Scat the Cat Felt Board Story

Scat the Cat is one of my favorite felt stories to present to Preschool aged children during circle time. As I tell the story, I ask children to think of other things that are the same color of the cat. This open ended question fosters cognitive and creative development.

My version of this story.... 

Once upon a time there was a black cat. His mom was black, his dad was black and his brothers and sisters were black. 

This cat had a very special hat, it was magical. When he put it on his head, he could change his color. 

So, on this day, Scat the Cat put on his hat and said, "I'm Scat the Cat and with my hat, I am going to change my colors just like that!"

And Scat the Cat changed himself into a blue cat. He was blue as blue can be. He was as blue as....(this is when the children are given some time to provide answers. Get ready, for the children get very excited as they provide answers). 

But after awhile, he was tired of being blue, and so he put on his hat and he said, "I'm Scat the Cat and with my hat, I'm going to change my colors just like that!" 

And Scat the Cat changed himself into a red cat....

AND SO ON. 

The story ends when  you are finished the colors OR when it seems right with the children.

The Ending: Scat the Cat realized he was happy being a black cat. He didn't know why he wanted to change. So he put on his hat and he said, "I'm Scat the Cat and with my hat, I change back into a black cat". 

Preschool Math Concepts and the Felt Board

Felt pieces on a flannel board provide young children visual cues for basic math. Many songs, poems and stories  teach math concepts such as number recognition, counting, matching as well as the introduction of adding and subtracting. By including mathematical concepts within the telling of a story or poem,  it will foster cognitive development within the young audience members.

Every time we have a felt story with numbers, we can ask children to count along, or ask open ended questions to encourage subtraction and addition. For example, "If I have five ladybugs all together, and one is on the felt board, how many are in my bag?" These type questions stimulate the minds of older preschool children.

There are so many felt stories and preschool songs with the number five. Next time you are telling the story, try including some math questions to challenge the children's minds: 

"If I have two on the board, and three in my bag, how many felt pieces do I have all together?' 

"I have four on the board, I will take one away, so how many will be left?" 

"Two felts make a pair. We have four all together, so how many pairs do we have?" 

And so on, and so on...

Online Early Childhood Workshops with Circle of Ideas