Montessori Friendly Gifts for older children

Nov 29, 2019 - Christmas , Recommendations , Toys - By Carine Robin

The majority of my readers have children under the age of 6.

My own children are now 7 and nearly 12. And some of you have requested ideas for older children so here are some suggestions.

Those gifts are long-lasting toys, games and materials. I find them Montessori friendly.

Children in the Montessori elementary program will learn through the Great lessons. They will learn about the creation of the world, history and the beauty of the animal kingdom. Those topics can be enhanced at home.

If your child attends a mainstream school, this is still a time when they will learn about the history of their country, about geography and culture more in depth.

This list contains also suggestions to practice crafts at home.

I personally, along the years, have offered some of those suggestions coupled with some highly desired toys (such as character toys and silly board games).

The essentials:

My child needed one for school. Having one at home is also useful. He can check his spelling mistakes and corrects himself.

Who remembers playing a game with the dictionary? I used to play this game with my friend. We were taking a page randomly, pointing at a word randomly and we were trying to make the other guess what it was. We loved to pick the XYZ page!

My daughter asked for this one two years ago. She has been using it for her homework ever since.

By now, your child can have a real one. They are so many choices and in fact, at the moment, I am looking for one!

A microscope

We bought one last year that is good but I'm sure they are some better one. It's very hard to be sure about such a product. This is the second we bought as the previous one broke after a few weeks.

An alternative would be a pocket microscope and this one from the Natural History Museum seems to be good quality.

My son has this one as a night lamp. It shows the constellations when light up and the world when not on.

A classic Collins World Map.

Skills orientated gifts

I deeply regret not learning to sew so it's something that I try to nurture at home.

My daughter has this sewing machine.

Woodwork

I totally recommend Montessori Design by Nuccia . I have 2 of her carpentry set.

The website Conscious crafts has many child's size tools.

My son has been asking for such a kit. I remember having one and using it again and again. You can buy some plaster of Paris when the one included has been all used.

Games

For children under the age of 6, I recommend cooperative games. As young children are obviously less able to win a competitive game against their parent. And it's hard for young children to handle emotions.

But for children age 7 and over, we can assume that they have more reasoning abilities and skills. They will also be able to handle loosing at games and win with respect for their peers.

Our favourites are:

Connect 4

• We also love Connect 4. We have the classic one. But do you know that they are some wooden version? Here is one from John Lewis and it's only around £6!

• We also like Scrabble Junior . Because my children are 4 years apart, we still use the junior one.

To support your child's interest in various topics:

This book is huge and amazing! We all enjoy it and we all learn a lot from it.

This is on my gift list! My youngest still loves playing with figurines. He has been enjoying some lessons about evolution and the great lessons at school.

We have been doing volcanoes since my children were around 4 but it's only now that my son is interested in the facts about volcanoes.

Start an interesting collection

What about exploring Gemstones and Fossils ?

My books of rocks and stones from DK

We have the Art lab in this collection so I'm pretty sure, this one would be cool!

All about Dinosaurs

Which child is not fascinated by Dinosaurs?

We have one Dinosaur excavation kit.

And check our Montessori Subscription box as this month, it's about Dinosaurs!

Self-care gift ideas

My daughter is into bath products and I love the idea of making beauty products with her.

We offered her a lip balm kit 2 years ago. The seller is not on Etsy anymore but this kit is very similar.

Here is a Make your own bath bomb.

And make your own soap. This one is an organic soap kit .

And to be totally transparent with you, my daughter had also asked this year for some Harry Potter merchandising.

My son is obsessed with Pokemon and will receive an electronic Pikachu that reacts to touch.

He is also obsessed with football so he will receive some gifts linked to that as well.

Last year, it was all about "Horrid Henry" for my son and my daughter wanted some Sylvanian family sets!

I balance their "I want" with some more long-lasting gifts that I choose, based on their interests.

I hope you have found those suggestions helpful!

More lists if you need some more gifts:

• Montessori Friendly toy’s list for toddlers
• Montessori stocking fillers
• One off boxes & past Montessori boxes
• The best Montessori inspired Non toys gifts list
• Clutter-free Christmas list for children
• Gifts for the child who goes to a Montessori school
• Montessori Friendly toy’s list for toddlers

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About the Author: Carine Robin is a qualified and experienced Montessori teacher and founder of The Montessori Family. With over 15 years of experience, Carine offers a blend of professional insight and personal understanding as a mother of two and qualified child psychologist. Inspired by the success of her Montessori subscription box, she created The Montessori Family to provide a comprehensive resource for parents and teachers globally. This platform aims to support child growth and well-being through curated educational activities. Additionally, Carine maintains the UK's most popular Montessori blog and administers the largest Montessori UK Facebook group, making her a central figure in the Montessori community.