DIY Montessori Toys
The eccentric and unconventional world of the Montessori Method, developed by Dr. Maria Montessori integrates a plethora of unique concepts that promote holistic development in children.
One of the most exciting features of the Montessori Method of education is the extremely intriguing and engaging Montessori Toys.
Unlike traditional toys that often overwhelm and overstimulate the child, toys aligned with the Montessori Philosophy provide the child with age-appropriate stimuli.
Not only do these amazing toys provide your child with the requisite sensorial stimuli but they also promote both physical and cognitive development in the child.
Moreover, Montessori Toys are a great way of incorporating complex as well as arbitrary concepts into the child’s curriculum.
But with all their glory and hard-to-miss benefits, there is one minor setback to these captivating Montessori Toys, i.e., they are quite expensive.
No matter what the price of Montessori Toys is, there is nothing a little bit of hard work and a touch of creativity can’t do.
If you are interested in incorporating Montessori Toys into your child’s environment without breaking the bank, look no further.
Here are unique and definitely effective DIY Montessori toys that will provide your child with the benefits of Montessori Toys with materials available at your home.
Contents
What are Montessori Toys, Exactly?
Ideally, Montessori Toys are common toys that align with the Montessori Principles and Montessori Philosophy.
These Toys are integrated into the Montessori Prepared Environment and often encourage the child to learn through experimenting.
Contrary to traditional toys, Montessori toys are minimalistic in terms of appearance and are neither flashy nor noisy as they might overwhelm the child.
Montessori toys should be accessible, easy to manipulate, maneuver, handle, touch, and definitely child-friendly.
Montessori Toys should also facilitate the development of fine motor skills in children from a young age.
14 Creative DIY Montessori Toy Ideas!
Why create your own DIY Montessori Toys? Well, why should you not? The Montessori Method of education is a pedagogical tool that provides children with a myriad of opportunities that promote holistic development.
However, Montessori Toys are made from high quality naturally sourced materials that not only make them effective but also quite expensive when compared to traditional plastic toys.
If you are interested in creating your own toys but lack the courage and creativity, no need to panic.
DIY Montessori Toys are as effective as any other expensive Montessori Toy and provide children with sensorial stimuli to promote sensory development.
These DIY toys not only take care of the immediate needs and requirements of the child but are also highly versatile and can be used in multiple ways as the child grows older.
To help you create your very own Montessori Toys with the help of materials and components present at your home, here are some creative and intriguing do-it-yourself Montessori Toy ideas:
Learn more about these fascinating DIY Montessori Toy Ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmqen3cueuY
1. Montessori Sensory Bags:
One of the key principles of the Montessori Method is sensory development and sensory stimulation.
This Montessori Sensory toy is unlike no other and can be whipped up within minutes with supplies available at your home.
If you are in search of an affordable toy that will stimulate your child’s visual and tactile senses, Montessori Sensory Bags are meant for you.
All you need are some handy zip-lock bags, fill them up with hair gel with different colored food coloring and add any object of your child to provide your child with an extraordinary sensory experience.
This Montessori DIY toy can also be taped down on a board or the floor to create your very own sensory boards.
2. Montessori Sensory Bottles:
This DIY Montessori Toy is a different variant of the Montessori Sensory Bags that provides children with exciting visual stimuli.
These Montessori Sensory bottles are also called discovery bottles and can be a fun way of upcycling unused plastic bottles left around at home.
It is as simple as filling up the sensory bottle with colored water (water mixed with food coloring) and adding any item or object of your choice into the bottle.
Not only do these bottles stimulate the visual sense of the child but when introduced in conjunction with grains, beans, or rice, these sensory bottles also stimulate the auditory sense of the child.
3. Rainbow Rings:
Rainbow rings are a fun way of stimulating the tactile sense of the child. It is as simple as using wooden hoops you can find in a craft store and rainbow-colored ribbons to add a touch of color to the toy.
Not only does this exciting toy stimulate and develop the child’s tactile sense but they also promote imaginative play and promote the development of the child’s self-confidence as well as creative imagination.
4. DIY Montessori Shakers:
Just like Montessori Sound cylinders that enhance and develop the child’s auditory sense, DIY Montessori Shakers are fun and affordable for keeping your child entertained for hours on end.
For this DIY project, you need a cylindrical can with a lid or any used cylindrical can or container with a lid you want to recycle or upcycle.
You can add beads, beans, rice, or any other small object to produce different sounds that will stimulate your child’s auditory sense.
5. Textured Blocks:
The last of the sensory toys are the DIY Montessori Textured Blocks that stimulate the child’s tactile sense.
All you need is a wooden block of two types of graded wood, one should be smooth in terms of texture, and the other can be coarse.
These different textures provide children with a unique sensory experience and help them distinguish between varied textures.
6. Tugging Lids:
Unlike the former Montessori Toys mentioned above, this DIY Montessori Toy helps with the enhancement of hand-eye coordination.
The DIY Montessori Tugging lids are perfect for developing the child’s fine motor skills and refining their hand-eye coordination.
All you need is an old lid you would like to upcycle or recycle and poke a few holes in them.
You can then tie different colored ribbons or strings through these holes and tie knots on both ends of the ribbons to avoid them from coming apart.
By pulling or tugging on the ribbons not only will your child be entertained for hours on end, but this activity will also promote them to coordinate their visual sense with their hand movements.
7. Object Permanence Box:
The DIY Object permanence Box is an at-home take on the classic wooden Montessori object permanence box which can be quite expensive.
All you need for this DIY Montessori Toy is an old cardboard box and a creative imagination.
This Box will promote children to fully comprehend the concept of object permanence as well as develop their hand-eye coordination.
8. Posting Box:
A DIY Montessori Posting box promotes children to coordinate their movements with their visual sense by putting objects or cards inside a hole.
For this DIY Montessori toy, you will require a container or a can with a lid you would like to upcycle and cut a small slit on the lid.
Another important component of this DIY Montessori toy is a collection of cards of varying lengths.
This promotes the child to compute, analyze, and identify different dimensions and helps them develop an understanding of varying lengths.
9. Box with a Latch:
Children especially during the first plane of development are intrigued by different stimuli present in their environment.
If you have noticed your toddler or child constantly exploring door knobs or latches this DIY Montessori Toy is meant for you!
All you need for this DIY project is a simple wooden box with a latch your child can manipulate.
10. Color Matching Tray:
This Montessori DIY Toy not only promotes children to utilize hand-eye coordination but also develops sorting skills.
Children with the help of this DIY Color matching tray are able to differentiate between different colors and match them.
All you need is an egg carton with different colored compartments and their corresponding colored pom-pom balls.
11. Dry Transfering Box:
Encourage your child to excavate and discover new objects with the help of this DIY Dry Transfering Box!
For this DIY Montessori Toy, you will require a container, beans or rice, and different objects to be covered under the beans or rice.
You will also need a shovel or a spoon with which the child will be encouraged to scoop out objects from the rice or beans.
This DIY Montessori Toy promotes children to scoop, pour, and transfer objects that facilitate the development of fine motor skills.
12. Family Face Cards:
This DIY Montessori Toy falls under the category of language development in children.
The DIY Family Faces Cards Toy is a great way of promoting your child to identify as well as recognize their family members and loved ones.
This simple Montessori DIY Toy requires polaroid pictures of family members or loved ones with their designated names.
For prolonged use and increased longevity, you can also prefer to laminate these cards.
13. DIY Classification Cards:
Another DIY Montessori Language Toy is the DIY Classification cards that allow your child to identify and recognize objects in their surrounding environment.
For this DIY Montessori toy you will need a little extra creative imagination and technical skills as you will be required to copy and print your very own images with their corresponding names.
The Materials displayed on the DIY Classification Cards should closely resemble the objects your child is using at the moment.
For prolonged use and increased longevity, you can also prefer to laminate these cards.
14. Object to card matching:
This Montessori DIY Toy is a fun way of developing and expanding your child’s vocabulary.
For this Montessori DIY Toy you will need objects or figurines with their corresponding image cards.
It is imperative to choose images that exactly resemble the figurines as the child will be placing the figurines over the image cards to match them.
Different perspectives, angles, or shapes of animals will not only jeopardize the matching process but will also confuse the child.
Why make DIY Montessori Toys?
Montessori Toys are a great way of incorporating exciting yet meaningful stimuli into the child’s environment that promotes sensory development.
However, these toys due to being manufactured from high-quality wood exceptionally effective but also quite expensive at the same time.
Montessori DIY Toys are one of the best and most affordable ways of incorporating the benefits of Montessori Wooden Toys without breaking the bank.
In fact, Montessori DIY Toys not only provide you with the benefit of affordability but also give you an opportunity to create personalized or customized toys that accommodate all the developmental needs and requirements of your child.
See Also: