Yes, These Are the Coolest Montessori Toys for 3-Year-Olds

Check out some of the most engaging Montessori toys for children 3 years of age and older.

Yes, These Are the Coolest Montessori Toys for 3-Year-Olds

The Montessori learning philosophy is all about hands-on learning and self-directed play. This system of education encourages sensory play for babies and toys that help with coordination and curiosity for toddlers and preschoolers.

But as children get older, Montessori education increasingly adds games and toys that encourage logical thinking, spatial recognition, teamwork, concentration, imagination, problem-solving, fine motor skills, coordination, counting and literacy skills — all of which lay the groundwork for later STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) learning.

If you’re hoping to start laying that groundwork for your 3-year-old, we suggest checking out some of these Montessori toys that are especially engaging for children 3 years of age and older.

Hape Dynamo Dominoes

Age: 3 to 5 years

Year released: 2019

Made of: Wood, metal, non-toxic paint

Best for: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, concentration, thinking, spatial thinking, basic engineering principles, teamwork

Hape Dynamo Dominoes lets kids learn basic ideas of engineering as they have fun setting up and toppling chains of brightly colored wooden dominoes. The set consists of 107 pieces, including 100 dominoes, a staircase bridge, a bell, rails, two small swings, a whirligig and a rolling ball. Kids can learn about balance, cause and effect and basic engineering principles as they build and topple dominoes. Kids can even play with the wooden toys by themselves or as a team.

Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles

Age: 3 to 5 years

Year released: 2022

Made of: Unknown

Best for: Social-emotional learning

The Express Your Feelings Sensory Bottles are designed to help young children recognize and express primary emotions. Each of the four colorful bottles has a unique face that shows a strong emotion: happy, scared, sad or angry. They are easy to grip and securely sealed. Kids learn to recognize facial expressions, so they can learn to identify how they’re feeling, release energy and calm down. The bottles can also be used as fidget toys to teach kids mindfulness. Parents can use the activity guide to start a discussion with young children about dealing with emotions in a healthy way.

Panda Brothers Montessori Screwdriver Board

Age: 3 to 5 years

Year released: Unknown

Made of: Wood, metal

Best for: Hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, memory and learning, self-confidence, problem-solving

The Panda Brothers Montessori Screwdriver Board helps kids learn to use a screwdriver, hex key and wrench. The kit includes a row of different types of bolts and screws that sit in a wooden block. By inserting, turning and removing screws in different shapes and sizes, kids develop fine motor skills, dexterity and improved hand-eye coordination. They respond to the challenge of using different tools with increased self-confidence and better memory learning. The child-sized tools are lightweight and have sturdy grips for smaller hands.

Melissa & Doug’s Let Play House! Dust, Sweep and Mop Set

Age: 3 to 6 years

Year released: 2019

Made of: Wood, cotton, plastic

Best for: Physical coordination and movement, fine motor skills, learning confidence and responsibility

Melissa & Doug’s Let Play House! Dust, Sweep and Mop Set comes with six realistic housekeeping tools, made in a smaller size for young kids. The set includes a broom, dustpan and whisk broom, mop, duster and storage stand. Kids develop confidence by playing house, and the tools help children develop fine motor skills and physical coordination. The cleaning toys are sturdily made from wood, durable plastic and cotton for many years of active play. The set comes with a storage stand, so kids can even tidy up the tools after play.

Mirus Toys Bird Feet Stamps

Age: 3 to 6 years

Year released: 2017

Made of: Alder wood, plastic (cards)

Best for: Fine motor skills, inspiring curiosity, storytelling, creativity, play

Mirus Toys created a set of six different wooden stamps to show birds that live in different habitats and have feet shaped for different functions, including wading, perching, feeding, grasping, climbing or swimming. The stamps can be used to form impressions in playdough or clay. Kids can use the stamps to tell stories or learn about birds and their different activities and environments. The kit comes with an optional set of educational cards for parents to teach children about birds.

Quality Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks

Age: 3 to 6 years

Year released: Unknown

Made of: Maple and birch wood, water-based inks

Best for: Reading skills, self-confidence, memory

The Quality Montessori Phonetic Reading Blocks were designed by a Montessori teacher to introduce younger school age kids to new letters and words. Kids use the blocks to discover how to blend and match sounds to create simple phonetic words. The set is designed for smaller hands, and kids twist the blocks to spell different words. The set contains a total of 80 possible three-letter words, with a consonant-vowel-consonant construction, including all five vowels and 13 consonants. Educators believe that reading manipulatives, objects that children can handle, help improve literacy.

Toys for Life Sort the Beads

Age: 3 to 6 years

Year released: Unknown

Made of: Wood

Best for: Fine motor skills, pattern recognition, learning shapes and colors

The Toys for Life Sort the Beads game challenges 3-year-olds and older to follow and create patterns of colored beads on a strong or stick. Children develop fine motor skills and learn to recognize patterns, colors and shapes. Successful pattern recognition helps kids with math, reading and writing. The kit includes two red cotton laces for stringing beads, 40 wooden beads in five brightly painted colors and four shapes, a plastic stick and wooden stand for holding beads, a magnetic storage box and eight wooden instruction cards.

Ada Twist, Scientist On-The-Go Lab Set

Age: 3+ years

Year released: 2020

Made of: Plastic

Best for: Teaching science, teamwork, thinking and learning skills, promoting curiosity

Based on the popular book and Netflix series, “Ada Twist, Scientist,” this On-The-Go Lab Set lets kids carry out their own scientific experiments using plastic lab equipment. The kit comes with a lab case that holds all the toys, goggles, beakers, test tubes, ruler, scales, eye dropper, funnel, measuring spoons and experiment cards. Parents and kids can work together to create simple science procedures just like real scientists. The case has wheels, so kids can pack the equipment away and take it to school or a friend’s house.

Boxiki Kids 16-Piece Musical Instrument Educational Toys

Age: 3+ years

Year released: Unknown

Made of: Wood, metal

Best for: Brain development, coordination, musicality, rhythm, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination

The Boxiki Kids 16 Piece Musical Instrument Educational Toys has a variety of musical instruments designed for little hands to use. The set includes maracas, shaker eggs, bells, a triangle, castanets, claves and a tambourine. Kids can play along with songs or as they sing, all the while learning about musical rhythm, stimulating brain development and developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They’ll learn about beat and keeping time to music as they strike, jingle and ring. Early musical learning also helps brain development.

Panda Brothers Wooden Balancing Stones

Age: 3+ years

Year released: 2022

Made of: Wood

Best for: Problem-solving, stimulating curiosity, resilience, persistence, logical thinking, spatial reasoning, shape recognition, fine motor skills

The Panda Brothers Wooden Balancing Stones are a set of 20 unique blocks in different sizes, weights and shapes, which are challenging for kids to stack. Young children will need to use problem-solving skills, logical thinking and persistence to stack the blocks so they don’t fall down. Playing with the smooth pinewood blocks will help kids develop fine motor skills, spatial reasoning and shape recognition. Children can use the blocks for independent play or as part of a team and can use the blocks in the car, at school or while traveling.

Q Toys Natural Counting Board

Age: 3+ years

Year released: 2005

Made of: Wood and non-toxic paint

Best for: Early counting and math skills, dexterity, motor skills

The Q Toys Natural Counting Board has several advantages for young children. They learn to recognize numbers and start to understand the essentials of basic addition and subtraction. Educators believe that using math manipulatives, objects that young children can handle, helps them connect mathematical principles to physical items and learn better. The Q Toys board is made from sustainably harvested plantation timber, and the balls (sold separately) are colored with bright non-toxic paints.