Another Montessori tradition I’ve recently become a huge fan of is wooden toys. About every three months I go through this massive cleaning spree of the toy room. It’s been about three months since the last purge so I’m itching to ditch as many unused/pointless toys as I can around here. Especially before the holidays! I’ve found that the old saying really is true, less is definitely more! Now don’t get me wrong, I’m known to spoil my girls a little too much but I’m starting to get a hang of the things that really have longevity around here and those are the toys that encourage open-ended play. I don’t like my toddler sitting in front of a TV and I limit screen time as much as possible so I want toys that can intrigue her and keep her attention. I came across this wooden toy shop recently called Manzanita Kids and got my girls some of their wooden blocks. As soon as I showed Joie them she was so intrigued. At first I sat there with her and explained that each block had words on it. Since she is only 22 months she couldn’t read them herself but acknowledged the name associations as I pointed them out to her. She quickly decided she would take the reigns and play with them at her own capacity. She counted the blocks, stacked the blocks, pointed out the heart shape and associated that with love (as you can see her kissing the heart block) and more. She laid there playing for a long while and kept finding new ways to use the blocks. She even used the big name block as a microphone and sang me a sweet Joie original tune. Best part is, NO batteries required and I know these will last longer than any cheap plastic toy I may have gotten her before! So you’re basically making money ?. Go check out Manzanita Kids for more amazing wooden toys, I know I will be going back for more!!