A comprehensive overview of all the Montessori and Montessori-friendly baby rattles! I’ll share several favourites in this post, both classic Montessori and modern Montessori-friendly designs. (To differentiate, the classic ones will be marked with a ** double asterisk.)
You can provide Montessori baby rattles and hand toys to your baby around 3mo or when they begin grasping, around or sometime later than the tactile mobiles.
Rattles have many uses:
- Shaking them gently when baby is newborn –doesn’t every paediatrician do that at wellness checks? heh– for baby to track them visually
- Developing a variety of hand-eye coordination skills, such as holding things, releasing them, shaking them to produce a sound, and transferring from hand to hand
- For encouraging tummy time, especially the flatter ones in different textures! You can place them within or just out of baby’s reach, so baby can practise reaching for or moving toward them via rolling or crawling. (The items that we used most frequently for baby’s tummy time: bell roller, interlocking discs, Tickit Silishapes sensory circles and nipple ball. Details below)
The wooden ring is an amazing first toy. Because it is a circle, it is easy to grip from any angle. I offered the wooden ring when baby was about 3mo and the immense concentrating he showed in holding the ring, then lifting it high, then studying it (and its reflection) was quite the sight to behold.
Wood has a comforting warm texture so I was also not worried when baby mouthed or drooled on this, or any of the other wood items.
These rings can be repurposed in infancy for making a Ring on Ribbon, and in toddlerhood, ribbon wands and hanging them on a horizontal or vertical dowel.
This is baby’s most-reached for toy, the encased bead rattle. It is a modern design which is easy to hold and there is a pleasant sound as the rattle jingles. Because baby likes to mouth it, I feel safer knowing that the beads are encased within the circles.
The bell rattle** is a Montessori classic. You can DIY it easily, and is available to buy online inexpensively. Similar to the encased bead rattle, the dimensions of this rattle are the perfect size for baby to grasp with their tiny fingers.
However, I introduced this too late. I should have offered this before baby began to mouth things, because the metal bells are not safe for mouthing on.
The bell roller** is a favourite. I gifted this to my best friend, who used it as early as 6 weeks old for her newborn to track it visually. In addition, because the bell is encased within the wooden bars of the bell roller, the baby can see it, but cannot chew it. Thus I would actually prefer the bell roller below to the bell rattle above (where the bells are exposed).
In this photo below, we have used the bell roller as a tummy time toy. Because it rolls slowly, but not too far, baby enjoyed watching me roll it while he was on his belly.
The interlocking discs** are another Montessori classic. I bought one and was gifted with another. Introduced around 6 months, the two discs are pieced or glued together at a 90 degree angle. Baby can pass them from one hand to another, use both hands to hold it, and rotate the discs using his wrists. Like the bell roller above, the interlocking discs also roll away slowly so is a great toy for tummytime or soon-to-be-crawlers. For such a simple toy (it is literally two wood circles), it sure supports alot of fine motor skills.
Of the two, baby seems to prefer the thinner, lighter interlocking discs (in the foreground), which is from here.
A good learning point from these two interlocking discs above… bigger is not always better!
For young babies and toddlers, instead of choosing the biggest, choose the one that fits comfortably in their small palms, that their little fingers can wrap around.
Besides wood, you may provide a variety of textures, like metal, silicon, and fabric:
One of the earliest toys we introduced was a crocheted jellyfish handmade by baby’s grandaunt.
Some NICUs have a similar initiative, where volunteer knitters crochet jellyfish for preemies to hold, so that they won’t pull out all the tubes, albeit held to higher safety standards.
The tentacles were a good size for baby to cling on to, and there were so many tentacles so it maximised baby’s chances of grabbing one successfully. We hung the jellyfish on baby’s playgym and supervised always.
This silicone teether is currently baby’s favourite. Made from medical-grade silicone, the design is such that baby can grasp it easily like a rattle, with knobs on both ends for easy gumming and exploration with the mouth.
Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this teether! It’s nontoxic, hygienic, easy on the eye and easy to hold.
This nipple ball** is a Montessori classic. It is so named because the many nubs provide baby with a similar experience to a breast or pacifier, but baby can chew on this as hard as he wants. Haha.
I introduced this after baby had gotten the hang of the silicone teether above that was longer and therefore easier to grasp. The knobs on this nipple ball are abit shorter, and overall require more skill to grasp being a smaller, rounder object.
One other benefit to a nipple ball is that it does not roll as fast as a regular ball. Along with the bell roller and interlocking discs above, I try to include 2-3 slow-rolling objects on baby’s shelf to encourage tummy time, flipping and crawling.
If I had to choose an all-rounder item from this list, it would be the baby crinkle paper. There is even a black and white version available so it doubles up as high contrast images for your newborn to look at.
If you’ve ever seen your baby fascinated as he scrunches a plastic bag, the crinkle paper applies the same concept. It makes a satisfying crinkly sound, but is much safer, softer and cleaner for babies.
Frankly, if I could, I’d buy one for the home, one for the car, and one to gift all my expecting friends.
Many of the above aren’t Montessori items but fit seamlessly into a Montessori home. 4-5mos are learning about cause-and-effect e.g. if I press this, it makes a sound. That’s why rattles, bells and crinkly papers are perfect for this age and up!
And finally, I’ve been saving one of the best items for the last:
These sensory circles come in a 10pack of 5 big (for stepping on) and 5 small (pictured). Baby loves exploring these sensory circles with his hands and mouth when he’s lying on his tummy.
If we have been maintaining the infant shelves for them in the newborn period, choosing items from the shelf (or from baskets on the shelf) and putting them back, now at 4mo and up is the time to place a few or several toys directly on the shelf (not in baskets). The baby can see these when they are lying on their belly and rolling.
I was absolutely startled when my 5mo, who cannot yet crawl, somehow got himself to the shelf by rolling, and then reaching for and pulling his favourite rattle off the shelf?!
It just goes to show that when we prepare a space for children to be capable, they show us how capable they are.
Yes. Even babies.
That’s why I’ll always be here, shouting about Montessori to any parent who will listen.
P.S. If you would like to see how a 5mo baby can make a choice between two toys, click here.