21 Best Montessori Toys For 2-Year-Olds 2023

As a parent of three young children, I’ve seen firsthand how Montessori toys improved my children’s development. When my twin sons turned two, I incorporated more Montessori-inspired toys into their playtime. The focus on independence, hands-on learning, and concentration really resonated with them.

Over the years, I’ve learned so much about the unique benefits of Montessori toys for toddlers. In this comprehensive guide, I’ll share everything I know to help you choose the best Montessori toys for your 2-year-old. I picked out toys that my children loved and still play with. In addition, I added some of the top-rated 2-year-old Montessori toys.

Developmental Areas For 2-Year-Olds That Improve with Montessori Toys:

Montessori toys support development and help toddlers improve key skills.

Here are some key areas to focus on with 2-year-olds:

• Sensory development
• Fine motor skills
• Gross motor skills
• Language skills
• Cognitive skills

21 Best Montessori Toys For 2-Year-Olds

I listed the toys that my sons loved and some of the Montessori toys I have incorporated for my daughter. They are toys that tend to be engaging and provide a challenge for children. They can develop some of the key skills above with these toys.

1. 6 Pack Animal Jigsaw Toddler Puzzles

These wooden puzzles are a set of six animal jigsaw puzzles for toddlers. They are designed to help children learn and develop skills like patience, imagination, color and shape recognition, and hand-eye coordination through play. The puzzles are made of safe, high-quality wood with non-toxic paint and are a great gift option for boys and girls.

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2. Dailyfunn Montessori Toys Color & Shape Sorting Box

This toy is a Montessori-inspired learning and sorting box for babies and toddlers. It includes 25 wooden pieces in various colors and shapes, along with 13 answer cards to promote logical thinking and skill development in areas like motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and shape and color matching.

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3. Montessori Wooden Sensory Busy Board

This wooden sensory toy offers a variety of interactive activities for young children, promoting fine motor skills, brain development, and basic life skills through play. It’s designed to keep kids engaged, whether at home or while traveling, and encourages cognitive development and problem-solving while ensuring safety and durability.

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4. Montessori Mama Wooden Toy Dinosaur Puzzle

These wooden puzzles for toddlers and young children offer cognitive learning and sensory stimulation through colorful dinosaur shapes. They are made from safe and eco-friendly materials, promoting fine motor skills, concentration, and self-confidence as children complete the puzzles.

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5. Melissa & Doug Self-Correcting Alphabet Wooden Puzzle

This educational alphabet puzzle set contains 52 wooden pieces, allowing kids to learn the ABCs by matching letters to pictures. The puzzles are self-correcting, helping children develop a sense of mastery, and they come in a sturdy wooden storage box for easy organization.

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6. Montessori Wooden Play Food Set Fruits and Vegetables

This wooden play food set includes a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, a tray, and a knife, offering kids the opportunity to engage in pretend play and enhance motor skills and logical thinking. It’s made of safe and durable materials, providing a fun and educational gift option for young children.

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7. 6 Piece Colorful Montessori Toys For 2 Year Olds

This set of six wooden toys includes various shapes and bright colors, providing endless fun for kids. These Montessori-inspired toys are made of high-quality wood with water-based paint, ensuring safety while promoting skills like imagination, creativity, motor abilities, hand-eye coordination, and more.

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8. 4-in-1 Montessori 2-Year-Old Toys

This 4-in-1 toy set for babies and toddlers includes various educational elements like building blocks, stacking rings, pull-string toys, and sensory cubes. It promotes the development of skills like color and shape recognition, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, reasoning, and sensory exploration, all while ensuring safety with high-quality materials.

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9. Melissa & Doug Safari Wooden Chunky Puzzle

This wooden puzzle consists of 8 chunky pieces with colorful pictures of safari animals, making it easy for young children to grasp and manipulate. It encourages hand-eye coordination and imaginative play, making it a great gift for preschoolers aged 2 to 4.

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10. 30Pcs Stacking Building Blocks Toys

This set of Montessori stacking toys includes 30 colorful blocks of various shapes and sizes, encouraging toddlers to create their own designs and improve their logical thinking skills. These educational toys also promote fine motor skills, problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, color recognition, and creativity while being easy to store and carry with a provided bag.

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11. Magnetic Color & Number Maze Montessori Toy 2+

This magnetic color and number maze toy features 55 magnetic beads in various colors and numbers, promoting fine motor skills while helping kids learn colors and numbers. It encourages children to practice color matching and counting skills while developing patience, focus, and coordination through Montessori-inspired learning.

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12. Wooden Sensory Board Switch Toy

This light-up busy board features various buttons, switches, lights, and a mirror, providing sensory stimulation and improving recognition abilities. It’s designed for children aged 1 to 6, promoting motor skills and problem-solving while ensuring safety with high-quality materials.

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13. Animals Wooden Puzzles Toddler Toy

These wooden puzzles for toddlers are made with safety in mind, featuring high-quality natural wood and non-toxic paint. They offer educational fun with 8 animal-themed puzzles, promoting concentration, hand-eye coordination, and color recognition, making them ideal gifts for young children.

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14. Sensory Stacking Building Blocks

These toddler building blocks come in six irregular shapes of various sizes, encouraging children to match and stack them as they explore different heights and patterns. The colorful appearance, fun sounds, and textured surfaces stimulate sensory development, making them versatile and educational toys for young children.

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15. 29Pcs Montessori Kids Tool Set with Box

This wooden tool set includes a versatile toolbox that can transform into a workbench or a storage suitcase, promoting organization skills in children. The set encourages imaginative play with screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches, and more, improving fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and problem-solving abilities.

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16. Melissa & Doug 3-Puzzle Jigsaw Set

This set includes three wooden jigsaw puzzles featuring realistic images of dinosaurs, ocean creatures, and safari animals. It promotes hand-eye coordination and problem-solving skills, making it a great gift for kids aged 3 and up, and comes with a sturdy wooden tray for easy play.

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17. Tiny Land 4-in-1 Montessori Toys for 2 Year Old

This 4-in-1 Montessori toy set includes activities like color matching, lacing beads, shape sorting, and season puzzles to promote cognitive development and fine motor skills. It encourages creativity and self-confidence in children while ensuring safety with non-toxic, high-quality materials.

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18. Busy Board 7-in-1 Preschool Learning Activities For Girls

This special 7-in-1 busy board for girls has lots of fun things to do, like learning about life skills, letters, numbers, shapes, colors, animals, and weather. It’s not just fun; it also helps kids learn how to do important things, use their hands well, solve problems, and get smarter.

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19. Busy Board 7-in-1 Preschool Learning Activities For Boys

This 7-in-1 toddler busy board for boys offers a variety of learning activities, including life skills, alphabet, numbers, shapes, colors, animals, and weather. It’s designed to teach practical life skills, enhance cognition, and promote quiet, engaged play at home or during travel.

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20. Wooden Educational Stem Construction Toys

This toddler tool set includes 34 wooden toy tool parts like saws, screwdrivers, and hammers, providing an educational and safe play experience for kids. Made of high-quality solid wood with non-toxic paint, these durable tools encourage hands-on learning, creativity, and parent-child interaction, making them ideal gifts for preschoolers.

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21. Magnetic Color & Number Maze Montessori Toy

This magnetic color and number maze toy helps kids learn colors and counting through a fun shark-themed game. It’s a safe and mess-free Montessori toy that enhances fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and logical thinking while keeping children engaged and focused.

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8 Key Benefits of Montessori Toys For 2-Year-Olds

1. Promote Concentration and Attention Span

Montessori toys are designed to engage a child’s focus and concentration. Activities with clear objectives keep toddlers attentive for longer periods. Enhanced concentration primes them for learning.

2. Allow for Open-Ended, Creative Play

The versatility of Montessori toys means there is no prescribed way to play. Kids can use them creatively, developing imagination and problem-solving skills. This open-ended play encourages exploration.

3. Develop Fine and Gross Motor Skills

Many Montessori toys involve fine motor activities like grasping, pinching, twisting, and spinning. Manipulating pieces enhances dexterity and hand-eye coordination. Others require climbing, walking, or maintaining balance, improving gross motor control.

4. Support Language Development and Cognition

Montessori toys often incorporate language learning. Matching pictures to words, naming objects, and conversations during play boosts vocabulary. Sequencing and classifying toys build cognitive abilities.

5. Teach Practical, Real-Life Skills

Montessori toys replicate real tools and activities. Pretend toolsets, kitchens, and cleaning supplies teach practical skills for everyday life. Mastering these boosts independence and self-confidence.

6. Encourage Independence and Responsibility

Montessori encourages children to choose activities, problem-solve, and care for their space and toys. This fosters self-reliance, personal responsibility, and capability from a young age.

7. Foster Problem-Solving Abilities

The challenge of manipulating certain Montessori toys requires creativity and logic. Figuring out solutions promotes resilience, critical thinking, and reasoning skills.

8. Utilize Natural Materials for Sensory Input

Many Montessori toys use natural materials like wood, cloth, or glass. Sensory exploration of these materials stimulates brain development in toddlers.

Types of Montessori Toys for 2-Year-Olds

There are several types of Montessori toys that are ideal for 2-year-olds. Each type targets different developmental areas.

Sensory Toys

Sensory toys like sandpaper letters, musical instruments, and sensory bins expose children to different textures, sounds, sights, and tactile experiences. Playing with sensory materials builds nerve connections in the brain and helps develop fine motor skills.

Motor Skills Toys

Motor skills toys like wooden puzzles, bead mazes, and pegboards help improve hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and muscle control. Manipulating these toys assists with visual tracking and lays the foundation for future writing skills.

Language & Cognitive Toys

Language and cognitive toys like naming puzzles, object matching games, and books expand vocabulary, grow listening skills, and support cognitive abilities. Identifying objects, colors, letters, shapes, numbers, and words promotes cognitive development.

Pretend Play Toys

Pretend play toys like play kitchens, cleaning sets, and dollhouses encourage roleplaying, storytelling, and imagination. Acting out real-life roles and mimicking grown-up tasks promotes creativity, independence, and responsibility.

5 Ways to Encourage Independent Play for 2-Year-Olds

1. Provide Child-Size Furniture

Allowing access to low shelves and tables tailored to their height lets them freely reach toys and materials. Having furniture at their level gives them a sense of ownership over their play space.

2. Use Open Toy Displays

Low, open shelving and bins allow them to view and select toys without help. Seeing materials clearly laid out promotes decision-making.

3. Incorporate Different 2-Year-Old Montessori Toys

Swapping toys can help maintain novelty and pique their interest in different toys. Rotating toys prevents boredom and teaches adaptability.

4. Follow Their Lead and Offer Guidance

Observe their play cues and allow them to direct activities rather than jumping in. Letting them lead builds confidence and independence.

5. Let Them Take Responsibility for Cleaning and Organizing

Permit them to choose toys independently and care for them by cleaning up. Taking responsibility teaches important life skills.

Incorporating Other Educational Toys and Educational Activities for Kids

While Montessori toys have great benefits for toddlers, you can slowly transition away from relying solely on them as your child grows older. Around ages 3-4, start mixing in more open-ended toys and activities along with the Montessori materials.

5 Tips For Shifting From Montessori Toys to Other Educational Activities

The key is following your child’s lead. Move at their pace while slowly decreasing reliance on Montessori toys. Find a balance between structured Montessori materials and more creative, exploratory toys. Pay attention to their interests and developmental stages as you make the transition.

1. Arts & Crafts:

Introduce arts and crafts supplies like paint, scissors, glue, and different types of paper. These encourage creativity, fine motor skills, and problem-solving.

2. Games & Puzzles:

Add games and puzzles that require more critical thinking and have multiple solutions or outcomes. These build cognitive flexibility.

3. Building Toys:

Incorporate building toys like blocks or LEGOs which allow for imaginative, open-ended play.

4. Social Toys:

Provide toys that promote social interaction like playhouses, toy cars/trucks, or dress-up clothes. These teach cooperation with others.

5. Outdoor Toys:

Offer outdoor toys like balls, frisbees, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, jump ropes, and pool toys to get them active and engaged with nature.

Conclusion

Montessori toys provide toddlers with an enriching, hands-on way to explore their environments and develop new skills. Keep Montessori principles in mind as you choose engaging toys for your 2-year-old. With quality materials and plenty of independence, Montessori toys can enrich development across sensory, motor, cognitive, and language domains.