Montessori Toys for a 3-Year-Olds: Best Gift Ideas
When it comes to giving gifts to my children, I want them to be things that enhance our home and make it a more enjoyable and engaging place to be. In this Montessori gift guide, you’ll find a mix of fun, practical, and necessary things for the home environment. Check out my post about Christmas gift ideas for 2-year-olds; there are many great ideas in that post that would make great gifts for 3-year-olds as well!
I’ll break this up into three categories: open-ended toys, practical household items, and fine motor and large motor activities.
Open-Ended Toys and Games
Snap Beads
These snap beads seem like a fun toy for little hands. They definately would support open-ended play and would be engaging to our 3-year-old twin boys. It will help refine their fine motor development. I could also see a child making and following patterns with the beads.
Snap Beads
Engaging, fun, and full of lots of fine motor and finger dexterity. These early STEM toys would be a great birthday gift for a 3-year-old!
Magna Tiles
If I had to pick one toy from our house to keep out all of the time, it would be Magna Tiles. They are simple, yet so fun and appeal to any age group. I even think they are fun for adults. The best toys are those that offer engaging play for young children, but allow them to be creative along the way. Magna tiles are a great option as a gift, and can be something you continue to add to with more pieces at another time.
Play Silks from Sarah’s Silks
If you have a child who likes to dress up or build forts, Sarah’s Silks offers a variety of Play Silks and other dress-up and fort-making play items. Playsilks offer endless possibilities and are so much fun for children of various ages to engage in imaginative play. The best way to use play silks is through pretend play. Another great way to gift your Play Silk to your child is by using it to wrap up other gifts.
The large fort making silk and clips would be a perfect gift for your creative and imaginative preschooler or older toddlers. They will have a ton of fun making all sorts of forts during their play.
Board Games
Board games make great gifts for any 3-year-old. They support and encourage problem-solving skills as well as collaboration and communication with others. Some of the best Montessori toys are those that engage the child’s hands and mind while also supporting and encouraging practical life skills. Check out here for all of my toddler board game recommendations. You’ll have a lot of fun playing these games with your little one.
Practical Items for the Home
When you can give a practical gift that is also going to be loved by the child, those are the best gifts. Our homes aim to meet the developmental needs of the child. My favorite picks are those that help get a toddler or preschooler involved in practical life tasks.
Learning Tower
A learning tower has been essential in our Montessori kitchen. It is one of the best things we have in our home to support and foster independence in the kitchen. 3-year-olds enjoy helping and want to be involved in the work you are doing throughout the home. There are many options when it comes to learning towers, any would make an excellent choice. I have a whole learning tower blog post that guides you through choosing the best learning tower for your needs and space constraints.
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Apron
An apron has been on my gift list for my twin boys for many years now. I really should have gotten them one sooner; it would have likely saved me more money because of all the stained clothes they have from helping me in the kitchen without an apron. Oh well, live from my mistake, I suppose.
A consideration when getting an apron for a young toddler is to get something that they can take on and off independently. Having a velcro strap to secure the apron in place over a tie makes it much easier for the child to put the apron on and off by themselves.
Binoculars
If you have a little explorer, or two like I do, then some binoculars would make the best birthday or Christmas gift. A child’s natural curiosity will be supported with a pair of binoculars, as they enjoy exploring the world around them.
Binoculars
These binoculars are lightweight and great for both kids and adults. These would make such a great gift for a preschooler!
Fine Motor and Large Motor Activities
Motor skills development can be supported in many different ways. Old-fashioned time outdoors is perfect for kids to run, jump, and learn how to move their body in coordinated (or not so coordinated ways!) Fine motor and large motor activities both help to support the development and concentration of young children; both are important and both offer hands-on experiences.
Pikler Triangle
A Pikler triangle, or Montessori climbing triangle, is a great indoor play structure to have on those rainy days or cold or very hot parts of the year. I have a whole blog post dedicated to sharing with you a few handpicked Montessori climbing triangle recommendations. Check it out here! If you don’t already have any indoor climbing furniture, now would be the perfect time to get something like a Pikler triangle to support the physical development of your child, and support and encourage more physical activity.
If you are looking for more indoor and outdoor climbing structures, check out this post!
Strider Bike
Strider bikes are a great next step from a balance bike. It helps with the coordination and core strengthening needed for riding a bike, without the use of pedals. The child will push their feet off the ground to move the bike forward. Gross motor skills, such as biking, are great activities for your toddler and preschooler to enjoy. A strider bike would make a great gift. They are a little bit on the spendy side when it comes to children’s toys, so I looked and found our boys’ bikes second-hand on Facebook Marketplace! I also got them these helmets, which have been great and will be able to be used for years because it is adjustable.
Scooter
A scooter makes a wonderful Montessori-friendly gift for an older toddler or preschooler. Riding a scooter supports gross motor development by strengthening leg muscles, improving balance, and enhancing coordination. Not to mention that it will naturally encourage outdoor play, which nurtures independence, spatial awareness, and confidence. A scooter invites movement and active exploration!
Scooter
This design of scooter will be great because it has 3 wheels, allowing it to stay standing up all on its own, removing the frustration of getting on and off of the scooter!
Beginner Handy Work Basket
If you are looking for a DIY gift idea with a lot of heart and intentionality, then consider putting together a beginner handywork basket. Activities like plate sewing with a blunt needle and canvas sewing with yarn make great beginning handicraft projects. The plastic canvas was something I used in the classroom with handicraft projects, and it was sturdy and simple to use for the children. Here are some different canvas shapes that could be fun to use, or you can buy them in full sheets.
GeoBoard
A geo board is such a fun and versatile gift for a 3-year-old, and it’s one of those toys that grows with them. Starting, my boys have just loved stretching the colorful rubber bands to make shapes, patterns, and little “pictures”. It is great knowing they’re working on fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination by stretching those bands over the pegs. It’s a great open-ended, screen, and fine motor activity that will be engaging for years to come. I know this material will come in handy when the boys are learning about geometry concepts in the future!
Homemade Playdough and Playdough Kit Tools
Playdough offers so many opportunities for play, concentration, creativity, and sensory play. A fun way to make playdough more exciting is by offering some playdough kit tools. I also swear by making playdough from home! You can do it in 5 minutes (get the recipe here!) If you want to see me make playdough, check out this video tutorial! I would much prefer to offer sensory exploration through playdough than with sensory bins.
To make it a thoughtful and meaningful gift, you can put the homemade playdough into little containers, add some tools and accessories for the playdough, and package it all up in its storage container. For more ideas and inspiration on how to set up a Montessori-inspired playdough kit, check out this blog post!
Tools for Playdough:
- press-in objects
Yoto Player
The Yoto Player is such a wonderful gift for a 3-year-old because it gives them the joy of stories and music without the overstimulation of screens. It encourages independence; their little hands can choose and insert the story cards themselves, building confidence and decision-making skills. I love that it nurtures a love for listening and imagination, while still keeping the experience simple, tactile, and child-led.
