15 Montessori toys you can find at Walmart (and they all cost less than $25!)

Babies love sensory toys, especially when they can feel a variety of fabrics that crinkle and crunch and are covered in bright colors and patterns. This Magic Tissue Box by TOY Life is the perfect Montessori toy for baby as it allows their little hands (which are just learning to grab things!) to pull “tissues” out and push them back in over and over. And each sheet is covered with something bright and fun, like letters, numbers, animals, fruits, and even dinosaurs.

It’s a puzzle! It’s a mirror! And it’s an excellent way to introduce your baby to the simple joys of Montessori learning. Your baby can start by simply looking at the face they see in the mirror (they’ll know it’s theirs later on). Once they are able to sit up and grasp items, the puzzle piece component of this toy comes in—making this Montessori toy one that will last for a while through your child’s development.

Object permanence is something babies start to grasp after 6 months old, and a toy like this is a great option to help them understand it. The simple act of dropping the wooden ball into the hole and seeing it come out the bottom of the ramp helps them understand where, exactly, the ball goes. The hand-eye coordination and fine motor skill development is an added bonus too!

Keep tiny hands busy (and keep toddler brains stimulated!) with this Wooden Sorter and Color Matching Toy by INvench. This simple, yet fun set of cups, balls, a bowl, and a spoon promotes the Montessori style of learning and play as children use the spoon to pick up a ball and place it in the matching cup. Lots of learning with this one, including identifying and matching colors, enhancing fine motor skills, and teaching little ones to identify shapes and classify the objects accordingly. Such a simple toy that does so much!

A shape sorter is a must-have staple for your toddler’s play area. This multi-sensory Montessori toy comes with 8 brightly colored wooden shapes your child can try to fit through into the box—in lots of different ways! They can push their shape blocks through holes that match or through soft, elastic rubber bands. Suitable for ages 1+, the chunky wooden pieces in this cube are painted with non-toxic water paint and are too big to be considered choking hazards (so you don’t need to worry if your baby gnaws on them between sorting!)

Busy books and boards are all the rage among parents of littles, and with good reason. The list of ways young children learn and grow through playing with a toy like this is endless. They are honing their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. They are strengthening their grip and ability to grasp, open, close, tie, and untie things. And they are getting to touch and feel all sorts of fabrics and textures that come in bright, primary colors. Plus—for many parents this is the best part—they are playing independently! Get a Montessori Toddler Busy Board for every toddler you know!

Four toys in one?! Yes please! This gift is kind of the jackpot because it includes a stackable ring set, a shape-sorter, a caterpillar gear toy, and a pound-a-peg. Yes—it comes with all four! And the best part about this one is that it’s suitable for ages 18 months – 5 years old, which is a substantial age range, meaning this toy will grow with your child. (And don’t worry about it breaking, because it’s a Melissa & Doug product, so it will probably last long enough to get passed on to younger siblings!)

Music is the key to the soul—that’s what they say, right? So spark a love and appreciation for music early in your child’s life with this rad Tinkertar 1-string guitar that’s especially designed for ages 3+. This super-cool beginner’s guitar comes with a book of 15 songs kids can learn (a book that’s color-coded and uses numbered finger positions, making it user-friendly for pre-readers!) And, Mom and Dad, you’ll love this part—this guitar was designed by musicians Brian Calhoun, Dave Matthews, and John Alagia so it comes with extra cool points!

Time for a pizza party! Melissa & Doug has a wooden pizza party playset that’s sure to be a hit. Just watch your kiddo’s imagination soar as they create custom pizzas for the whole family (it comes with 36 toppings!) This set comes with a brightly colored tray, pizza cutter, spatula and a wooden box for storage. And the pizza makes a “slicing” noise when cut! Pepperoni and mushrooms for me, please!

Who’s hungry?! This Cutting Fruit Set has all the things parents love about Melissa & Doug products—durable and classic design coupled with pieces that are easy to take apart and put back together for little hands. Each piece of fruit is stuck together with handy velcro patches that can be “cut” up using a kid-safe wooden “knife”—which is the perfect recipe for fun imaginative play. Your child will hone fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination while cooking up a feast for all their friends and family!

If you’re looking for a Montessori learning toy that helps preschoolers independently work on letter writing and recognition without all the flashing lights and noises of other toys, Walmart has it. Meet the Coogam Wooden Letters Practicing Board—a double-sided board (one for uppercase, one for lowercase letters) that comes with a “pencil” for kids to use when tracing letters. By using the tracing pencil, your child will practice how to hold a writing utensil, and, with the help of directional arrows to guide them, they can begin to trace and write letters for the first time. It’s simple and easy to use and would make a great addition to any classroom or playroom. (Also a great toy for car rides!)

Another Melissa & Doug educational toy we love! Best for kids ages 4-6, your child can practice their letters by pairing interlocking puzzle pieces to create both upper and lowercase letters. And the best part is that each piece only fits with one other, so your child will end up making the correct choice for sure. And, since this 52-piece set is made by Melissa & Doug, you know it’s a high-quality product that comes in a sturdy wooden box with a slide-on lid. These self-correcting alphabet puzzle pieces will promote independent play and educational learning—a win for kids and parents!

Wooden beads have been en vogue since we were kids, and it looks like kids today love them just as much. That’s because the act of stringing them along, making necklaces, bracelets, tree garland, or simply just a string of beads to admire and then take apart never gets old! The benefits here are ten-fold—from working on hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills to identifying a pattern (or creating their own!) to classifying and sorting beads by color, shape, and size… well, parents know. This Montessori toy is a classic and kids love it.

Get those preschoolers excited about tidying up with a cleaning set that includes a broom, a mop, a duster, a dustpan, a brush, and a storage stand! Your little one can clean right alongside Mom and Dad and feel pride in helping out, while steering clear of harmful chemicals. This Melissa & Doug cleaning set is made from all-natural wood and is sure to get your preschooler hyped up to help. (Will they still want to help clean in 10 years? Fingers crossed!)

Your preschooler will love practicing letter recognition and beginning spelling concepts with these adorable spelling boards and wooden letter puzzle pieces. Kids will identify a object they know—like “bus” or “fish” and then learn how to spell “bus” and “fish.” How excited will they be to tell you that they now know how to spell “dog”?! These puzzles are a fun educational gift that are perfect for playrooms and classrooms and anywhere little ones are excited to learn.