Montessori Friendly Gift Ideas for 3 Years and Older (2017)

I would like to make this post brief and to the point.  We don’t have a lot of toys at home, so I only have a short list.  I called this list “Montessori friendly” because these are toys that my kids would actually play on a regular basis.  To get the best of toys for your kids, it is better that you are aware of what they really really like and what makes them happy.

So to give you ideas on what my kids love to play at home scroll down below to check them out.


1. BRUDER TRUCKS

MY PICKS:  MAN Cattle Transportation Truck with Cattle and Man Side Loading Garbage Truck

A favourite at home, both played indoors and outdoors!   More of Bruder here (Fun with Bruder Cattle Truck).


2.  LEGO AIRPLANES

MY PICKS: Airport Cargo Plane,  LEGO Creator Space Shuttle Explorer and LEGO City Airport Passenger Terminal 60104

Both of my kids are obsessed with LEGO airplanes, may it be the space shuttle (Vito owns this) or the passenger (Mavi’s).

3. FLOOR OR FRAMED PUZZLES

MY PICK:  Melissa & Doug Jumbo Jigsaw Floor Puzzle Set - Solar System and Underwater or Melissa & Doug Vehicles Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles Set

Vito loves puzzles! We started with the framed puzzles and now he is obsessed with 48 piece puzzles!


4.  MARBLE MAZE / RUN

MY PICK: MindWare Q-BA-MAZE 2.0 Mega Stunt Set

We love this marble run! It is so entertaining to watch the marbles run through the stained tubes and fun to play with the kids! The best thing about this marble run is that it’s very stable unlike some wooden marble runs in the market.  It can be played on a carpet or on flat wooden floors and if unused, you can just display it on top of your shelf!


5.  BASKET BALL HOOPS

MY PICK:  Little Tikes EasyScore Basketball Set (4 yrs and younger), Little Tikes Adjust and Jam Pro for 5 yrs and older, Fisher-Price Grow-to-Pro Basketball

Favourite outdoor toy!  You see me taking pictures of the boys with this outdoor in my Instagram most of the time.

6. HAMMERING TOY

MY PICK: HABA Tap & Tack Imaginative Design Play Set with Corkboard, Hammer, Templates and 100 Wooden Tiles

7. MAGNATILES

MY PICKS:  Magna-Tiles Clear Colors 100 Piece Set and Playmags 118 Piece Set

Click image for related post (Magnatiles for Creativity).


8.  TAKE-APART TOY

MY PICK:  Battat Take-Apart Crane Toy Truck and Battat Take-Apart Airplane Toy


I highly recommend this too! The boys can't stop bickering on who would use it first!  The toy is sturdy, big and the electric drill makes it more engaging. (Click image for related post - Introducing Kids to Construction Tools)

9. TRAIN AND TRACKS

MY PICK:  Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Railway Train Set

Oh my, who doesn’t like toy trains right?

10.  IMAGINATIVE PLAY

MY PICK:  Playmobil, Barn House or Play Kitchen

My kids love imaginative play, whether it's creating fortress, pirates or cooking in the kitchen.  We don’t own a play kitchen because we have no space.  But if we do, I wouldn’t think twice for getting one for my kids.  We do own a number of Playmobil sets which I featured a couple of times here in the blog and Instagram, the boys love them too!

11. SCOOTER

MY PICK:  Micro Maxi Kick Scooter, Children Helmet

This has been with us for 5 years now, previously owned by Mavi and now Vito is using it. It is worth the money!  Vito can’t live without it whenever we’re in the park.


12. GRIMMS WOODEN TOYS

MY PICK: Grimm's Large Four Elements Building Set, Grimm's Large 12-Piece Rainbow Stacker


13.  PLANETARIUM

MY PICK:  Discovery Channel - Planetarium (UK)

Very expensive in the US but very much affordable in UK, this planetarium was given to us as a gift and is well loved by the boys.  I posted in my Instagram how much the boys enjoyed viewing the constellations in the room at night.  Note though, there are times that the constellation isn’t clean, that’s because my son’s room has lots of posters in it.  But really, this amazes them, my youngest is so enchanted!  I wish they can produce something that’s not just constellation but also galaxies and other objects in the universe!

14.  KINETIC SAND

MY PICK: Kinetic Sand

Indeed! Best sensorial toy I’ve ever invested in.  I bought a 25lbs so that there’s enough for the the two kids (they fight over the sand), and it was worthit! We use it to mould shapes, play with animals, create landscapes and just about anything! (Click image for some related stories! - Montessori Geometric Solids as a Sensorial Material)