Learning and exploring doesn’t need to end in the classroom. Parents and caregivers can set up unique and fun learning environments in the home too, which can work hand in hand with what children are learning from the Montessori classroom. This is especially useful over the summertime to keep young, curious minds engaged over the long summer vacation.
These fun, educational wooden toys are great additions to your Montessori supplies and can be rotated in and out of your child’s play space throughout the summer.
Wooden nesting blocks
Montessori education works with getting children invested in and interested in nature and the world around them. These blocks feature animals from a giant elephant to a tiny seahorse and need to be carefully balanced to be stacked according to size. When they are stacked correctly, they measure almost three feet tall. Children from Montessori classrooms will notice a likeness to the stacking towers they find in their schools and will know how to manipulate the blocks already.
Wooden animals
We are loving these Taksa Toy animals. They come in a set of very simple animal figure wooden toys, but they have missing pieces: the legs, wings, antlers are all missing. You and your children can head outside to find some leaves, sticks and flowers to complete the animals in their own creative and unique ways. This gives you time to help your child appreciate nature and to see, smell, taste and feel a variety of natural elements as they are creating their own learning.
These smaller, wooden animals are great for make believe play, sorting and counting activities, or adding to a sensory bin. They come in a variety of animals and include a little wooden “barn” for the animals to be stored in when not in play.
Sorting sets
These wooden sorting acorns fit nicely into a Spring themed learning activity center as we talk to children about growth and seeds. They’re perfect for youngsters learning colors too as little ones love sorting everything they sees. These can be used as a counting activity, a matching game, or however your little one imagines with their rainbow colors and matching bowls.
Stackable art
This giant wooden rainbow nests inside itself to form a rainbow shape but can also be used in endless other imaginative ways as children explore shape and color. It’s nice for learning because it is compatible with other stacking and building objects available from the same toy creator, which means children can interact with pieces in a variety of ways.
Race Cars
Working on cause and effect? Practicing fine motor skills? There are lots of skills to be mastered while playing with these brightly colored race cars. It encourages pretend play but also invites curious minds to wonder why their car is making noise, or where the car will stop moving. Incorporating the skills necessary to question the world around them into play time makes this a great addition to your toy collections.
Crumb sweeper
Although, not necessarily a toy, this wooden crumb sweeper with an included brush offers children the opportunity to be responsible citizens. Encouraging young children to clean up after themselves is an important life skill, and expected if they’ve made a mess. This wooden and metal set is the perfect size for small hands and is even fun to use. There’s a little magnet on the brush to attach it to the pan when not in use. It will quickly become one of your most used Montessori tools, especially if you’re using any kinds of sensory boxes with rice, pasta, or other small, messy pieces.
What are some of the best tools you’ve discovered for your Montessori space? Contact us today if you have any questions about how you can Montessori at home, or why Hudson Montessori school might be the perfect place for your child to grow.