As a parent, you want the best for your toddler. You want to provide them with the best possible opportunities to develop their life skills, and learning through play is a great way to get them started.
The Montessori method is a fantastic tool for helping your toddler to develop their fine motor skills, as this encourages them to learn at their own pace and to become active participants in their own learning.
But with so many different types of products on the market, how can you ensure that you’ve found the best Montessori toys for toddlers? Not to worry - we’ve done all the hard work so that you don’t have to!
We’ve searched high and low for all the best Montessori toys available and ensured that they are appropriate for your toddler.
There’s even a handy buyer’s guide to give you all the information you need to make a fully informed decision. So you’ll have everything you need to choose the right toys for your toddler and help them to learn while they play!
We’ve even included some helpful frequently asked questions to cover any burning queries you may have.
Short on time? Check out our top pick below!
OUR TOP PICK
Our Montessori carrots harvest toy and worm catcher toy gift set is the ideal toy for your toddler.
This particular toddler toy has been designed to follow the Montessori method so that your child can learn at their own pace.
This toy will help your child to work on their fine motor skills, all while having fun at the same time.
This particular gift set includes two great toys to entertain your toddler. It comes with the carrots harvest toy, where kids can have fun playing with the wooden carrots.
It also comes with the magnetic catch worm toy where kids can catch or place worms in the wooden block.
These two toys will combine to give your toddler a variety of skills that they can learn in their own time.
These toys have been designed with your toddler’s safety in mind. All painted pieces in both gift sets use non-toxic water-based paint. T
he wooden pieces themselves all have smooth edges so are safe for toddlers to play with.
Both of these wooden toys have been designed to be as durable as possible. All the wooden pieces are easy for your toddler to grasp and play with on their own, too.
The worm toy in particular is great for helping your toddler to work on their hand-eye coordination, as well as exercise your baby’s wrist flexibility.
This toy set is the perfect alternative to screens or plastic toys that won’t help your toddler develop better skills.
Pros
- Set of two wooden Montessori toys
- Helps your child learn at their own pace
- Helps to work on hand-eye coordination
- Wooden pieces have smooth edges and use non-toxic water-based paint
- Fantastic alternative to plastic toys
Cons
- Only one type of vegetable included with the carrot game
EDITORS CHOICE
The Montessori DIY cylinder blocks are the ideal toy for your toddlers.
This particular toy includes a set of 4 different colored blocks in varying sizes, 6 cards for use with the colored blocks, and 4 sets of 5 cylinders.
This versatile collection of wooden blocks will give your toddler all they need to get actively involved in their own learning experience.
This particular wooden Montessori toy actively promotes your toddler’s development in hand-eye coordination, early math and engineering skills, fine motor skills, and spatial awareness.
Fantastic if you want to help develop your child’s skills! This set of wooden blocks and cylinders allows your child to explore at their own pace.
The colored cylinders use non-toxic paint so are completely safe for your child to use.
As these toys are made with the finest wood, you don’t have to worry about chemicals like BPA and they are all lead-free. All aspects of the wooden toys feature smooth edges to keep your toddler safe while they play.
There are so many ways that your kids can use these wooden Montessori toys.
There’ll be no end to the number of games your toddler can play in order to promote their intellectual and physical development. So you can rest assured that you’re giving your child the best possible start in life!
This particular set gives you great value for money, especially compared to competitor products.
You get two fantastic Montessori toys all for the same price! The toys are also high-quality and durable so should last you for many years to come to use with all of your kids, or even pass on to family and friends.
Pros
- Set of two high-quality, durable wooden Montessori toys
- Contains 4 colored blocks in varying sizes, 4 blocks with 5 cylinders, and 6 cards
- Helps your toddler to develop a variety of skills
- Your child can learn at their own pace
- Excellent value for money
Cons
- The blocks of cylinders aren’t painted
BEST VALUE
This set of Montessori toys for toddlers is another great set of two toys for the price of one. In this particular set, you get a rainbow stacker toy as well as an object permanence box.
This is to help your toddler maximize the skillset that they can learn from a set of Montessori toys.
Both of these toys have been designed so as to promote the Montessori style of learning.
Your child can learn at their own pace with these two toys in their playroom. Both toys are designed to promote a variety of skills to help your child develop.
The object permanence box can help promote hand-eye coordination. The rainbow stacker will also help to stimulate your child’s sensory skills.
Both toys have been manufactured with your toddler’s safety in mind. They use non-toxic paint and all parts of the toys are made from the finest wooden materials.
So you won’t need to worry about your child hurting themselves with this set of Montessori toys. Perfect for giving you extra peace of mind!
These toys provide your toddler with the ideal alternative to staring at a screen or playing with loud flashing toys. Your child will also get the added bonus of building their own skillset such as developing their fine motor skills.
Much better than playing with a substandard toy that isn’t going to help them learn crucial skills!
This set of wooden Montessori toys for toddlers gives you excellent value for money compared to competitor products. You get two great wooden toys for the price of one!
Pros
- Set of two wooden Montessori toys for toddlers
- Includes an object permanence toy and a rainbow stacking toy
- Designed to promote the Montessori style of learning
- Excellent value for money
- Uses a water-based non-toxic paint
Cons
- Better suited for younger children
RUNNER UP
These MAGIFIRE wooden animal shape jigsaws are perfect for your toddler. These will help your child to learn through play and at their own pace.
This particular set includes 6 cute, brightly colored puzzles for your toddler to enjoy. The designs include a bear, bee, butterfly, car, ladybug, and tortoise.
The puzzles have been designed with bright, attractive colors as well as in cute animal shapes to help enrich your toddler’s learning experience. Your toddler can learn the appearance and structure of the animals.
These puzzles will help your child to improve their concentration and puzzle-solving skills, as well as develop their hand-eye coordination.
This puzzle set has been designed with your toddler’s safety in mind. The wooden puzzles are BPA free and are constructed using high-quality environmental wood with a water-based paint.
The pieces have smooth edges and all of them are too big to swallow to give you even more peace of mind.
MAGIFIRE has designed these puzzle pieces with toddlers in mind. The individual pieces are big enough that your toddlers can easily grasp them to place them on the puzzle boards.
What’s really great about this particular toddler toy is that the puzzles come with a drawstring bag. This will be essential for keeping all of the puzzle pieces together, and ensure that you don’t lose any.
The lightweight puzzles are easy to transport so that your toddler can play with them at home or with friends.
Pros
- Wooden animal shape jigsaw puzzles to help your toddler learn at their own pace.
- Features 6 beautifully colored designs; bee, bear, butterfly, car, ladybug, and tortoise.
- Designed with toddlers in mind.
- Constructed with safety in mind; BPA free, environmental wood, and water-based non-toxic paint.
- Comes with a drawstring bag to keep all the pieces together when not in use.
Cons
- Some customers found the puzzles were smaller than they expected.
RUNNER UP
This toddler busy board from La La Llama will be ideal for your toddler. This particular busy board has been designed with the Montessori method in mind so as to promote a more hands-on learning experience.
It will help your toddler to develop their fine motor skills and give them basic skills. With the La La Llama busy board, your kids can practice and learn essential dressing skills at their own pace all while playing.
This busy board features a range of buckles and buttons as well as a zip and string. These have been designed so as to have varying levels of difficulty to give your toddler a fun challenge or even to be used as a soothing repetitive activity.
This particular board has been designed for toddlers by parents. It features a patented design that includes 9 buckles, ties, and buttons. So you can rest assured that your child will have all they need to develop essential life skills!
The sensory board is lightweight, and measures 11 x 12.5 inches. This makes it easy to transport, so your toddler can use it while in the car or on an airplane. Ideal if you want to keep them occupied with something educational!
This busy board has been designed so as to be suitable for a variety of levels. It will make a great gift for toddlers as well as older children to provide the sensory experience they need to learn essential skills.
Pros
- Designed with the Montessori method in mind for a more hands-on learning experience.
- Promotes basic dressing skills and helps develop fine motor skills.
- Features a range of buckles, buttons, zip, and string.
- Patented design that has been designed by parents for toddlers.
- Easy to transport for learning on the go.
Cons
- A little pricier than other Montessori toddler toys on the market
Best Montessori Toys For Toddlers Buying Guide
The Montessori method of learning centers around the idea that your toddler is capable of initiating their own learning experiences.
With a theory that was developed more than 100 years ago by the Italian philosopher Maria Montessori, this method has been tried and proven over the years.
Of course, one of the easiest ways for you to introduce your child to the Montessori method is to invest in some appropriate educational toys that will help them to promote their own learning.
However, there are loads of different toys available on the market, and it can be tricky knowing which ones to choose.
As tempting as it might be, don’t purchase the first toy you stumble across. First, you’ll want to ensure that your chosen toy is appropriate for your toddler, and that it will help to initiate the Montessori method.
Not to worry - we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of all the things you need to bear in mind when choosing the best Montessori toys for your toddler!
Toddler friendly
When it comes to choosing the right educational toys for your child you will of course want to make sure that it is toddler friendly.
This will mean taking a look at the size of any smaller pieces and ensuring that they are too big for your toddler to swallow accidentally.
You should also take a look at the materials used during construction. What paint has been used to decorate the toy? Would it be harmful to your toddler if they were to put the pieces in their mouth?
Are there any sharp aspects to the toy that your child could potentially harm themselves with?
Wooden toys
Maria Montessori believed that the best toys to help promote her method were wooden ones.
She advised against using plastic toys, as she felt that natural materials were better. This is because they are healthy, safe, and Montessori considered them to be more enjoyable for children.
So when it comes to choosing the best educational toys for your toddler, one of the things you should ensure is that you’re choosing a wooden toy.
Promotes independent learning
The Montessori method centers around the idea that your child can initiate their own learning.
So ideally the toys you choose should promote this idea, and ensure that your child is able to comfortably use them on their own.
It is recommended that you place all toys on a low reaching shelf so that your toddler can reach for them as and when they would like to.
Variety of puzzles
Take a look at the number of puzzles your chosen toy is able to offer your toddler. How many types of puzzles are there? Do these puzzles offer different challenges to your child? Do they vary in difficulty?
The more puzzles your chosen toy is able to offer your toddler, the more learning experiences they will be able to gain from them. By choosing a toy with varying levels of difficulty it also allows your child to learn at their own pace.
To promote a depth of learning experiences you may want to consider buying several different toys targeting different aspects of your child’s development - depending on your individual budget, of course.
Easy to store
How easy to store is your chosen toy when it’s not in use?
This will be a lifesaver once your child has finished learning through play for the day. The last thing you’ll want is a toy that is too tricky to store away when it’s not in use.
Many of the puzzle type toys come with their own handy drawstring bag so that everything can be stored together. This will be essential if you worry about losing individual items from puzzle sets.
It will also make the toys easier to transport should your child want to bring it with them when traveling.
Lightweight
Make sure to look for a toy that is lightweight for your toddler to use. This will mean they won’t struggle to take it out when they want to play with it, and that they can use it on their own without you having to help them.
A lightweight toy will also be easier to transport. This means your toddler can use it in the car when you’re traveling, or can even take it with them to playschool or a friend’s house.
Perfect for ensuring that your toddler loves to engage with their own learning experience!
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best learning toys for 2 year olds?
As we’ve detailed above, the best learning toys for toddlers are:
- Montessori Carrots Harvest Toy & Worm Catcher Toy Gift Set
- Montessori DIY Cylinder Blocks
- Montessori Object Permanence Box & Rainbow Stacker Toy Gift Set
- MAGIFIRE wooden animal-shaped jigsaw puzzle
- La La Llama patented busy board
Is Montessori good for 2 year olds?
The Montessori method of learning is ideal for children who love to work on their own or in small groups. It can even be incredibly beneficial for those who suffer from learning difficulties.
This is because it provides a safe learning environment for your child and allows them to learn at their own pace.
Are Montessori toys better?
Montessori toys are better for encouraging independent learning. Rather than opting for plastic toys that flash and make noises to stimulate toddlers, a more passive wooden toy is ideal for your child.
That’s because it encourages your toddler to work the puzzles out for themselves, and give them a greater sense of satisfaction in the process.