The best toy

These Russian nesting dolls are really the best toy for Téa at 7.5 months.

She was immediately drawn to the bright, pleasing doll's face.  The dolls are just the right size for small hands to grab and handle.  They roll away if she fails to grab them, which is great for crawling practice.

After I showed her how you can take them apart, I put them back together loosely so that she can open them up herself.  She likes to bang the pieces together, and to try to fit pieces against each other, telling me "da-da-da-da-da" while she's at it.  Learning to put the dolls together and nest them will be a great puzzle for her to solve when she gets older.

I also like to assemble the three largest dolls separately (I've hidden the smallest ones) to show her the concept of size. Children are drawn to difference, and Montessori materials call for a set of materials to be exactly the same except for the concept/variable being taught.  Most commercial nesting cups vary in both colour and size.  These nesting dolls are really perfect because they are (almost) identical.

We also get to explore the concept of "in" and "out" as we take them apart or put them back together.

This set belongs to her uncle, so I'm going to have to look for a set for her very own.  Any recommendations?