Reggio Emilia Inspired Gift Ideas

There are so many great open ended toys out there these days! Our home has a rich mix of Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio inspired toys. Almost everything is open-ended, and I love that we can get years and years of use out of almost all my son's toys. Here are just a few Reggio Emilia inspired gift ideas for you to take a look at.

For Babies

Under 12 month olds love things they can grab, put in their mouths, look at and feel.

Earth Sylks are a beautiful, open ended option that babies love! You can play peek a boo, explore object permanence, use them for dress ups, cover up baby dolls in their pram... there are so many possibilities!

Chunky pencils are perfect for encouraging even the smallest of babies to begin their mark making journey.

Grapat Nins, Mates and Coins are great for developing fine motor skills and imagination.

The Manhattan Skwish is a beautiful tool for beginning to explore the concepts of relationship and connection.

Eco friendly paints and crayons are taste safe and washable, the perfect first paint for babies.

The Grimms Grasper is another beautiful tool for learning about colour, connection and for building up fine motor skills.

High contrast cards and books are perfect for young babies who we know see better in black and white. They can also be used when exploring the concept of the absence of colour later on in life.

Eco friendly teethers based on the natural world help to spark an interest in the world around them while soothing those sore gums.

Books like Optical Physics for Babies (and many more found on the list here) are great for helping to explain the scientific concepts behind colour.

A baby gym is essential for any baby. Developing hand eye coordination, encouraging movement and providing a source for unoccupied play.

For Toddlers

1 to 3 year olds really love things they can explore with free reign. Using your knowledge of the child's interests and the schemas they explore most frequently, you can use this list to help you narrow down the gifts that your child will really love.

Kitpas Crayons are my holy grail of crayon. They are highly pigmented, go on smooth, can be used on almost any surface and wipe right off, and come in a range of colours and sizes.

Different types of paints. Acrylics, watercolours, tempera, finger paints, ceramic paints, fabric paints.

Different types of brushes - bamboo, cows hair, wide, flat, tiny.

Clay, and clay tools alongside things like claydough, play dough, modelling clay, plasticene.

Beautiful places to store art supplies like this wooden apothecary jar holder, or this cute pig pencil holder.

Tools like a whittling knife and other non conventional tools like pipettes, piping bags, graters, mashers, and fruit garnishing tools.

As well as any of the books found here.

For 3 to 6 Year Olds

In this age group, you might like to start including things that are more fiddly, have sharper edges, are technology based or require a longer attention span.

Felting - wet and dry needle felting is great for fine motor, concentration and imagination.

Child sized working tools are perfect as children become more involved in their projects. A hand drill and a hammer with a tool belt would be perfect for a child interested in woodworking.

Grapat Mandalas are a beautiful way to introduce transient art. These loose parts can be used as everything from play food to decorations on block buildings.

Weaving, sewing, knitting and threading can all be introduced around these ages.

Potion making with mortar and pestle, scoops and spoons is always popular!

Art projectors to shine artwork up onto the walls and to use to help in art projects are a wonderful technological tool.

A voice recorder like the Chameleon Reader is a practical way to introduce technology in a non-tablet form. Children can record the sound of paper scrunching, themselves singing, or you reading to them.

A digital camera is another way to introduce the art of photography without the need for a tablet.