your play space. A treasure basket is a lightweight basket filled with safe items for your baby to explore. You may like to include sensory materials or every-day house hold objects. These baskets are fantastic opportunity for exploration and double as a language experience if an adult is nearby to name the items explored. You can create these using anything you have within the home. I’ve linked an article by Loverly for some treasure basket ideas.
7.Montessori Spinning Drum Toy
If your baby is not yet sitting up, you may wish to add a Montessori Spinning drum to enhance their tummy time. The Spinning drum encourages reaching forward, grasping and batting at it. You can add this to your space earlier than 6m if you observe your baby is ready. As the drum is spun, your baby experiences both visual and auditory stimulation as they watch the spinning colours and hear the bell ring (or gentle rumble of beads). Of course, this material can be used beyond tummy time and will continue to provide opportunities for fine motor development, coordination and exploration of cause and effect.
Available at Totli
8.Baby Stacking Toys
Vertical stacking toys are a fantastic way to promote concentration and coordination. You can begin with a simple stacking toy before introducing more complex stackers. Encourage fine and gross motor development, problem solving skills, hand-eye coordination, concentration and eventually visual discrimination of size through the progression of stacking toys. Here are our favourites:
- Qtoys: Montessori Vertical stacker and Mini stacking toy.
- Qtoys: More complex stacker: Bouncing stacking ring
- Kubi Dubi: Wooden Stacking Pyramid
You can also find Montessori stacking rings as your babies first stacking toy on places like Etsy. However, due to the nature of Etsy (and unsure about toy testing) we won’t directly promote any of those.
9. Baby Montessori Gross Motor: Pikler
When it comes to supporting your babies gross motor development, a lot of Montessori educators/parents may also follow the RIE principles of free movement and natural gross motor progressions (see article ‘don’t stand me up‘). One aspect of this is allowing your child to naturally develop, rather than placing them in positions they are unable to get into our out of on their own (like propping them up before they can seat or using a jolly jumper). Instead, here are our favourite gross motor toys for babies.
- Free movement mat (like here)
- Pull up bar
- Pikler Triangle and attachments.
Other items may include: - Soft play or play couch.
- Push Toys (for walking babies)
- Walker Wagon to encourage pulling up and minimal support for pre-walkers/early walkers.
- Basket of soft balls.
- Child-sized furniture.
10. Montessori inspired Musical Instruments
Musical instruments provide an opportunity to nurture your babies developing fine and gross motor skills, sensory and cognitive development and rhythm. When choosing Musical instruments for your baby, focus on natural and durable items that are both child sized and easy to use. Try Love Note or Tiny Tones.
Recommended Books for Babies 0-12months
- High Contrast Books: Black and White by Tana Hoben, My first A-Z Black and White book
- Books with Real Pictures: Making Faces, Baby Feelings, Baby Faces, Global Baby Play Time, Global babies
- Language Development Books: First 100 words
- Sensory Touch and Feel Books: Baby Touch and Feel Animals, See Touch and Feel, Baby Animals Touch and Feel
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