From color and shape sorters to walking and climbing toys, these will level-up those kids' skills!
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When looking to buy gifts for 1-year-olds, there are lots of reasons to look for toys that alight with a Montessori philosophy. "Montessori materials for 1-year-olds often support fine motor and gross motor skills, sensory exploration, object permanence, and spacial awareness as well as concentration and independence," says Alanna Gallo, former teacher and founder of Play. Learn. Thrive. But what exactly is meant by "Montessori toy" can cause confusion, especially if you don't know what to look for.
Actually, Gallo says, there's no such thing as a "Montessori toy," only toys that are aligned with or inspired by by the Montessori philosophy. These toys often have similar traits. "A toy that has been inspired by the Montessori philosophy is going to be designed to isolate or emphasize a single learning concept," Gallo says. "It will often be beautifully made of natural materials. It should be self-correcting — think a shape sorter or puzzle — so the child can easily recognize their mistakes. It will promote self-directed play and learning. Anything that is designed to simply entertain a child — lights up, talks, sings, etc. — is not aligned with the Montessori philosophy."
With all that in mind, these are our favorites.
Our top picks for Montessori-inspired toys for 1-year-olds:
There are a couple of things to look out for when searching for Montessori-aligned toys. The first is the expense, which can be great, often due to the quality of the materials used in making them. But if you're looking for bargains, this isn't the place. And the other, Gallo warns, is about companies that throw around the Montessori name recklessly as a marketing tactic. "The biggest issue is that most toys claiming to be Montessori do not align with the Montessori philosophy," she says. "Children would benefit more from a parent adopting a Montessori approach to parenting, versus buying 'Montessori” toys.'" But if you're looking for a place to start, consult our favorites from this list.
Looking for more great gifts for kids? Check out these Good Housekeeping guides:
The Best Montessori Toys for 2-Year-Olds | The Best Toys for Infants | The Best Toys for Toddlers
Puzzles help kids develop all sorts of skills: They promote spatial awareness, help with shape recognition and encourage problem-solving. This simple, wooden puzzle also has knobs on the pieces to make them easier for little hands to grasp. Ages 1+
Kids work on their fine-motor coordination when they get these colorful, hexagonal pieces onto the proper pegs. They practice color sorting and counting, too, by learning that the one red block fits on the first peg, the two yellow blocks fit on the second and so on. Ages 1+
Being able to track moving objects with the eyes is an important Montessori skill, and it helps with hand-eye coordination, reading and writing later on. This Montessori-inspired toy lets kids insert the wooden animal pieces into the top and watch as they roll down the zig-zagging path, allowing them to try out their tracking skills. Ages 1+
Object permanence is another Montessori focus. If you put the tokens into this box, will they sill be there when you open the drawer? This one comes with six colorful coins and also a ball, and both a slot and a hole in the top of the box for kids to drop them in, which also helps their fine motor coordination. Ages 6 months+
Kids will use different grasps when they pick up the discs in this toy and put them on the correct color pegs, which helps strengthen the muscles in their hands and helps their fine-motor coordination. They'll also practice their color recognition, starting with the three primary colors. Ages 8 months+
Once they've mastered stacking things vertically, they can move on to threading discs on a dowel horizontally, which presents more of a hand-eye challenge. It also encourages kids to get their hands to cross the "midline" — or the vertical line in the center of the body — which helps with things like writing and dressing later on. Ages 8 months+
Like other peg toys on this list, kids can use the four dowels here to sort the pieces by color or stack them by size. But this one also comes with a surprise: Two of the dowels have extra twists to them — the green one requires the pieces to be twisted in a certain direction or get snagged on small pegs, and the purple works more like s screw — that makes this more of a challenge. The base is also a simple jigsaw puzzle. Ages 1+
Toddlers need focus, concentration and perseverance in order to take the spoon, pick up a colored ball and deliver it to the correct cup. And hey, if it helps them get better at self-feeding, too, that's a bonus! Ages 1+
Percussion instruments, like maracas and shakers, are great for toddlers. This wooden xylophone goes even further, and lets kids experiment with the different notes of the five-bar scale by hitting it with a wooden mallet. Ages 1+
Even if they're not ready for full-blown instruments, they can still experiment with different sounds in an open-ended way with these blocks. Each one makes a different acoustic sound, including squeaks, clacks and rattles. And toddlers can also stack the blocks and build with them like a construction toy. Ages 1+
With this toy, you get three different-sized boxes and a variety of tops to swap on to use in a multitude of different Montessori activities. They can stack the boxes. They can use it as a "ball drop" toy. They can put on the slotted lid and make it a coin bank. They can put on a lid with holes and plant and harvest the wooden carrots. There's also a color sorter and a tissue-box activity, too. Basically, sit a toddler in front of this and see where it takes them! Ages 6 months+
Pushing this toy along will get little walkers up and moving and working on their gross motor skills. Inside, there are a couple of rolling balls along with a bell that makes a musical sound. Ages 1+
This Montessori-inspired toy comes with six animal blocks, and toddlers will have to use their skills to match them to the correct spaces either at the puzzle on top or the shape-sorter around the side. There's a color-matching element to the game, too. Ages 1+
This toy is a two-for-one: First, you get a push walker that encourages kids to get all their steps in. But since any good transport needs cargo, there's also a block set that kids can load and unload — it's a puzzle to fit them all in — or use to build with when they don't feel like walking anymore. Ages 1+
This toy is on a roll! With this Montessori-inspired toy, kids bop the balls from the tower down onto the ramp with a hammer and watch them roll around and around on the ramp and into a hidden box at the bottom — which is good for eye-tracking and object permanence. Then, kids can use the same hammer to bop the see-saw on the bottom to make the balls roll out again. Ages 13 months+
Kids can work on their strength, balance and coordination with this wooden balance bike, It has rubberized wheels for better control (and to protect your floors, since it also can be used indoors). Ages 1+
This open-ended arc can be used in a variety of ways. Kids can flip it like a "U" and try to balance on it, or they can turn it upright and use it like a play tunnel. They can sit in it and read while rocking like in a rocking chair. No matter how they use it, they'll probably be working their muscles as they do! No age recommendation given
If you want someone else to do all the toy-selecting work for you, you can subscribe to Lovevery's Play Kits. Each one comes with Montessori- and Waldorf-inspired toys tailored to a child's developmental age and stage, and they also come with information for adults about what's going on in their brains at that time and how to play with kids in a developmentally appropriate way. The "Babbler" Play Kit here is specifically meant for kids ages 13 months to 15 months, but they can continue up to 4 years. Ages 13 months to 15 months for box shown here; other boxes range from 0 months – 4+ years
You can subscribe to Lalo's Play Box or get one as a one-time purchase, depending on what your needs are. Either way, it'll be filled with Montessori-inspired toys tailored to their developmental stage, like this one for 13- to 15-month-olds. There's even a program where you can donate your old boxes once the kids have outgrown them. Ages 13 months to 15 months for the box shown here; other boxes range from 0 – 24 months
Pikler triangles are loved by Montessori fans because they develop gross motor skills, are open-ended so can be used in imaginary play, and improve spatial awareness, balance and coordination. The toy experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute were so impressed with this one they gave it a Good Housekeeping Parenting Award — they liked how sturdy it was, and also how it can be combined with other triangles or accessories (like the slide). No age recommendation given
RELATED: The Best Pikler Triangles
Marisa (she/her) has covered all things parenting, from the postpartum period through the empty nest, for Good Housekeeping since 2018; she previously wrote about parents and families at Parents and Working Mother. She lives with her husband and daughter in Brooklyn, where she can be found dominating the audio round at her local bar trivia night or tweeting about movies.
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