What Are Montessori Toys?
In the Montessori education system, each of the toys and materials is prepared for a single skill and is divided into five different groups. These groups are; daily life skills, sense, mathematics, language and cosmic education. Daily life skills materials and toys consist of all kinds of tools that the child may encounter in his daily life, where he can improve his skills such as hand washing, buttoning and eating. Cleaning kits, dinnerware, shoelaces, velcro, etc. are among the daily life skills toys. Montessori tools are real materials instead of miniature toys of materials used in daily life. Tools such as kitchen counters and dining tables are adjusted according to the height of the children, and the materials are presented to the child regularly and frequently so that the child can gain daily life skills. Daily life skills also prepare the child for the sensory, mathematics, language and geography group.
Sensory materials, on the other hand, contain tools that stimulate the child’s different sense organs. Bells, rollers, color boxes, sound boxes and touch tablets are some of the sensory materials.
Tools such as red and blue number sticks, sandpaper numbers, small and large number beads, and addition and subtraction boards create math materials. Language materials include tools such as sandpaper letters, adjective practice small and large animated alphabets, noun and verb cards, and grammar box, while animals, maps, models of the solar system, and spheres form cosmic education materials. The purpose of the cosmic education group is for children to acquire information about the world and universe they live in.
Montessori toys allow to support baby development and child development in the best way in all areas.
Montessori Toys by Age Groups
In the Montessori approach, it is aimed to provide an environment suitable for each child’s age, development and abilities, so toys suitable for that age are used for each age group. Some of the toys recommended for each age group are as follows.
0-12 months toys;
● Books
● Mobile
● Rattle
● Mirror
● Grab pull toys
● Materials that improve the sense of touch, vision and hearing
1 year old toys;
● Throwing balls, shapes and objects out of holes
● Ring-to-bar
● A few piece puzzle with handles
● Blocks
● Color matching
2 year old toys;
● Puzzle
● Shapes
● Color matching
● Blocks
● Geometric towers
3 year old toys;
● Numbers
● Geometric Table
● Play Dough
● Grouping Tray
● Bead threading set
4 year old toys;
● Wooden fruit and vegetable cutting set
● Taste Bottles
● Number Bars
● lacing
5 year old toys;
● Sand tray
● sandpaper letters
● Ring Throw
● Wood repair/kitchen set
6 years old toys;
● World map puzzle
● Sand tray
● Carpet loom
● Multipurpose math Cubes
● Board games