My Top 5 Favorite Montessori Toy Resources
Montessori—you may have heard the term. When I first heard it, I associated it with schools of thought and education associated with bougie, soccer moms who paid WAY too much for their kid’s education :D And to be completely honest, I wasn't completely wrong, just not fully informed LOL! However, Montessori is much more than that. Montessori is a particular educational method created by Maria Montessori that emphasizes hands-on learning, independence, and the development of real-world skills.
Now, I’m a firm believer that balance is imperative and we’ve chosen the elements of Montessori in our lives that most closely align with our vision and values for our children and their education including incorporating exploration, self-guided learning, and sustainability (very important to me, as growing up the shelf-life of some of our plastic toys was very short given I have four brothers). The practice also emphasizes natural elements in play (which aligns beautifully with my love of wooden elements/furniture/accents) which we’ve incorporated whenever we can.
If any of this remotely resonates with you or how you might be interested in educating your children, I’ve listed out my top 5 favorite Montessori Toy Resources. The ones I’ve listed here are all I’ve used myself at one time or another, and have received raving reviews by my two top clients, Vivian and Charles.
They include:
LOVEVERY—by far my FAVORITE, as they have taken a lot of the guess-work out of The Montessori age-appropriate toy planning by allowing you to sign up for their toy subscription. Every 3 months, you receive an age-appropriate box of toys for your little. It is an expensive option, but if you have more than one child and start when they are young you will get 2x the use. Additionally, because they are well-made, if you only have one child and don’t have any further need you can donate, gift, or even sell the associated toys as they are very well made and make great gifts.
KiwiCo—this is a slightly more cost-effective version of toy subscription that focuses on the same principles of Montessori with a few different elements. There are some items I’ve liked within KiwiCo that LOVEVERY may not have used, and vice versa and so have used what fit my children best at the time.
Moonkie—very aesthetically pleasing and neutral-friendly brand that is quite popular; they have both playtime gift sets and feeding, drinking, and play sets that are sold in many stores.
Etsy—there are a wealth of wooden, handmade and precious Montessori toys here. You can search according to your child’s age, or just browse the options for what you like best.
Facebook Marketplace—the place I’d recommend after you’ve searched the above sites to see what deals you can score! I’ve gotten some significant deals, including free items from mamas who either no longer had a need or space for some wonderful items (here’s a great example of the cubby I scored for free!)
NOTE: I have purchased some items from Amazon as well that you may have seen in some of my videos; however, as an overall brand I do recommend the above as they have clearly outlined the specific measures they follow as far as the products, methods, and creation of their toys.
Finally, I’ve included some specific links if you want to see exactly what I’ve purchased, recommend, or have styled. Some of these links are affiliate, but they help support me, and so if you decide to purchase and want to support me then you already know I appreciate you!
I hope you find this list helpful, and let me know in the comments if you know of others I should add to my personal list!
-ASC
