The Best Montessori-Friendly Toddler Toys

I LOVE the toddler years. That time period between 18 months to three years old just feels like magic to me.  The language acquisition, the new gross motor skills, and their sweet little personalities starting to really shine through- I love it all.  And part of my favorite thing about the toddler years are the toddler toys that come with it.

I lean towards minimalism and I’m easily overwhelmed if my space is too cluttered. So when it comes to toys, I’m pretty picky. I want to select toys that really help foster growth and development while also being fun to play with. I also want toys that can develop MULTIPLE skills and be played with a lot of different ways. So here are our favorite Montessori-friendly toddler toys to help little ones learn, grow, and explore.

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Large Chunky Puzzles

Toddlers are really working on those fine motor skills, and chunky puzzles are a great way for them to practice.

While there’s THOUSANDS of options for chunky toddler puzzles, we have personally loved these Melissa and Doug puzzles. We have one with Mickey Mouse characters and one with Winnie the Pooh characters. Both of my girls have loved both of these puzzles.

In addition to working on fine motor skills, these puzzles are also great for other skills such as matching. They also help with language development as my daughters name the characters and animals as they place the pieces in their places.

And they can also be used to help develop stereognosis, which is just a fancy way of saying identifying an object by touch alone. We’ll play a game of reaching into a bag and pulling out a character without looking. My daughters then have to guess which character they’re holding based on feel alone. It’s so much fun to see them learn to pay attention to details like shape, size, and distinct characteristics.

And the best part- these puzzles are STURDY. Even after being heavily played with by two toddlers they still look brand new.

Picnic Baskets/Shape Sorters

I know that shape sorter boxes are classic toddler toys, but they’re also kind of boring? Maybe my kids are the outliers, but they’ve never been drawn to the traditional wooden shape sorter boxes.

I remember with my oldest encouraging her to place the shapes in the right holes. She just looked at me like “why on earth would I do that,” took the lid off, and added the shapes that way. I think she even very sassily said “ta da!”

Honestly- I was impressed with her finding an easier way to get all of the blocks inside the box and realizing that some things just aren’t worth the effort. An important life lesson.

Anyways, with my second I still wanted her to practice this skill, but I wanted the toy to be more engaging. And while I try to limit toys with lights and sounds, this picnic basket is ADORABLE and one of my daughter’s favorite toys.

It sings, it asks for specific shapes to be added, and it cheers them on when they get the shape right.

But beyond working on the skill of sorting, it’s great for pretend play as well as building social skills. By pretending to be on a picnic, we practice social emotional skills like sharing, asking for something politely, and making sure everyone is served.

This toy has been out for over a year on her shelf and has yet to go out of rotation.

Stack and Sort Toys

I love toys that introduce multiple concepts. This stack and sort toy is simple, but it’s a great toy as toddlers are working on multiple different skills. Sorting, stacking, shape recognition, and color recognition are all skills toddlers will work on at some point. This toy has it covered.

Does it look boring? Yeah. But for some reason it has a gravitational pull for my kids and it’s a nice, calming toy to play with.

(It’s also a great toy for my toddler toy play with while I’m working with her sister on preschool concepts and she feels like she’s doing school with us.)

You get a lot of bang for your buck with this one- especially if you’re wanting to introduce a little more instruction into their play time.

Barn or Dollhouse

Toddlers are just starting to dip into open-ended play and a barn or a dollhouse are a great way to help them with that. You’ll see toddlers walk through their day while they’re playing, and their play centers around things that are familiar to them. Both barns and dollhouses can meet that need of being both familiar enough while also inviting imaginative play.

Our Melissa and Doug foldable barn has stayed out for four years straight as both my daughters continually play with it.

Magnetic Boards or Latch Boards

Toddlers love magnets and they love repetition. These magnetic boards not only help with fine motor skills, but are also just super fun to play with.

The first magnetic board I gave my toddler was this Melissa and Doug hide-and-seek barn. Both of my daughters loved taking the animals in and out of the magnetic doors.

The second one we gave was this Melissa and Doug latch board. Each door has a different image behind it, and toddlers work on different types of latches to open up the doors. And once they master the latches, it’s still fun to count the objects and work on color and number recognition.

Both of these boards are study and have held up great.

Animal Figurines

Animal figurines are FANTASTIC. Little ones love the detail and how they feel, and they can be used for so many learning activities. From matching to language development to creating small worlds- the list is endless. We love the Safari LTD. Toobs, but I’ve also found some larger animals at a great price at Hobby Lobby. (Plus, they’re great for creating Montessori style language baskets.)

Play Kitchen

Play kitchens are so great for fine motor skills and pretend play. We don’t have a ton of space in our living room area, so we got a pretty small play kitchen. But both of my daughters absolutely love playing with it.

My toddler now will make a pretend cup of coffee from her play kitchen before curling up with me on the couch for morning reading time. It’s my absolute favorite thing.

Building Toys

Toddlers love to build. Building toys are great for fine motor skills as well as problem-solving skills. There’s so many options out there, but if I had to pick ONE for toddlers, I’d go with these plastic blocks. They’re sturdy and the way they fit together helps make structures more stable. Toddlers can build more without getting frustrated by their structures always falling down.

However, if you’re interested in more of my favorite building toys for both toddlers and preschoolers, you can check that post out here.

Baby Dolls/Stuffed Animals

Great for encouraging social emotional skills, baby dolls and stuffed animals are perfect additions for little ones. They can take care of them, love on them, and feel a sense of security from them. Add in some accessories like bottles or a crib and your little one will get to nurture their doll to their heart’s content.