Transportation Felt Board Activities

Transportation is a great theme for any early childhood setting. Visit my website http://www.circleoifdeas.net/ for more information to add to this preschool topic.

Matching Color Activity

Sung to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Cars are sleeping in their homes
Tired from the busy day
To the shops, and to the school
To the park, and to the pool
Cars are sleeping in their homes
Tired from a busy day

Number Recognition Activity

See the trains chugging chugging down the track
Engine in the front, caboose in the back
All the colors streaming past
This train’s going very fast





Dump Truck Activity

Each child receives a dumptruck in his hand, which he/she will bring to the felt board after providing an answer


Ten dump trucks all in a row. All filled with something and a place to go.


(Child's name) truck is filled with______, that's fine, and now there's only nine

Nine dump trucks all in a row. All filled with some

Fall Felt Board Stories

FIVE LITTLE PUMPKINS

Five little pumpkins sitting on the fence
The first one said, “oh my it’s getting late”
The second one said, “there are witches in the air”
The third one said, “but we don’t care”
The fourth one said,”let’s run and run and run”
The fifth one said, “I’m ready for some fun”
Ooooh went the wind, and out went the light
And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight


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...

To London Bridge:
Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down
Autumn leaves are falling down, red, yellow, orange and brown

Way Up High in the Apple Tree

Way up high in the apple tree, five little apples were looking at me
I shook that tree as hard as I could,
And down came an apple, mmm, mmm,
It was good!

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Spring Felt Board Activities

Five Little Kites

One little kite in the sky so blue,
Along came another, then there were two.
Two little kites, flying high above me.
Along came another, then there were three
Three little kites, just watch them soar
Along came another, then there were four.
Four little kites, so high and alive
Along came another, then there were five.
Five little kites dancing across the sky,

What a sight to see, way up so high!

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

Matching Easter Eggs

Sung to the tune of I’m a Little Teapot

I’m an Easter Egg, just look at me
I’m as happy as I can be
I have lots of colors, no longer white
With polka dots, I’m such a sight!

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Christmas Felt Board Gifts

Felt Advent Calendars
This calendar allows young children to still experience the countdown to Christmas without the added sugar and small gifts. The days

Winter Felt Board Activities



WINTER FELT BOARD ACTIVITIES

Hand-made Felt Snowmen

After making templates of a snowman, hat and scarf, cut out five snowmen with different color clothes. The hat and scarf should match to allow children to experience color coordination with the activity. The snowmen can be decorated with eyes, carrot nose, smile and buttons. Try outlining the snowmen with crystal fabric paint for an extra touch. Here is a poem to attach to this felt activity:







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


Matching Felt Mittens

Matching activities are a great tool for teaching color, size, shape and design to young children. In addition, matching experiences allow children to participate themselves by bringing a felt piece to the felt board at a circle time or by matching the mittens themselves at a classroom station. With felt, the children can feel the softness of the material, and the fabric is very durable for those little hands. Try making two sizes of mittens with the same colors. This activity can be made to equal the amount of children in a group setting, so that everyone can have one mitten in their hands to bring to a flannel board. A song to go along with a mitten matching lesson is:

(Sung to the tune of Row Row Row your Boat)


Warm, warm, warm and dry

Mittens feel so nice

So grab a pair in chilly air

Or in the snow and ice











Five Little Snowflakes

This felt activity requires only one template, some googly eyes, and fabric paint. Use the snowflake template to cut out five white snowflakes. Decorate them with a fun smile, and some googly eyes. Also, trace the outline of the snowflakes with a glittery fabric paint, such as silver. Here is a poem to attach to this felt activity:

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.

Penguin Felt Activity

Penguins are a delightful animal to include in any winter curriculum for an early childhood setting. Planning a penguin theme day is a fun event. Try making felt penguins with matching hats and scarves. Add this poem to the felt activity:




One penguin, with nothing to do, called to a friend and then there were two.
Two penguins swimming in the sea, called to a buddy, then there were three.
Three penguins waddled to the shore, they called to a pal, then there were four.
Four penguins learning how to dive, call to a brother, then there were five!

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Basic Instructions for Making Felt Board Stories

Felt material will sit on felt. In early childhood settings, story time at the library, Sunday school and so on, teachers and caregivers will tell stories on a flannel board using felt pieces. In addition, felt pieces can be used for teaching lessons and concepts. The felts can be used to create a visual aide for singing songs, and telling poems. The options are plentiful. In addition, young children enjoy playing with the felt pieces themselves. Many felt pieces are made with a sewing machine or bought at a store, but this article explains basic steps for hand-making a felt project using felt material, fabric paint and glue.

Required Material for Making Felt Activities

1. Felt Material: Before beginning a project, make sure you have enough felt fabric in various colors to create a project. Individual felt pieces can be bought at most craft stores, and many dollar shops. In addition, big fabric stores like Fabricland will sell felt material in rolls.
2. Fabric Paint: The next important material to purchase is fabric paint. There are many colors and variations in fabric paint, such as glitter or 3D. Fabric paint and fabric pens are available at most craft stores, for instance, Michaels or large department stores, such as Walmart. Although more difficult to master, the fabric paint will come out more vivid then the fabric pen for your finished product. If you are on a tight budget, felt pens, like Sharpies can also be used on felt material.
3. Glue: Craft glue is essential for making felt activities. All purpose glue like Tacky glue can be used or specific felt glue is also available, but may be difficult to find.
4. Scissors: A sharp pair of scissors used for cutting fabric material is best.
5. Google eyes: This is an optional choice, but they do add the cute factor to your felt project.

Making Templates for Felt Activities

Once the material is purchase and collected, then the next step is to decide what project to make. Is it a story that is being made, or a simple song, such as Five Little Ducks? Find some thick paper, such as old file folders, and begin drawing out the pieces required for the project. These drawings will become your templates. If a story is being made, then have the illustrations of the book in front of you to help draw the required pieces. Once the templates are drawn, then cut out each piece and label it. For instance, if you are making The Very Hungry Caterpillar, then label each template: apple, orange, etc.

After all the templates are cut out, then take an individual template and place onto the appropriate color felt material. The template can be held down by one's hand while the other hand cuts around the template or the template can be taped on using a little scotch tape or double sided tape. Avoid tracing the template onto the fabric because then the pen marks will be seen on the material with your final project.

Decorating The Felt Pieces

Once the felt pieces are cut out, it is time to finish with decorating details. This step can be complicated or simple depending on your wishes and comfort level. Fabric paint can be fickle and it is a good idea to try it out on a scrap piece of felt before working on your required piece of felt. By tracing the outline of your piece, such as an apple, it can add to its visual appeal. The paint can be the same color as the felt material, or a darker paint like black or brown can be used. Glitter fabric paint is also fun for adding details or outlines. Googly eyes can be glued on or other smaller felt pieces to add detail to your felt characters.

Finishing Touches to Hand-made Felt Projects

After the details have been added, then allow for proper drying time before storing the felt project. Ziplock bags work well to keep all the pieces together. A great idea for the story teller is to add the words required onto a card paper and place with the final felt project.

Felt activities are fun to make and great for preschool children to enjoy. There are many benefits for using this style of teaching and story telling within any early childhood setting.

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All About Felt Stories (Flannel Board)



Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Early childhood educators have been using felt stories (flannel board stories) for years. The felt pieces will sit upright onto felt boards or easels, thus allowing caregivers to provide colourful and vibrant visual aides to a group of preschoolers. In addition, young children enjoy playing with felts themselves. Felt pieces can be used for telling a story or poem, as a visual addition to lyrics of a song, to help teach concepts, or utilize as a transition out of group circle.

The Benefits of Using Felts in Early Childhood Settings

Felt material is beneficial to all young children, but in particular is useful for children who need extra attention visually. Children who have speech delays benefit with large visual pieces to view as the words are being spoken, as with children whose language being spoken is not their first language learnt at home.

Furthermore, felt boards can help children who are hearing impaired as the pieces are easy to see. At a group circle, the teacher/storyteller can give felt pieces out to the children to bring to the board and contribute, thus involving children who otherwise might be easily distracted and/or disruptive to the teacher led activities. The benefits of this alternative way of storytelling and teaching are plentiful.

Felt Stories and Poems

One of the favourite ways to use felt boards is to tell a story with the felt pieces. Stories and poems that have limited pieces or that involve pieces coming off and on to a board work the best. When there are too many felts needed to effectively tell the story, the board can become too busy and difficult for the storyteller to manage effectively. Some suggestions of books that transfer well to felt stories are Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear and The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister and I Know and Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

In addition, using short poems are a wonderful way of displaying the felts onto a board for the children to enjoy.

Felts With Songs

Songs can be enjoyed with the visual support of felts. The children can listen to music on CD or join in with the teacher to sing. Some great songs that correlate well to felts are fingerplay songs which have the number five in the title. Five is a nice number of felts to view on a board! Plus, we have five fingers to use for extra visualization and child engagement, such as:
 Felt Glove: Five Little Monkeys Swinging on the Tree

• Five Little Ducks
• Five Green and Speckled Frogs
• Five Little Monkeys

Using Felts to Teach Concepts

Felt pieces are a wonderful way to teach children concepts, such as color and number recognition, sizing and matching to name a few. By allowing the children to bring the felts to the boards they are learning with hands-on experiences. Some ideas for this type of learning involvement are matching winter mittens, correlating colour cars to colour garages, placing autumn leaves in the right order from small, medium and large, and matching numbered raindrops to the right numbers on an umbrella.

Felt Pieces and Transition

Lastly, felt pieces on the board can facilitate children transitioning out of circle. In Early Childhood programs, such as preschool and daycare, it is best for children to leave the group in a slow transition, to aid with structure and pace. For instance, if all the children leave the carpet area and rush to the washroom to wash their hands before snack, it potentially leads to problems that need to be addressed. Asking children to come to the board one by one helps with transition. An Educator can ask questions, for instance, "can you find me the red car?" followed by, "great, now you can leave to wash your hands".

Felts are fun for children to use, watch and learn from. Felt material is durable and timeless and is a wonderful addition to any early childhood educator's toolbox.

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