Montessori Ikea Finds.

This week I took a trip to Ikea… without kids! I personally love Ikea but if you’ve never visited an Ikea store — it’s hit or miss, to be honest. I know a lot of people who can’t stand the layout of the store and how they “herd you like cattle”. But if you don’t mind the never ending warehouse feel it is a place that offers so many Montessori-inspired items and usually the items are decent quality and pretty affordable.

Here’s a round-up of my favorite Montessori-inspired items from Ikea:

Shape sorter: I like this one because there aren’t that many shapes so it’s simpler than many of the shape sorters found at other stores.

Toy hammering block: This is similar to this one but at a lower price point.

Wooden baby gym: All 3 of my kids used this!

Stack and nest cups: These are fun to stack, nest… play inside, outside and in the bath.

Baby gym: Love how simple this is.

Crane with blocks: Another one that all 3 kids used and loved.

Stacking rings: So sleek!

White tray table: This offers a great portable workspace! Your child will be able to move about the house and continue doing their activities.

White stool: We use this outside in our garden so the kids can water the plants in the raised beds easily.

Flisat stool: Love these little stools! They pair very well with the Flisat table.

Latt table and chair set: We’re on our second Latt table/chair set! The first one we left outside and it got ruined. Note to self: do not leave this outside!

Picnic table: Great size and quality.

Flisat table: I’ve been trying to get my hands on this table for over a year. It’s always sold out! If you find it, scoop it up!

Taller stool: This is a perfect stool for the bathroom; for your child to reach the toilet or sink.

Tray: They have assorted trays that work well for shelf work!

Small drinking glasses: These are the perfect weaning glasses for babies/young toddlers. They are actually shot glasses! We’ve used the same ones for all 3 kids and despite being dropped and even tossed around, they haven’t broken.

Ice cube trays: Does anyone else have kids who are obsessed with making ice cubes? These are sturdy so they can fill the trays and carry them around independently.

Kids utensils: Great for practical life works!

Clear drinking glasses: I love these! We’ve had them since my 5 year old was a baby. I picked up 6 more when I was there this week.

Soap dispenser: These work well for soap (obviously) but you can also fill them with paint! Such an easy hack to limit the amount of paint your child uses at a time.

Small bowls: Great for practical life works!

Chopping boards: Perfect for food prep!

Dragon dessert spoons: Love this line of silverware (especially forks and spoons.)

Dragon coffee spoons: Perfect for babies who love yogurt. 🙂

Wash cloths: Spills, practical life work, bath time… anything!

Colored pencils: These feel great to hold!

Mixed beads: Very similar to perler/fuse beads.

Bead shapes: Some basic shapes to pair with the beads.

Watercolors: These last a long time and the colors are vibrant.

Easel: I have a different easel than this one but I wish I had this one!

Apron with sleeves: Perfect to keep clean and dry.

Paintbrushes: Great quality.

Drawing paper roll: A necessity!

Tent: We’ve had this for 5 years and it’s still going strong. The kids love to play in it and read books.

Finger puppets: These are adorable! Search online and you can find activity cards to match these finger puppets.

Cash register: Love this!

Train set: My parents have this and my kids play with it every single time we visit (multiple times a week.) 

Tunnel: Same as the tent! They connect to each other and are both very loved. 

Spice rack: We have these spice racks in each of their bedrooms (!) and we use them for books. They fit so well!

Bamboo plate stand: If you’re looking for a way to store books on a work shelf… plate stands are the perfect way!

Dollhouse: This is fun as a dollhouse OR you can use it as a shelf and display books!

Kallax shelf: We have 3 of these that we use for work shelves, and then we use one as a dresser! We added drawers and a tension rod to hang dresses.

Doormat: So cheerful! I got this, this week and my kids are loving it.

Large clear tray: I LOVE these trays. They are a perfect addition to an environment with multi-age children. If you offer this tray to your oldest child to build on, or do legos, or crafts, they can pick up and move their whole work space if a sibling comes to close. It’s the perfect size to do a big work on.

Trofast drawers: These are great for art supples, or to use as a dresser! Really versatile. 

Kallax shelf: We’ve used this multiple ways; laying flat as an infant shelf and standing tall for older children.

Boxes with lids: Love these boxes for anything small that you don’t want babies and young toddlers to have access to!

Place mats: These are perfect for meals and snacks but also great to protect the table from glue and paint! If they are too big for your table, you can cut them in half with a paper cutter. Just remember to use your corner rounder so the cut edges don’t cut your child.

Skubb boxes: We use these ALL over the house; specifically in bedrooms to keep clothes organized.

Utility cart: I’ve used this as a diaper changing station, for art supples, for gardening supplies — it’s been in the kitchen, the bathroom, in the playroom and on the deck. The one on Amazon is not the same quality (trust me, I own it too!)

Hemnes dresser: Such a great dresser for small children. They won’t be able to reach the top drawer but you can either just use the drawers they can reach or if you have the tools you can cut the legs shorter!

Do you enjoy shopping at Ikea? If you’re heading there, remember to bring your own reusable bags! They don’t have bags for any items you purchase.