Felt Board Activities Promote Language Development

Friday afternoon at 5pm, last day of work before holidays, and I am waiting for two young boys (one and two) to be picked up by their parents. It is just me and them left in the room.  I want to keep them busy with a special activity that will engage them while they are waiting. I decide to bring out the teacher's felts and individual felt boards. The ones I choose are printed pieces, not home made ones, which can be more realistic in their images.

One boy is given the animals and the other is given fruit and vegetables. They are so happy. The two year old is using what words he knows to label each piece of felt. He methodically brings out each fruit and vegetable from its bag and places them on top of each other.

Whereas the one year old is choosing a felt piece, showing me each animal felt piece and waiting for animal clarification before placing the felt onto the felt board.

The activity was clearly promoting language development. Both boys were placing the pieces onto the boards with such concentration, the time quickly passed and before we knew it the parents arrived.

Online Early Childhood Workshops with Circle of Ideas

Felt Board Activities: Dogs and Cats

Match the dog to his doghouse

Scat the Cat

Five Little Sailboats Felt Board Poem

Five Little Sailboats

To the tune of  Five Little Ducks

Five sailboats went out one day

Over the waves and far away

With the wind, they begin to rock

One sailboat returns to the dock

Four sailboats...

Further suggestion: use the numbers to teach number recognition

Five Little Sailboats

Five little sailboats went out one day

Into the ocean and far away

Over the waves the boats do rock

Two of the boats decide to dock

Three little sailboats in the sea

With the sun as happy as can be

Two of the sailboats want to stay

So anchors they drop, for the day

One sailboat left, away he goes

A gust of wind, it sure does blow

As he rides the waves up and down

All the way to another town!

Online Early Childhood Workshops with Circle of Ideas

Ladybug Felt Board Story

Five Little Ladybugs

Five ladybugs with a leaf for their floor

One crawled away, and now there are four.

Four ladybugs left on a leaf

One climbed up a tree, and now there are three.

Three ladybugs wondering what to do.

One said goodbye, and now there are two.

Two ladybugs still having lots of fun,

When one had to leave, and now there is one.

One ladybug sitting all alone.

Finally flew home, and now there are none.

Online Early Childhood Workshops with Circle of Ideas

Nursery Rhymes and the Felt Board

Hickory Dickory Dock, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Itsy Bitsy Spider

Nursery Rhymes have existed for centuries. According to Wikipedia, Baa Baa Black Sheep can be dated back to 1744! Young children, especially toddlers, still enjoy the melodic sound of a rhyme. The repetition of words along with the rhythm of the lines help in language development. In addition, many of our favorite children's songs, such as the Itsy Bitsy Spider, originated as nursery rhymes. Today, there are numerous websites, blogs and youtube channels where nursery rhymes can be found, from classic to unfamiliar as well as different versions, all which can correlate to felt pieces.

Online Early Childhood Workshops with Circle of Ideas