Montessori Inspired Second Birthday Gift Guide

Written By Home and on the Way
Montessori second birthday gift guide

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I can hardly believe my son is turning 2! With limited space in our small apartment and so many of the basics already covered I definitely struggled a bit to decide what to get him this year. I ended up finding a set of gifts I think he will really enjoy though. In this guide, I share Montessori-inspired gifts for two-year-olds along with the gifts we are getting my son at the end of the post.

Montessori two year old gifts for outside

Montessori-Inspired 2nd Birthday Gifts for the Outdoors

A climbing dome: I would love to be able to get my son one of these but we, unfortunately, do not have a yard. This is such a fun piece of gross motor equipment for the yard though.

Outdoor vehicles: My son loves his Tonka Trucks at Grandma and Grandpa’s. If your little one likes construction or vehicles in general these are such a good toy.

A Rain Suit: this is a fantastic tool for getting out in all whether. For winter last year we just layered underneath and skipped the snowsuit. It is great in the rain and great in the mud. We got a 6-12 month size and he still fits in it at 23 months.

Rain Boots: this year we knew we needed rain boots for the rainy days. I also wanted ones that were more barefoot style. These ones fit the bill and are affordable.

Scooter: scooters are a fun outdoor activity for toddlers. We introduced ours around 17 months.

A wheelbarrow: a wheelbarrow is a perfect practical life outside activity and great for active toddlers. It is perfect for the transportation schema and maximum effort work.

Balance bike: a balance bike is perfect for toddlers who are not yet ready for a pedal bike. We are skipping training wheels and using the balance bike instead.

Montessori-Inspired 2nd Birthday Gifts for the Practical Life

Learning tower: This is definitely a big gift but a real favorite in our home. If your almost two-year-old doesn’t have one it is a great gift. We use it multiple times every single day. I have a full post going through some recommendations here.

Toddler Knives: we use multiple toddler knives around here and they are great for involving our son in the kitchen.

Mini Pitchers: these are essential for including toddlers in pouring.

Child-sized tools: these make such a difference in including your child in the kitchen and I highly recommend.

Toddler cleaning supplies: our favorite cleaning supplies are actually not created for toddlers but just regular ones that can be made toddler-sized. My son loves helping clean. We love our working vacuum and have preferred it to the working toy version. It is pretty quiet still, though not as quiet as the one designed for toddlers. My son loves it and I love how it can actually vacuum as well. Simply remove the long bar! It’s cheaper than the toy version, too. However, a “working” toy vacuum can also be fun.

montessori 2 year old gross motor toys

Montessori-Inspired 2nd Birthday Gifts for Gross Motor

Pikler triangle: we LOVE our Pikler triangle. It folds up easily to store away and has been used since he was 7 months old. It is an excellent gift starting around 6 months, but it still gets pretty much daily use at almost two. I know many say their four or five-year-olds still use them daily too. They tend to be used for climbing still but also get used as a fort, obstacle course, and other more creative uses. I do recommend the Jumbo size one from RAD because it is larger for older toddlers. A slide can also be fun for older toddlers. While I would have loved to link a more affordable Amazon option I do not feel comfortable linking them without knowing the brand on something like this. If you have a cheaper one you like, please let me know!

Bowling Pins: great for getting moving indoors

A balance board: we started using this at around 8 months but at 18 it is a real favorite for balance and climbing.

  • Our Balance Board, also part of some cool bundles: Lily and River (code HOMEANDONTHEWAY)

  • Another popular favorite: Kinderfeets

Rocker/climber: though I would generally recommend a Pikler triangle over an arch climber I do like that it doubles as a rocker. It also is a lot of fun to add to a climbing course for older toddlers if you already have a Pikler and have space.

Balance Beam: If you are setting up an indoor gross motor area it is a fun addition. This didn’t get much use for us until around 18 months so I think it is a great gift for two-year-olds. My son loves balancing on it and it is perfect for obstacle courses as they grow.

Ride-on: if you’re looking for an indoor ride-on toy, here are some ideas! My son LOVES ride on toys. They are not the same as a balance bike but they are still great for some gross motor work.

Montessori toys for a two year old

Montessori-Inspired 2nd Birthday Gifts for the Playroom

Two is such a fun time for toy gifts because you start seeing more pretend play. There are so many possible gifts for that. At the same time, you might also see more ability in puzzles and an explosion in language. Buying gifts for a two-year-old for play is so much fun!

Realistic animals: realistic animals are great for language work and picture matching, but they also work well for pretend play. They are such a great multi-use toy. In Montessori, we look for animals that look realistic versus ones that are unrealistic and painted wood (even if that means they’re plastic!)

Baby dolls and accessories: baby dolls are great at this age. Many in Montessori opt for more realistic dolls as realistic is prioritized, however, cloth dolls can be nice too and we love our cloth ones.

A play kit subscription: this is a great way to get developmental toys that match your child’s interests without having to do all the research.

  • A great Montessori-inspired play kit: Lovevery Play Kit

  • A great option to save space and help the planet by renting toys: Tiny Earth Toys (code homeandontheway10)

Train set: this was the one thing my son actually asked for himself. He loves trains. If you don’t already have trains this is a great time to start a small collection. Since we live in a small apartment we are starting with a very small set. This can really grow with them over the years. I stuck with ones that can work together with other train sets so that it can grow with your toddler.

Blocks: blocks are great around this age. We got unit blocks for my son a few months ago. He already had the Lovevery block set which we also love. Unit blocks are great for long-term building and math concepts. You can also introduce Duplo-style blocks or magnetic tiles, both of which are fun for building as well.

Puzzles: many toddlers around this age are interested in puzzles. You can get the wooden ones or can start trying simple jigsaw-style puzzles. A name puzzle can also be a great personalized option that also provides some letter exposure.

Screen Free Audio Player: this has been amazing for us. My son can use it totally independently and has been able to since his first birthday. Some also use CD players for their toddlers but a toddler-specific one feels easier to me.

Montessori gifts two year old art

Montessori-Inspired 2nd Birthday Gifts for Art

Art is so much fun around this age! Likely your toddler is mouthing less or not mouthing anymore which makes art a lot easier. It is also easier to communicate boundaries around art now. I love letting my toddler experiment with many different mediums. Crayons are of course a classic (we love these!) but there are some other fun mediums to experiment with your toddler.

A popular favorite: dot markers

Paint: washable paint, watercolor

A really fun medium: paint sticks, a smaller set

For organization: Makerwall (code OnTheWay10), a more affordable storage option, a larger affordable option

An easel for verticle work: popular favorite, ours which attaches to the Pikler

montessori second birthday gift guide

Makerwall: we desperately needed some good art storage and we are so excited for this verticle option that should work for our small space. This is the gift from my in-laws.

Party light: Montessori? Maybe not but we are so excited for this! I plan on setting it up in the morning before he wakes up on his birthday to surprise him (skipping the balloon arch). He loves dancing and has loved dance parties so I think this will be a hit!

Mini suitcase: we have some travel coming up this summer (well, actually a lot of travel!) and this will be perfect. It can attach to our rolling bags if need be but he can also pull it himself. I wouldn’t want to get most suitcases since I realistically know at 2 he will not be pushing it all the time. The fact that it slides on mine is perfect. Now that he is 2 and we need to buy him a ticket and he gets a bag allotment it should be really helpful. This is his birthday gift from my parents.

Train set: the one thing he asked for was a train set. I figured since he is a city kid and the trains we are most likely to take are the subway a subway train set would be great. This is a small set which is great for our limited space but is compatible with other sets so can grow with him.

Realistic animals: we love love Schleich. I got him a few animals for language work and matching as well as pretend play. I purchased the Australian animals one since we will be going to Australia this summer! He is a huge fan of the Schleich animals we already have, some of which we got him for his birthday last year. I also got him a few Safari ltd. toobs since they are cheaper though the animals are much smaller.

Dinosaur figurines: these are also Schleich. He has been loving dinosaurs so we are doing a dinosaur-themed birthday. I am topping his cake with these dinosaur figurines. I did this last year with wild animals and love it because it makes a themed cake but doesn’t waste since we will be using the figurines after. He still plays with his Schleich animals from last year’s birthday cake.

Matching pajamas: my son gets so excited when he and his sister have matching pajamas, so much so that every evening he asks for the same pajamas because he knows she has them too. I decided to purchase a few pairs of matching pajamas for them.

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