My tiny little Montessori baby, Gus, is suddenly and quickly transitioning into a second plane child. There are socks left on the floor, there are toothbrushes left on the counter, there is talk of friends, there is running off to play instead of staying home to enjoy practical life. Everything points to an older, bigger, and new child.
But, even with all this change, Gus is still my kid to curl up on the couch next to a fire with some handwork listening to a book. He still frequently reaches for toys and materials on his Montessori play shelves after school. So, I thought I would share the materials that he has on his shelves at 6-years-old.
Montessori Friendly Toys at 6-Years-Old
Gus is still very into fine motor work and creative building. By the second plane of development, you'll notice that materials aren't as focused on building skills generally but are really personalized to each individual child. So, take these materials as inspiration for your child, but know that you should follow your individual child's interests when choosing play shelf materials.
- Puzzles - he has a variety of 100-200 piece puzzles that I rotate
- KinOptik City Building - this is so cool, creative magnets that appear to be moving
- RC Car - just for fun, this thing is constantly zipping around our house
- Learning Resources Gear Building - Robots and Machine Sets - these take a little more thought but he can make some really cool things with these
- Plus Plus Builders - he loves how tiny these are
- Mini Squigzs Builders - all time most popular, he plays with these every single day
- Plan Toys Creative Pinball - this is really fun, especially if he can get his older siblings to play with him
- Lego City - Town Center and Police Station - another all time favorite, interestingly he doesn't love to build LEGO but he loves to play with it. It works out that Henry is the opposite so he gets his brother to build and then he can enjoy.
Gus also loves open ended building with our blocks and will frequently join Teddy in playing with construction trucks. He also spends a significant amount of time engaged with art materials, finger knitting, and reading.
At school, he loves working with the bead chains and finger charts, is busy memorizing phonograms, and is learning to crochet.
What does your 6-year-old have on their play shelves?
