13 Best Montessori Gift Ideas For 6 to 12 Month Olds

Looking for the best montessori gift ideas for 6 to 12 month olds? Today, I'm sharing all of our favorite montessori baby toys for 6 to 12 month olds that we actually use!

Let me be the first to say: you do not need a ton of stuff for 6 to 12 months old. In fact, most of the montessori baby toys from 0-6 months will still work during this stage, and then around 10 months, most of the items I suggest in my montessori gift guide for 1 year olds work too!

Pretty much everything we got was in a Lovevery Play Kit or Monti Kids subscription box. Both of those make fantastic gifts in themselves and I've done extensive reviews on each! However if you don't want a montessori subscription box for the first few months, below you'll find the Amazon, Target, and Etsy options for some of our favorite classic montessori items we got in those!

READ NEXT: Monti Kids vs Lovevery: Which is better for newborns?! | Play Gyms + Subscription Toy Box Review!

Montessori Baby Toys for 6-12 Months Old

It's one of those classic items that has been around for 100 years for good reason! It teaches:

• Cause and effect
• Fine motor skills
• The concept that something still exists even when you can't see it

You can play with it a TON of ways too! Show your baby what happens when you drop the ball inside then let them try. They'll work gross motor skills as they attempt to get the ball too. Once they've mastered the wooden ball that fits, you can introduce a larger felt ball that requires them to work strength and coordination as they push it in.

As they get older, you can introduce a variety of balls of different shapes and sizes and let them problem solve what fits and what doesn't. My daughter also uses it for pretend play with her animal figurines and mini dolls.

Our's is from the Lovevery play kit The Inspector – but you can find similar options all over the place as it's a classic montessori toy. Two of my top picks are: this one which has amazing reviews and is at one of the best prices and this one includes 2 extra balls

We literally use the biggest one's every day/week for different activities. I use them on her toy shelf for puzzle pieces or other little items that belong together.

These will also last well beyond the first year too and make the perfect starter musical instrument set!

A small tin open cup is a great starter option. It won't shatter like glass, but starts to introduce the weight of a cup compared to plastic. Model drinking from the cup for baby and then let them reach and try to pick it up and drink for themselves. They'll likely drop it and spill quite a bit but that's okay! They are learning all about gravity, containment, and working loads of motor skills!

When starting out we just filled the cup about halfway so it really was only a tiny sip. My daughter is almost three and still loves using the tiny cups every now and then.

Because blocks are something that really grow with your baby, I suggest this block set which also doubles as a pull toy, and triples as a shape sorter puzzle which they can do under 12 months old too! It can actually be used for 20 activities as your baby grows!

Montessori Weaning Table + Chair

A montessori weaning table is basically a minimalist wooden baby chair and table. The term “weaning” comes from “weaning off the boob” as your baby transitions to solids. It's great for eating, crafts, and just hanging out. A weaning table can be used once your child is able to sit upright independently (generally around 6 or 7 months).

There are two options I like. If you have multiple kids then this option from MontessoriHOUSEbed that converts to a bench, stander, and has multiple chairs would be my recommendation:

The table itself can be flipped on its side and converted to a sofa bench. The chairs can also be rotated and used as a smaller table or a step stool. It's the perfect transitional furniture for infants to toddler to preschool and the early primary years encouraging practical life skills, table manners, and more.

The other option I love is this from Piccalio (use code TCM10 for 10% off). It converts to a weaning table or toddler tower by just unlatching and clasping the sides. It's SO easy. Now with that said, when in the toddler tower setting, the sides are much more open compared to the one we originally got when my daughter was 10 months – but that didn't convert to a weaning table. We switched to this one around 2 and a half years old and she loves it.

Personally, I don't feel like we missed out on not having a weaning table and preferred this toddler tower for under 1 years old because of the safety sides. But if you did want a weaning table, I'd probably get the Piccalio one unless I have multiple kids then I'd get the MontessoriHOUSEbed.

With that said, kids love this toy as early as 6 months; though for safety reasons they suggest waiting to introduce it until 1 years old, but in my experience kids tend to lose interested in it around 15-18 months.

Which reminds me of our Lovevery subscription with my first, and in the 16 month box we got a race car track that is pretty similar and she loves/still plays with at almost 3 years old.

So I don't have first hand experience with the one's on Amazon, but do think whether it's a ball track or race track for cars, it's a good option to introduce around 10-12 months.

While these puzzles may seem super simple to you and eye, they are actually helping baby build connections between the two brain hemispheres! They'll use both sides of their body at once to put the puzzle pieces together, an important skill they'll need for getting dressed later on!

You can use these a ton of different ways too! Starting out, banging them together help encourage the development of using both sides of their body at once. Then you can set the puzzle up complete for them and teach them how to pour the egg or sphere our – a skill they'll continue to master in the coming months. Eventually your baby will grasp the puzzle pieces and use the other hand to hold the base and put it all together.

I love that this two puzzle pack with one puzzle of various shapes, and the other showcasing different sizes of the same shape. There's also an option from the seller for single puzzles, which is a set of four puzzles each with just one shape. We have ones like that too and I love them for the diaper bag. We use them while waiting for appointments, at restaurants, and for travel thanks to their compact size.

They are the perfect space for your little one to practice pulling themselves up, climbing, and other gross motor skills.

Choosing a pikler climbing triangle is a lot like choosing a car, every person is going to have their own preferences. Click here for tips on how to choose a pikler triangle + my top picks!

Montessori Gift Ideas

Best Montessori Baby Toys For 0-6 months covers even more ideas that grow with your baby through 6-9 months and 9-12 months and some even beyond that!

Plus my top montessori gifts 1 to 2 year olds that we actually own has great gift ideas in there that you could get for babies as young as 10 months, like a toddler kitchen helper.

That's how old my daughter was when we got it! If your baby is closer to 1 years old, you may want to check that gift guide out so you can really get some gifts that last for the year to come! Plus, I really designed that gift guide to include some bigger items that will last for the next few years; almost like “cornerstone” gifts to your playroom.