Toys in the Montessori Home - Primary

Our toys requirements for the primary Montessori age - 3-6 years old:

• real materials
• real images
• constructive
• imagination development
• develop real-life skills
• aesthetics: something I can stand to look at
• long-lasting (culturally, age-span, actual number of years in use)

And these lists are not including activities that don't require materials - this is just physical items.

So what did we have? A lot that has been very multi-age - we use a lot now in elementary, and had some of it in toddlerhood as well. 

• Balance Beam - great extension for walking on the line (does not replace it!)
• Lincoln Logs - cultural significance to North America, natural, limitations of styles encourages creative solutions to build various structures, those same limitations demonstrate what is possible or not possible with this particular material
• Easel - double-sided with chalkboard and magnetic/dry-erase board
• Art and Writing supplies: non-drying clay, a few kid water-colors, easel paper, various high quality paint brushes, a couple of junk drawers for random supplies to use for imaginative purposes, high-quality paper scissors, fabric scissors, tracing paper, some construction paper, glue, double-sided tape, Prismacolor colored pencils, white erasers, KUM pencil sharpeners, cheap sets of cards and envelopes, notepads
• Craft supplies: yarn, knitting needles, crochet hooks, cross-stitch and embroidery materials, felt
• Schleich and Toob animals and scenery
• Wood barn
• Supply of cardboard for making own creations

• Gardening supplies
• Stuffed animals - nothing gaudy or entirely unrealistic
• Wood train track with magnetic-wooden trains
• Music: various percussion instruments from various cultures
• Books - lots and lots of excellent literature selections
• Wood pattern blocks for tessellations and patterns: we had these at the primary age, but they were not a big hit
• Games: typical deck of cards, Skip-Bo, Uno, Bible Timeline cards, Mary Memory Match, Opposites Matching 
• Building blocks
• Blankets and pillows for making forts
• Practical life items: child-size brooms and mops, cleaning cloths, spray bottles; yep, these were toys ;) 
• tricycle (carryover from toddler)

This has actually been a difficult list to create because so much of our school and home/play overlaps, flowing from one to the other. Because of this overlap, this list actually looks longer than it feels.