Montessori Baby Toys: When to Start?

Even babies have a natural urge to learn and benefit from a lovingly prepared environment with toys that stimulate them to develop new skills. In this article you will find an overview of Montessori toys for babies - true Montessorians would rather speak of Montessori material for babies - to help interested parents in selecting high-quality Montessori baby toys for the home.

What are Montessori toys for babies?

I will only briefly go into the properties of Montessori toys and materials, because there is a very comprehensive blog post on the subject. So here is just the short summary:

- of natural materials

- high quality but easy to handle

- realistic depiction of animals and objects, including photos

Montessori material is also characterized by the focus on a specific learning task. It is deliberately not multifunctional. It has a high demand character and there is the possibility for self-control.

We call Montessori toys, toys that fit the Montessori philosophy but have a more open design. Often there is also a lack of focus on a clear task. The toy can be used in many ways. Examples: baby doll, wooden building blocks, animal figures.

In this blog post you will find Montessori toys and materials sorted by age recommendation. But you shouldn't stick to them too strictly. Every child is different and develops at their own pace. As always in Montessori pedagogy, the principle also applies to babies: Follow the child. If you offer him a toy and he quickly loses interest, the task may be too easy or too difficult.

Observe your baby closely to find out what skills he is trying to acquire. Then think. how you can support your baby with this learning step.

– "The job of the environment is not to shape the child, but to allow it to express itself." Maria Montessori

How does Montessori work for babies? Montessori baby toys from birth Infant Montessori Toys 0+

Montessori baby mobiles

Babies are particularly interested in strong contrasts and intensive colors in the first months of life. This has to do with the fact that the sense of sight has yet to develop. Seeing is a matter of practice.

In Montessori pedagogy there are a number of mobiles that are used in different phases so that the baby can actively train its eyesight.

The Montessori baby mobile should not be hung over the bed but over a mat. The baby should be fresh and alert when you place them under the mobile to view.

Music Box

A classic Music Box, where you pull the string to make the melody sound, is also useful for small babies. Since the sense of hearing is developed at an early age, babies enjoy listening to music. Later, the little ones can learn how to activate the Music Box themselves.

Montessori play arch and accessories

A toy bow is also a sensible purchase. In the first few months it can be used to hang up the Montessori Mobiles.

From about 2 or 3 months you can also hang different gripping toys on the Montessori arch. The baby will first hit them with their hands, grab them or kick them with their legs.

Montessori toys from 6+ months

6 months is the age when many babies become mobile. They start crawling and crawling. That's why Montessori baby toys are now popular that encourage the child to move.

Montessori Puzzle Ball

You can now bring out the Montessori Puzzle Ball again. Unlike other balls, it doesn't roll as fast and doesn't roll as far. Just right to encourage the baby to crawl.

The ball roller is the classic Montessori baby toy from 6 months. It also rolls and the balls inside make interesting noises. This stimulates the baby to seal and crawl. The ball caster looks very similar to the bell caster but is larger.

Wooden blocks

Wooden building blocks are a classic toy that also makes sense from a Montessori point of view. There are different sets of untreated wooden building blocks, usually up to 22 building blocks. The classic shape sorter only came up to date a little later, but is well suited for storage.

Busy Cube

With this baby toy, your baby can safely explore many different materials. A wonderful way to improve the fine motorcar skills of your toddler. Many of these ones you may find at our Online Shop.

Montessori toys from 12+ months

Once the first birthday is over, your child's development will continue at such rapid paces as never before or since. The skills that were laid in the first year of life are now quite evident and your child seems to be learning something new almost every day.

As a mother or father, what can you do to ensure that your little one can develop optimally during this important time? In addition to a lot of love and attention, you can above all ensure a well-prepared environment. And in such a setting, the right toys are of the utmost importance.

We have put together a selection of the most beautiful learning and play materials with which you can support your child in the spirit of Maria Montessori.

The baby walker

Learning to walk is certainly one of the most exciting developmental steps in the second year of life - at least for all those children who have not started earlier. If the principles of Montessori pedagogy are consistently applied to learning to walk, then the child should simply start running without much support as soon as it is ready.

However, it may be stimulated, and this is exactly where the baby walker comes into play: it provides the necessary balance security, which is the greatest challenge when walking. However, the stroller can only be used by children who can already stand independently and only need minimal support. Unlike in the walker, the child has to rely entirely on their own abilities.

The newly gained mobility gives self-confidence and soon the car becomes more of a means of transport and is no longer relevant as a walking aid. The child can take a break on the seat, chauffeur a friend or their favorite stuffed animal or quickly transport building blocks from A to B.

Even later, the baby walker still has its place in the children's room as a doll's pram. You do not have to have safety concerns such as with walking free, and muscular and neurological development is not negatively affected.

The most important advantages at a glance:

- Ideally suited for little explorers who are not yet able to walk safely

- With shelf for toys, provisions or "companion"

- Later also suitable as a doll's pram

- Stable, safe and gentle on the floor

Activity board

The enthusiasm for fasteners, handles and locks of all kinds grabs some children in the first year of life. By the age of one and a half at the latest, they are also capable of dealing with it motorically.

Opening and closing all sorts of objects (such as buttons, small doors, hooks and eyes) is very important in Montessori pedagogy, because this skill makes it a lot easier for children to move freely in their environment.

The exercise board from our store approaches this requirement in a very playful way: six colorful little doors with different metal hooks and latches hide six even more colorful surprises. The motivation to try again and again is great.

The most important advantages at a glance:

- Appeals to a child's interest in opening and closing objects

- Trains fine motor skills

- A funny picture is hidden behind every closed door

- Developed by two parents of six children