Montessori Pick of the Day

Cuddle up in Your Tepee

One of my favorite toys is a tepee. Young children love finding a place to mellow out by themselves. Older children can even help you make a tepee and study the homes of Native Americans.

Here are some directions to make your own tepees:

Backyard Tepee

Children's Tepee

Story Tepee

Baby Ball

In the Montessori Manual it talks about a baby ball that is attached to a string so that a 3 year old can catch and throw the ball. It sounds a lot like a tetherball. What a good idea to keep the range of a ball fixed for young preschoolers.

Montessori Nesting House

This nesting toy is similar to the Montessori sensorial equipment, such as the brown or broad stair. It's a great first step to learn about less and more, big and small, and degrees of size from smallest to biggest.

The Best Toys for Your Kids

It's sometimes difficult to chose the right type of toy or activity for your child's personal interests and talent.

Here is a fun little quiz to help you with this. 

Cardboard Box Toys

My kids loved cardboard boxes. They made such awesome toys with their creativity.

This blog has some great ideas and link for cardboard box toys.

Here are some of my favorites.

Cone stacking toy

This cone stacking toy is like the pink tower-it varies enough so your child can put it together in a self-correcting way.  It's also a great extension for the Montessori solid shape cone. It shows the parts of a cone.

Rubber Duckie You're the One!

Rubber Ducks have never been so fun and educational. The circles on each duck can be counted and the number symbol is written on the bottom. It's a great way to match quantity to number symbols. Bath time can be a fun way to learn about numbers!

10 Little Rubber Ducks takes the story of 10 little toy ducks into a fun adventure.

This one  is written in English.

This one is written in Spanish

Playful Learning

Counting has never been so fun! This cookie counting game will interest any child, young or old.

Smart Splash Memory Match Clams  is a great memory game for a toddler.

or make your own memory game using small boxes with lids and fun objects.

Waldorf type doll

Waldorf type dolls are made from soft cloth with simple features and clothing. 

Here is a nice simple doll that will be a favorite for many years.

Art and Culture

Art and culture can meet in selection of wooden toys your child can handle, touch and learn about other parts of the world. I would buy my children hand carved animals and books about where the animals lived. It was an exciting safari adventure for us. You can travel any where in a book!

Here are some ideas of what is available.

This book covers 2 types of Rhinos, the ones in captivity and the ones in the wild.

This book, Horses and Rhinos: What They Have in Common , covers different animals in an interesting way. They compare what different animals have in common.