Montessori toys, sorted by what they teach

The Fairy Shop keeps a short list: twelve learning toys, filed into four shelves by what the toy asks a child to do rather than by the age range printed on the carton.

Sorting and counting occupies one shelf, alphabet and phonics the second, magnetic tiles and building sets the third, and interactive globes and drawing the fourth. Where a maker prints a piece count or an age, it is on the listing; where a maker prints nothing, the listing stays quiet rather than guessing.

The door at 272 Newbury Street in Boston is open every day from noon until six, and the twelve lines on this page are the twelve on the shelf inside.

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