Flannel Board Stories use for children to learn how to read
Flannel boards are backdrops against which felt characters perform. They are great storyteffing props and simple to make. A flannel board can even go on a long trip; the felt pieces adhere to the board and won’t get lost between the car seats.
To make a flannel board, remove the lid from a shirt box. Cut a piece of flannel to fit the inside of the lid and glue it down. Then cut out a set of felt figures. Conventional animals and people figures are fine and encourage children to use their imagination, so don’t spend a lot of time making your bear look like Winnie-the- Pooh or your girl look like Goldilocks. Also cut out a few felt props (trees, furniture, a glass slipper and so on) for your child’s favourite stories.
As you or your child narrates a story or fairy tale, bring out a different felt figure as each character is introduced and press it against the flannel board, adding felt props to help show what is happening. Give Winnie-the-Pooh a honey pot; let Goldilocks try sitting on the Three Bears’ chairs.
Your children might enjoy using the flannel board during quiet times to tell themselves a story — a familiar tale or one they create, inspired by the felt characters. When the board is not in use, the felt pieces go inside the box and the flannel board lid goes back on top. Like an ordinary flannel board, the variations that follow encourage storytelling and retelling, and enhance imaginative play:
• Flannel Box Theatre. Line the inside of a shoe box with flannel or felt. Cut out felt figures and props, or cut them out of paper and glue a piece of felt on the back of each cut-out.
Your children position the felt figures upright along the walls of the box where they will stick to the flannel. They can manipulate the figures to perform in the box stage as they make up an original story or retell an old favorite.
• Tear and Tell. Your children make the props in this variation.
• Give them several pieces of card or thick paper. As you introduce new story, characters, pause to let them tear or cut representative figures out of the paper. Lay these figures out on your lap or on your flannel board. Tearing or cutting will help children’s fine motor development as well as busy their hands if they’re restless listeners.