Dec 14, 2014

Felt Board Winter Activities: Matching Colors!

Matching colors is a fun and educational activity for young children. For toddlers, a color coordination activity helps them to not only learns colors, but  label them as well, thus fostering language development. The following felt board activities provide matching hats and scarves, along with fun, age appropriate poems. In addition, matching activities aids in gradual transitions out of circle time



To the tune of "I'm a Little Teapot"

I'm a little penguin, black and white
Short and wobbly, and adorable sight
I can't fly at all, but I love to swim
So I'll waddle to the water
And dive right in!




Five little snowmen, on a winter's day.
The first one said, wake up so we can play
The second one said, let's stomp on the ground
The third one said, let's roll all around
The fourth one said, let's run and run and run
The fifth one said, I'm afraid I feel the sun
Oh dear, cried the snowmen
As they looked toward the sky
And the five melting snowmen
Waved a fond good bye


Oct 26, 2014

Felt Board Poems: Weather Preschool Theme

Many preschool programs discuss weather during circle time as part of their daily routine. Sometimes, though, weather as an individual theme or topic can emerge with the children's interests, or specific program planning from the Educator. Recently, where I live, the weather has been stormy.  The rainfall level and leaves blocking the drain has caused extreme puddles along the city streets. Wind has brought down tree branches.  The following felt board activities, poems and stories have been selected to fall into a weather preschool theme.

Rain




5 Little Raindrops

Five little raindrops plopping on the floor,
One plopped away, and then there were four.
Four little raindrops dripping on the trees,
One dripped away, and then there were three.
Three little raindrops splashing on my shoe,
One splashed away, and then there were two.
Two little raindrops starting to run,
One ran off, and then there was one.
One little raindrop drying in the sun,
It dried all up, and then there were none!



Umbrella Felt Board Poem

Five umbrellas waiting for rain to pour
One was picked, and now there are four
Four umbrellas, saying pick me, pick me!
One was taken, and now there are three
Three umbrellas, wondering what to do
One was chosen, and now there are two
Two umbrellas waiting for some fun
One was picked and now there is one
One little umbrella, the rain is all done
He went home and now there are none.

 

Wind




Five Little Kites

Five little kites flying high in the sky
Said, "Hi!" to the cloud as it passed by,
Said, "Hi!" to the birds, said "Hi!" to the sun,
Said, "Hi!" to an airplane--oh what fun!
Then whish went the wind,
And they all took a dive:
One
   Two
       Three
         Four
           Five.




Five Little Leaves

Five little leaves so bright and gay
Were dancing about a tree one day
The wind came blowing through the town
And one little leave came tumbling down.


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!

Sunshine 

 

Big Sun

(sung to Row, Row, Row, Your Boat)
Bright sun shining down,
Shining on the ground.
What a lovely face you have,
Yellow, big and round


Snow



Five Little Snowflakes


One little snowflake with nothing to do
Along came another and then there were two
Two little snowflakes playing in a tree
Along came another and then there were three
Three little snowflakes looking for some more
Along came another and then there were four
Four little snowflakes that finally did arrive
Along came another and then there were five
Five little snowflakes having so much fun
Out came the sun and then there were none.

Clouds



The Clouds Are Passing By
Tune: “The Farmer In The Dell”
by Jean Warren

The clouds are passing by,
The clouds are passing by,
Heigh-ho, just watch them go,
The coulds are passing by.

The clouds are passing by,
Way up in the sky,
Sometimes fast, sometimes slow,
The clouds are passing by.




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Aug 14, 2014

Slippery Fish for the Felt Board








Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Swimming in the water
Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish,
Gulp, Gulp, Gulp

This was one of the first songs I learnt in the Early Childhood Field. I worked one on one with a girl who was hearing impaired and she use to sign along with me to fish, eating and the "oh no!" by emphatically and joyfully putting her hands to her cheeks.

Later, when my son was a toddler, it was one of his favourite songs, and we use to sing it together. He loved the ending! Such fond memories

It is a classic song for young children.  Thank you Charlotte Diamond!






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Jul 29, 2014

Felt Board Book: "Sweet Dream"

I came upon this hand made, awe-inspiring,  felt book and asked the creator if I could feature it on my blog. She agreed. One of the things I love about this book is the way it evokes imagination for viewers of all ages.




Jun 15, 2014

Bug Theme and the Felt Board

The other day a butterfly fluttered by, a fly was in my home and a spiderweb was attached to my car. A bug theme with young children is such a great idea when summer is around the corner. Here are some felt board suggestions for a topic all about insects. By clicking on the image you will be directed to a blog entry providing more information.






http://feltboardideas.blogspot.ca/2014/04/ladybug-ladybug-fly-away-home-ideas-for.html






http://feltboardideas.blogspot.ca/search/label/Down%20By%20the%20Bay




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Apr 3, 2014

Ladybug, Ladybug Fly Away Home: Ideas for the Felt Board

The other day I saw a ladybug while working with toddlers. My immediate reaction was positive and I wanted to show it to them.  Whenever I come upon a ladybug, particularly if it falls on me, I am always filled with such delight. I like ladybugs, always have. It's interesting to me that we have reactions towards bugs. Is it natural or are we taught to have those reactions based on stories, nursery rhymes, etc?
For instance,  Little Miss Muffet was scared by the spider who sat down beside her, and yet with ladybugs, we just want them to fly away home.


So, it's not surprising to me, that when making felts for the flannel board, that I created ladybugs. I like this set, because the leaf can be used as the backdrop and a felt board is not necessary.







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.



I also made this into a Felt Board Book: Please read the following blog entry for more information:
Felt Story Books








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Mar 22, 2014

Rain Felt Board Ideas




It's raining again, where I live, and although it's typical of our weather cycle on the Pacific West Coast, it would be nice to see a sunny day. So, with this outside world, my blog entry today is all about rain.


A poem for the above felt umbrellas, which is great for fostering math!

Umbrella Felt Board Poem

Five umbrellas waiting for rain to pour
One was picked, and now there are four
Four umbrellas, saying pick me, pick me!
One was taken, and now there are three
Three umbrellas, wondering what to do
One was chosen, and now there are two
Two umbrellas waiting for some fun
One was picked and now there is one
One little umbrella, the rain is all done
He went home and now there are none.



The following felt pieces, I made this week to contribute to my rain theme, and they are so easy to make and I think, awfully cute!


Rain Felt Board Poem

5 Little Raindrops

Five little raindrops plopping on the floor,

One plopped away, and then there were four.

Four little raindrops dripping on the trees,

One dripped away, and then there were three.

Three little raindrops splashing on my shoe,

One splashed away, and then there were two.

Two little raindrops starting to run,

One ran off, and then there was one.

One little raindrop drying in the sun,

It dried all up, and then there were none!



Further Reading Suggestion :

Cloud Preschool Lesson Plan


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Mar 7, 2014

St. Patrick's Day Felt Board Story





St. Patrick's day is around the corner, so I decided to make some clover. I went online to images and traced a four leaf clover and preceded to make my template.  Then, I went looking for a poem to go along with them. The following poem is very popular and found on many sites.  It was then I realized, that a shamrock usually only has three leaves!




Five Little Shamrocks Poem:


Five little shamrocks growing by the door.
(Child's name) picked one, and that left four.
Four little shamrocks, green as they could be.
(Child's name) picked one, and that left three.
Three little shamrocks, sitting by my shoe,
(Child's name) picked one, and then there were two.
Two little shamrocks nodding in the sun,
(Child's name) picked one, and that left one.
One little shamrock for St. Patrick's Day fun.
(Child's name) picked it, and that left none.


Further Reading Suggestion: Green Theme: Preschool Songs



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Feb 20, 2014

Ocean Theme and the Felt Board



The other day, the daycare where I work, visited the library for storytime. The librarian carried out an ocean theme with books, songs and felt stories. Of course, she sang Slippery Fish, a classic. But, she also sang a new one for me, following the song/rhyme Five Little Monkeys but instead singing with fish and a shark:

Five little fishies swimming in the sea
Teasing Mr. Shark, "you can't catch me, no you can't catch me"
Along came the Shark as quiet as can be
And snap!

Four little fishies.....

My following collection contributes to an Ocean Theme. Please click on the photo for the blog entry and further information.


http://feltboardideas.blogspot.ca/search/label/oceanFive Little Sea Creatures
The Rainbow FishThe Rainbow Fish
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9010105951266763790#editor/target=post;postID=2744419641735506616;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=2;src=postname10 Little Rubber Ducks



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