Dec 11, 2013

Snowflakes for the Felt Board with Template



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. To view the template, please visit: http://issuu.com/circleofideas/docs/snowflake


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.


FURTHER RESOURCES: Snowflake Preschool Songs

                                            Snow and Ice Preschool Activities



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Nov 20, 2013

The Wheels on the Bus for the Felt Board



The Wheels on the Bus is such a classic song, that young children, particularly toddlers, always enjoy. For caregivers, the song is a great one for it can change in its length, by adding or subtracting the verses. In daycare situations, sometimes every verse is sung and maybe sung again to keep the children seated and entertained! And, the felt pieces for the felt board is an additional bonus:)

When I am using these felts and singing the song, I start with the outside of the bus, and then go to the inside of the bus, and place the bus over the seats to finish the song. The children love it!






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Nov 15, 2013

Felt Advent Calendars


Several years ago, I participated in a Christmas fair with my felt board product. I created these Christmas Advent Calendars and they were a big hit. I am not a sewer, glue is my friend. But, simply browsing through Pinterest and one can find AMAZING Advent Calendars made from felt. I have provided a few at the end of this blog. So whether making them with the sewing machine or not, they are a nice addition for the holidays. I particularly like the hanging felt trees, which children would love to interact with:)





Felt advent calendar
From CraftWhatever Blog with Tutorial

GORGEOUS Felt Advent Calendar
runlorirun.typepad.com

Nov 5, 2013

Polar Bear Felt Board and Penguin Felt Board Ideas



 
 
Polar Bears and Penguins are animals that fit well into a preschool winter curriculum. The following blog entry provides some felt story ideas and links to include into any early childhood setting.


Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do YOu See  with printable templates
Templates for Polar Bear, Polar Bear by Eric Carle

There Was a Little Penguin by Storytime ABC's
Pippa's Penguins #penguins #polar #flannelfriday #flannelboard
By A Bad Case of Books

Five Little Penguins

By Crafty Chic Mommy




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Bear Felt Board Stories

There are so many felt stories that include bears. The following entry provides a handle of suggestions, correlating well if carrying out a Bear theme with children.

Bear Story #1  

To begin with the classic, Brown Bear Brown Bear by Eric Carle. A great book for toddlers to encourage language development and to allow them opportunities to demonstrate which animals they can label. In addition, this story encourages color recognition.




Bear Felt Story # 2   

The Mitten by Jann Brett is such a fun story to include into a winter curriculum or a mitten theme. One great idea I once observed with a library visit was the story told with stuffed animals and a large woolen mitten!




Bear Felt Story #3   

Down By the Bay is a fun song/book which introduces rhyming with children. A great extension is to see whether children can create their own verses.






Further reading: Polar Bears and Penguins


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Oct 29, 2013

Jack-o-Lantern Preschool Songs for Halloween




The following felt pieces were created for the classic, Five Little Pumpkins, but I always extend the use of pumpkin felts with the following songs. To begin, turn one or all of the pumpkins around so the face is not showing.


Song #1
To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

I am a pumpkin, orange and round.
You will find me on the ground.
Sometimes big, and sometimes small,
You will find me when it's fall.
I am a pumpkin, orange and round.
You will find me on the ground.




Song#2
To the tune of Sing a Song of Six Pence

First you take a pumpkin, big and round and fat

Then carve the top off, and that will make the hat
Then you carve the nose out, the mouth and the eyes
Show to the children for a Halloween surprise!


Then of course, turn the felt pumpkin around to finish the song, and finally you could sing

To the tune of I'm a Little Teapot

I'm a Jack-o-lantern, look at me
I'm as happy as I can be
Put a candle in, and light the light
Don't be frightened, it's Halloween night.



Sometimes, it doesn't take alot of felt pieces to entertain children :)





Oct 24, 2013

All About Turtles! Turtle Felt Board Poem and Turtle Preschool Song



Turtles are always a fun topic for young children anytime of the year! The following blog entry provides a poem, song and links for a turtle theme.



Felt Poem: 5 Little Turtles


One turtle with nothing to do
Called for his friend, then there were two.
Two turtles strolling by a tree,
Saw their buddy, now there are three.
Three turtles, a log for their floor,
Made room for a pal, now there are four.
Four turtles warming in the sun,
Saw a fifth friend, and said, "what fun!"



Preschool Song: I Had a Little Turtle



After running circle time with two and three year old children just recently, I have been reminded how much they like the song, "I Had a Little Turtle".

Lyrics:
 
I had a little turtle, his name was Tiny Tim

I put him in the bathtub, to see if he could swim

He drank up all the water,

He ate up all the soap

And now my tiny turtle has a bubble in his throat


Sign for Turtle

I use to sing the song when I taught Baby Signs as I could incorporate the sign for turtle, water, bath and bubbles. With the felt pieces, the signs and the song itself, it keeps the children's interest. I sing it a couple of times, and the older children quickly learn the words.

For further ideas:

Turtle Preschool Theme



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Oct 11, 2013

Fall Leaves for the Felt Board


These felt leaves for the felt board can be used as props for singing songs about fall as well as activities to learn concepts about sorting.  Each child can be given a leaf to bring to the board to place into the appropriate category or row at circle time. Afterwards, the children can then be asked to come back to the flannel board to remove a leaf according to the teacher's request, such as "please hand me the biggest red leaf on the board". This latter activity works well as a transition out of circle time. When the leaves are coming onto the board, the teacher can remind the children of the words used for sorting size: big, bigger and biggest as well as small, smaller and smallest. A further step is to ask the children to repeat these words to encourage language development.


Fall Leave Poem:

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...

Fall Leave Song (To London Bridge:)


Autumn leaves are falling down, falling down, falling down
Autumn leaves are falling down, red, yellow, orange and brown




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Sep 8, 2013

Are You My Mother? Felt Board Story


Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman was one of my favourite books when I was a child, and this felt story was one of the first ones I created for my Circle Times.  I usually tell the story close to Mother's Day or in the spring time, but it works anytime throughout the year, and correlates well to an All About Me theme.






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Sep 5, 2013

10 Little Rubber Ducks Felt Board Story by Eric Carle





Eric Carle's books correlate to felt stories so effectively. In addition, his stories always contain lessons for young children to learn such as mathematical concepts like subtraction and addition. Years ago, I read 10 Little Rubber Ducks and immediately knew I wanted to turn the book into a felt story. When I finished and was at circle time telling the story, I realized a little mistake that I made... the pieces were so big, it was challenging  to tell the story on a regular felt board easel. I had to take pieces on and off throughout the telling of the story. You can tell through the photos, the creased lines where the felt material has been folded to get into its bag. But, we always learn through our mistakes and since then, when making felt stories pieces, I make them smaller in size. Best of all,  it saves on felt material and cost! So, since the pieces are extra large, the felt story is shown among a number of photos.

The children love this story and at the end I hide the plastic toy duck and squeak it behind the board, so they cannot see.  Throughout the story, the children can help to count the ducks and learn about direction (north, south, east, west, up, down, etc.) I wrote the story on index cards, which makes it easier to tell as I coordinate the felt pieces.













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Aug 11, 2013

Train Felt Board Activity

This felt board activity is a great one for toddlers who can learn their numbers while placing the train cars in order from engine to caboose.




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


Further Reading Suggestion: Train Preschool Theme

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Jul 16, 2013

Five Little Sea Creatures Felt Board Poem




Five little sea creatures on the ocean floor.

The lobster walked away. Now there are four.                   

Four little sea creatures living in the sea.                

The octopus crept away. Now there are three.

Three little sea creatures wondering what to do.
 
Good-bye said the starfish. Now there are two.

Two little sea creatures not having much fun.              

Off swam the seahorse. Now there is one

One little hermit crab, sad and all alone.

He went home, and now there are none.

Back came the seahorse, back came the starfish,

Back came the octopus, back came the lobster,

Then they all went home.



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Down By The Bay for the Felt Board





Down By The Bay is such a fun song to sing with young children and using felt board pieces is a great addition. The song is upbeat and great for learning the concept of rhyming!






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Jul 2, 2013

Dinosaur Felt Board Story



One Friendly Dinosaur

One friendly dinosaur wanted to play peek-a-boo.

She found another, then there were two.

Two friendly dinosaurs looked behind a tree.

They found another, then there were three.

Three friendly dinosaurs went to find some more.

They found another, and then there were four.

Four friendly dinosaurs feeling so alive,

They found another, and then there were five.

Five friendly dinosaurs played in the sun.

Jun 28, 2013

Seagull Felts with Felt Board Poem

Inspiration comes in many variations. We have recently moved to an apartment near the ocean. The building across from us has a rooftop made with cement and gravel, and baby seagulls hatched a few weeks ago. We have been watching the seagulls through binoculars. It is very interesting to see how speckled they are. The mother seagull calls out to the father seagull, or the other way round, with the loud, "caw, caw, caw, caw" throughout the day.

So I thought it would be fun to try and make a seagull felt and make a poem...



 

A Seagull Poem for the Felt Board

Five seagulls standing(sitting) on the sand
Into the sky, one bird soar
And now there are only four
Four seagulls standing on the sand
One flew to a nearby tree
And now there are only three
Three seagulls standing on the sand
One flew to the sky so blue
And now there are only two
Two seagulls standing on the sand
One left to go find some fun
And now there is only one
One seagull standing on the sand
Flew towards the sun
And now there are none



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Jun 24, 2013

Alternative to Plastic Toys? Felt Board Stories


There are many parents and caregivers who have chosen to not have or avoid plastic toys for their children. The reasons vary. For some, it is based on a principle to live a more sustainable lifestyle, to others it is a desire to have material that is more durable and long lasting and still some think that plastic and babies/toddlers should not be combined for safety/health reasons. Regardless of the reason, the goal can be challenging. Moreover, let's face it, the plastic toys are often easier on the wallet. Often the main alternative is wooden toys.

Felt Material is a Great Alternative to Plastic


Another great choice are felt board activities and stories. Felt board stories are not difficult to make by hand. In addition, there are many sites online where they can be purchased, including this one :) Furthermore, there are many ways to create felt boards.


 

Developmental Benefits to Felt Board Stories and Activities


Aside from the fact that felt material is durable, long lasting and soft to handle, playing with felts provides an open ended process fostering creativity and imagination within a child. Felt pieces promote language development and of course, storytelling whatever the form is a wonderful gift for children.

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May 23, 2013

Pete the Cat Felt Board Story



Pete the Cat by Eric Litwin is becoming a popular story among young children. I recently made this
felt story for the preschool and I am really happy with the results.I like how the felt cat can be used
for two books: Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes as well as Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy
Buttons. I always start with a template on fairly thick paper. It was a little tricky to cut the curvy tail:)

Further reading suggestion:

                                            

The important part of this felt story is to make up your tune or follow the creators themselves:



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May 4, 2013

Out in the Garden: Felt Board Poem for May




This is a wonderful felt set to sing with the following song, to the tune of Down By the Station

Out in the garden in the month of May
See the pretty flowers standing in a row
See the little birds flying down to greet them
Tweet tweet tweet and off they go.

Sing the same words and replace with

See the little bees...buzz, buzz, buzz
See the little butterflies...flutter, flutter, flutter


For an extension to this song, children can act out the song! In addition, it works well for circle time transitions.


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Mar 2, 2013

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Felt Board Story



Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? was written and illustrated by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle and published in 1967.  The book is designed to help toddlers associate colors and meanings to objects and has been enjoyed by readers around the world for years. Young children are so attracted to the  bright images and repetitive verse which allows them to quickly join in with the telling of the story. This classic book turns well into a felt board story!




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Feb 17, 2013

Matching Easter Eggs Felt Board Activity



As Easter is around the corner, creating activities for young children whether for home or an early childhood setting does not have to be complicated. These matching felt eggs can be used on a flannel board or any piece of felt for children to enjoy. Matching allows young children to recognize colors and design. An option for this activity is to make different sizes and then provide opportunities for children to label or find the egg according to the request, for instance, "find me the biggest blue egg or find me the smallest green egg".


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!



Jan 31, 2013

The Rainbow Fish Felt Board Story



This is my newest version, but the Rainbow Fish was one of the first felt stories I made as an Early  Childhood Educator, actually I made it for a practicum assignment. I have told the story so many times, and all ages enjoy it! I place some scotch tape behind the sparkly scales so they can be moved onto the other fish and then at the end of the story replaced back. The technique lasts for a long time!



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