15 Cool Treasure Baskets For Toddlers
Since homeschooling, I have a kindergartner and a busy toddler who is eager to play and explore in the morning. Creating fun treasure baskets for toddlers to explore is something I have been wanting to start with my busy toddler for a while.
After searching Pinterest for treasure baskets for toddlers, I found so many fun and creative ideas that I just had to share. Here are 15 cool treasure basket ideas for toddlers!
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Other Activities For Toddlers
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- Safe Cutting Activities For Toddlers
If you are familiar with the Montessori method, I am sure you have already heard of treasure baskets. I have always been a fan of the Montessori approach, and lately, I have been making a conscious effort to implement Montessori principles at home with my toddler.
I love the concept of treasure baskets for my toddler because he enjoys exploring new things. With that in mind, I wanted to put together a list of fun ideas to try with him. In this post, I am sharing some cool treasure basket ideas I found, along with how my toddler responded to them.
The Benefits of Treasure Baskets
Montessori treasure baskets are baskets filled with related objects that can be rotated in and out based on your child’s interests. The possibilities are truly endless when it comes to what you can include in each basket.
Starting with what your child is currently interested in is a great way to introduce treasure baskets. These simple yet engaging baskets are full of treasures that encourage children to use all of their senses, including smell, taste, touch, sight, and hearing.
Beyond sensory exploration, treasure baskets also support fine motor development, hand eye coordination, and concentration. They encourage independent play, curiosity, and problem solving as toddlers explore each item at their own pace. Treasure baskets can also help build confidence, as children make choices and discover new objects in a calm, screen free way.
15 Cool Treasure Baskets For Toddlers
Fun Natural Textures
This treasure basket for toddlers is adorable, I love all the natural textures. We plan on taking a family trip this summer, and I can’t wait to collect some sea shells from the beach
This Natural treasure basket is from Little House On The Green On Instagram.
Brown Natural Textiles
I love the warmth from this treasure basket with all the brown wooden textiles. This treasure basket has brushes, rattle, wooden spoon and a few other cool natural textiles.
This treasure basket is from Hannahs Playful Beginings
Book Inspired Treasure Baskets For Kids
We love picture books in my house, so creating a treasure basket for my toddler based on a theme is going to be fun.
During the fall , we always read leaf thief. It’s such a cute, and interactive book for kids. This cute book inspired treasure basket from Educator Mum is adorable!
Fun Misc Treasure Basket For Kids
This Treasure basket has a ton of different mix textures, and objects which can be fun for toddlers and babies to explore.
This treasure basket is from Harry Louis Adventures on instagram.
Sea Shell Treasure Basket
Sea shells are so unique and beautiful. I want to create something similar with sea shells we collect from our family beach trip this year!
This treasure basket is from How We Montessori
Large Christmas Treasure Basket
We love Christmas in my house, so when I saw this treasure basket I knew I would want to share it on this post! A large Christmas treasure basket is so cool, and my kids would definitely love something like this!
This treasure basket is from Lottie_Makes on Instagram.
Silver Treasure Basket Idea
I love the idea of creating a treasure basket that showcase items of the same texture, or colors. This treasure basket has a lot of silver items that are different textures which Is such a fun exploration experience for kids!
This treasure basket is from Be Wild And Be Free Playhub
A Fun Story Basket For Lil Readers
We love books in my house, this is something I plan to do with my toddler. I knew I had to share this story basket idea. Such a fun way for kids to read the book, and recreate what they read with different objects.
This treasure basket is from How 2 Montessori
Cups And Lids Treasure Basket
This is a treasure basket I created when my daughter was a toddler. She loved small containers and lids, so using these containers with the lids was a huge hot for her!
You can use any containers, and lids you have around the house. Yogurt containers, lotion jars etc.
Treasure Basket for Animals
I love the simplicity of this treasure basket because you can focus on your Childs interest and put that into a treasure basket for them to explore.
This one is animals, but you could literally add anything. A few ideas are;
- Farm animals
- Dinosaurs
- Small figurines
Color Inspired Treasure Basket
My son is just getting into color recognition, so this treasure basket idea is perfect! Depending on the color of the week, you can create
This treasure basket is from Outside The Toy Box on instagram.
Non Toy Treasure Basket Ideas
A non toy treasure basket sounds like a great idea! Treasure baskets in general are great for imagination and exploration. So creating one without toys is a great idea!
This treasure basket is from Mummy And The Bears!
Misc Treasure Basket Idea
A non toy treasure basket sounds like a great idea! Treasure baskets in general are great for imagination and exploration. So creating one without toys is a great idea!
This treasure basket is from The AppleTree House Montessori
Things That Go Treasure Basket
I love the idea of creating a treasure basket full of things that move! My toddler is into cars, so I created this simple treasure basket for him to explore.
This can include cars, trains, airplanes, construction trucks etc!
Things With Buttons Treasure Basket
I know I’m not the only mama with a little one who loves buttons. So I created this simple treasure basket for my son. I put a bunch of things in it that have buttons. This treasure basket was a huge hit for my son!
Best Age For Introducing Treasure Baskets
Treasure baskets can be introduced early, believe it or not. In my professional opinion, the sooner the better. I introduced treasure baskets to my daughter as early as 6 months, using teethers and other items I knew were safe for her age.
Around 6 months and up, children tend to put everything in their mouths. Because of this, I always made sure the objects in her treasure basket were non toxic and safe for mouthing. Focusing on age appropriate, baby safe materials helps create a positive and safe early learning experience.
