Ultimate Montessori Gift Guide for a One-Year-Old
This is my attempt at an all-inclusive gift guide for a one-year-old. To be honest, I started this post before Charlotte was even a year old. However, now that she is approaching two, I feel like I have a better idea of what to choose and what to skip. I have included many items that we own, but plenty that we do not. I have also excluded items that we had obtained but didn’t live up to their hype.
Of course it is not necessary to own everything on this list. Charlotte did NOT get all of this all at once. Much of it she had before she turned one, and other items she received as gifts throughout the year. Some of it we don’t have. Since every child is different, other children may have different preferences. These are simply our suggestions for gifts for the second year of life.
I have organized them into the following categories:
Practical life materials
Gross motor materials
Books and language building materials
Music
Toys for fine-motor and cognitive skills
Art
It is important that a child’s materials challenge him or her in a range of areas - not just one or two. *Quality* and *range* is important, rather than quantity.
Some of the toys mentioned here are appropriate for children under one year, which I have noted. Additionally, many of these toys will serve the child well beyond a year, so do revisit the list for Christmases and subsequent birthdays.
So here goes… (this post contains affiliate links)
Practical Life Materials
Note: ALL of the practical life items are appropriate gifts for children under 1-year-old and for older toddlers and preschool-aged children.
Kitchen - larger items
child-sized table (narrower version) (legs would need cut down)
child-sized chair (or try this 2 pack and use the other as a dressing chair)
Tripp Trapp -the high chair that fosters independence
food prep station with space for dishes/utensils storage (see our children’s kitchenette here)
learning tower or IKEA Bekvam step stool (see our DIY learning tower made from this step stool here)
Kitchen - smaller items
apron
water pitcher
*real* child-sized silverware
dishes
glasses
plates
bowls
child-sized kitchen utensils such as:
wooden spoon
turner
tongs, tongs, tongs
whisk
masher
first knife
IKEA utensil set
Care of self
toilet insert with step and handles
small chair for dressing - (This particular set of 2 is available in 6″ or 8″ heights) - We have one in the bedroom by the dressing area and one by the front door for putting on and taking off shoes. A cube chair would be fantastic for this application as well.
low, accessible dresser
full-length mirror
wall hooks (great for placing near the front door to hang a coat or jacket)
child-sized comb and hair brush (any travel-sized brush would be appropriate)
child-sized face cloths
baskets - for storing clean undies by the toilet, or as a place to put a pair of shoes by the front door
child-sized toilet
cotton training pants
IKEA Bekvam step stool - perfect for reaching the bathroom sink
(I did not include soap, a toothbrush or travel-sized toothpaste on this list, all of which would also be fantastic care-of-self area items, but not so much as gifts.)
Care of self books
These books are great for placing near the care of self area, particularly the toilet.
Get Dressed by Gwenyth Swain
Going to the Potty by Fred Rogers
Once Upon a Potty by Alona Frankel
My First Body Board Book
Wash Up by Gwenyth Swain
Potty by Leslie Patricelli
Bedtime by Gwenyth Swain (goes into quite a bit of self care)
Care of environment - (see Charlotte’s care of environment shelves here)
Tidy Up by Gwenyth Swain
dust pan and brush
Swiffer Sweeper (with one of the links removed to make it short)
duster
cleaning cloths or sponges
buckets and baskets
watering can
Gross motor materials
Our absolute favorites (must haves in my opinion):
trike - for indoor and outdoor use (Finding one with no pedals and an appropriate size is important. We love this one because of the back wheels being so close together - Charlotte wasn’t hitting her ankles against something every time she pushed forward.)
walker wagon - also indoor and outdoor - also appropriate for all babies who are pulling up to standing, which is often before 1 year of age
balls, balls, balls, balls - also excellent for babies (I have a feeling some sort of ball will make our favorites category every year for a while)
Other great gross motor materials:
child-sized wagon (for the child to transport objects both indoors and outdoors - not for riding)
stacking boxes
ball tracker (the one pictured is from TAG but we built our own - see the tutorial here) - also appropriate for under 1 year
yoga mat (and of course someone to model yoga poses/routines - mom, dad, or someone on YouTube - this is the only television our daughter has had so far)
buckets and baskets for carrying
tunnel - also appropriate for under 1 year
bean bags (for throwing, carrying, etc. I highly recommend the set linked - they are heavy - perfect for 1-year-olds who desire to exert maximum effort)
And finally…
swing
climbing structure with slide - indoor or outdoor (or both)
DIY balance beam
I also highly recommend public playground equipment for gross motor - climbing structures, swings, slides, etc. If you can afford to purchase some type of structure to have in your own backyard - fantastic. If not, spending lots of time outside and at parks is a great idea for this age.
Books and language building materials
Language development is HUGE during this stage of life. Everything in a child’s environment is a language building material - practical life objects, gross motor materials, musical instruments, small toys, and art materials. Of course, interactions with adults are the greatest language building opportunities. Experiences with nature, social situations, trips to the store, zoo, pool, etc., and daily care-giving routines are also very important.
While real objects and experiences are preferred for language building, there are some things that can’t necessarily be replicated in the home and it can be beneficial to have books and realistic miniature versions or picture cards available for language building.
Books
When shopping for books, look for realistic photos, illustrations and storylines across a wide variety of topics. You will want some word+picture books and some story books, starting with more simple books and gradually increasing complexity as the child grows. Here are a few of our favorites.
Very simple books - also great for babies under 1 year
I See, I Touch, I Hear, I Can by Helen Oxenbury
Baby Love Gift Set by Helen Oxenbury (4 tiny books - great for in the car)
Bright Baby Words, Colors, Animals & Trucks (also available in bilingual (English/Spanish) version)
Baby Faces
Global Babies by the Global Fund for Children
Word books
Colorful World
Fruit and Vegetables by Sara Anderson - absolutely beautiful
My Little Word Book
first 100 words, first 100 animals, and first 100 machines - Charlotte’s FAVORITES
Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert
Music - a bilingual board book available in a variety of languages and dozens of topics
Story books
Hands Can by Cheryl Willis Hudson
Peek-a-Boo by Janet & Allan Ahlberg
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
I Went Walking by Sue Williams
Who Am I? Snowy Animals (also available in other themes)
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox and Helen Oxenbury
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Carrying, Eating, Smiling, Celebrating - Small World Series (the other 4 books in the series were mentioned above in the practical life section)
Everywhere Babies by Susan Meyers (not pictured)
Vintage Little Golden Books
Some of our very favorite books this past year have been vintage Little Golden Books. There is such a great selection of REAL stories with REAL children doing REAL things- all illustrated very realistically. eBay, garage sales, estate sales, flea markets - hunt and you will find.
A few Little Golden Books that are currently available:
A Day at the Seashore by Kathryn Jackson
Wonders of Nature by Jane Werner Watson
Bedtime books
Bedtime by Gwenyth Swain
Time for Bed by Mem Fox
Book of Sleep by Il Sung Na
Prayer for a Child by Rachel Field
Counting Kisses by Karen Katz
I Love You Through and Through by Bernadette Rossetti Shustak
Language Building Materials
When shopping for language building materials, it is best to look for objects that are as life-like as possible, as we want to give the most realistic impressions of these items to our children.
We don’t have pretend food in our house, because that is something that is very easy to offer the real thing, and much more meaningful to the child. We don’t offer fake versions of functional objects either, because again, the real thing is much more meaningful to the child (real vacuum, real kitchen appliances, etc.).
Our favorite language building materials are plastic animals and die-cast and plastic toy vehicles. We use plastic and die-cast simply because they are the most realistic looking - much more than wood. Schleich is our favorite brand for animals, though we do have one TOOB set (the backyard birds set) and a few Papo sea animals. Safari Ltd. makes good ones as well. These plastic replicas can get expensive, so my advice is to select quality over quantity. Select a few from each continent, perhaps and use picture cards and books to show the rest.
Pictured above are just a few examples of some language building animals and vehicles. They can be purchased from a variety of sources.
Safari Ltd. “On the Road” TOOB set - We do not have this set. While it is a FANTASTIC variety of realistic and common vehicles, it bothers me that they do not roll - they are solid plastic. We use a variety of die-cast vehicles, but I have found that realistic, common vehicles are very difficult to find (most are elaborate speed-racers rather than basic cars, trucks, emergency vehicles). Finding models that are of a similar scale is also difficult. So if you don’t mind that these don’t roll, this set would be fantastic. (See the collection of realistic die-cast and plastic vehicles we accumulated as a second birthday gift for our daughter in this post - including this set of CAT construction vehicles.)
Schleich animals - a combination of wild animals and domesticated farm animals (see them used with our barn here); These can be found on Amazon, eBay (even some gently used sets), and at Walmart, toy stores, and farm supply stores. They are everywhere.
Safari Ltd. “Backyard Birds” TOOB set - these are just beautiful
Another fantastic language building material are language cards (not to be used as flash cards). For a one-year-old, these would simply be cards with photos of realistic objects. They can be purchased or made at home (cardstock and a laminator are fantastic for this) The best cards for 1-year-olds would have one object per card, with a plain white background. Here are a few examples from the Michael Olaf store:
animals (dogs, pets, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, farm animals (and baby farm animals), horses, butterflies)
vegetables and fruits
around the town, transportation
around the house, utensils, tools, kitchen
musical instruments
sporting equipment
wild flowers, garden flowers
And finally, a very lovely free set of fruit and vegetable matching cards from The Helpful Garden.
In addition to the items mentioned above, realistic stuffed animals, puppets, and finger puppets can also be nice for language building.
Music
In addition to the music materials listed below, I highly recommend gifting a quality parent-child music class (such as Music Together) at some point in a child’s early life. They can be very expensive, but SO worth it and so Montessori, when done right. Early *quality* music exposure is a MUST for us - I think it is just so very valuable.
CD player + cds - accessible to child
drum (or this one - we enjoyed both)*
recorder
rhythm set*
harmonica
xylophone*
maracas
music box
egg shakers*
*also appropriate for under 1 year
See our Montessori music shelf here.
Fine Motor and Cognitive Skills Toys/Materials
ball pounding bench - can be used before 1 year, without the mallet; This has been one of Charlotte’s favorites.
shape sorter - I LOVE this toy. It can be used in so many different ways, taking the place of multiple imbucare boxes that are seen in traditional Montessori toddler environments with a simple switch of a lid, making it a great value. You could even use a ball for the lid with the round hole before introducing the cylinder. (Here is another alternative with a drawer.)
pop up toy - This is a less expensive alternative to the traditional Montessori imbucare peg box.
Kobba Mini Bops board - Fantastic fine motor and one-to-one correspondence material. Another favorite at our house.
multiple shape puzzles - a MUST HAVE (if you ask me)
coin box - we DIYed ours by cutting a slit in a wooden recipe box and added some wooden nickels
wooden stacking cups - These are Grimms, which are beautiful. We have the much less expensive version from Playskool (also wood) that we found for around $5 at Walmart.
wooden blocks for stacking
nesting Matryoshka dolls - available on Etsy
threading materials (last row):
cubes on a dowel
discs on a dowel (not pictured and I didn’t purchase this one - instead I used the red rings from the tri-colored set on the single dowel from the cube set)
discs on horizontal dowel, tri-colored rings on dowels
rainbow ring stacker - can be used before 1 year with only 3 rings instead of all 6
threading beads
Another fantastic fine motor development activity for a one-year-old is threading toothpicks or lollipop sticks into the holes of a parmesan shaker. I didn’t include this on this list because I felt like it wouldn’t make the nicest gift. Similarly, open/close activities can be offered using basic household objects - a small bag with a zipper, empty spice jars, etc. Fantastic fine motor/cognitive materials, not so much as a gift.
Art
I will be posting an ultimate art supply list very soon. But for now, these few art items I found got the most use during the first year (the crayons were used the least).
block-style crayons
finger paints (see them in use here)
play dough or other modeling compound
simple round stickers (see them in use here)
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I hope you enjoyed our version of an ultimate Montessori gift guide for a 1-year-old. Like I already stated, this list is simply what I find to be beneficial in a child’s second year. Every child is going to have different preferences and every family is going to have different wishes, so use it however you see fit for your family. Best wishes and thanks for reading.
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