Ten fun ways to use a flannel board

Inspiration for your classroom flannel board!

When I first opened my own school, I went on flannel board making spree which you can see how I made my own by clicking on this post: DIY Make Your Own Flannel Board. At the time, I made two large flannel boards and 8 small flannel boards and have used these same flannel boards ever since. However, I use them for all different purposes which I thought I would share with you today…

Ten Fun Ways to Use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

1. Story Telling Board

Of course, the most common use for a flannel board (also called felt board) is for retelling simple stories from a book or making up stories of our own…

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

2. Counting Board

Our small and large boards are often converted into counting or math boards. I like to use them because the materials (like buttons or dominoes) don’t slide easily off or around the boards as they would a tray and the flannel boards are also a quieter surface for noisy materials…

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

I also like to give each child their own small counting board so they have their own space to work with…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

Whether that space is on the floor or on the table, the small flannel boards give the children a nice working area of their own…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

3. Graphing Board

We use our large flannel board as a graphing board all the time.  I simply divide the board up into columns by adding tape across the board.  Once we are done with our graphing process, I take the tape off and the board is back to normal again…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

4. Estimating Board

We often use our flannel board to estimate numbers such as we did in this photo. I start with a pile of mittens and the children estimate how many mittens they think are on the board. And then we spread them out to count how many mittens are actually on the board…

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

5. Patterning Board

The felt board makes a great surface for making patterns as well. When our pattern goes a little long and we need more space, we just put our pattern boards together…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

6. Sorting Board

We are often using our flannel board as a canvas for sorting felt or real objects…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

7. Game Board

And the flannel board makes a great game board. Once again, I use tape to create any game I wish on the board like this parking lot game for my grandson to roll his cars around on…

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

8. Lap Board

We often refer to our smaller flannel boards as “Lap Boards”. This is because the children can hold them in their lap to work with while we are sitting as a large group on the floor….

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

9. Creativity Board

The flannel board offers lots of opportunities to be creative. Whether it is putting together a candy cane out of felt pieces or making a design of paper hearts, the ideas for being creative on a flannel board are endless…

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach preschool

10. Collection Board

And finally, we often refer to our flannel boards as our collection boards. We use them to set out collections of leaves or rocks to admire and observe and discuss our collections with each other…

Ten fun ways to use a flannel board by Teach Preschool

Why we Love the Flannel Board

So as you can see, the flannel board is not just a flannel board. It is a collection board, a math board, a story telling board or any kind of board you want to name it and use it for. It is a wonderful tool for the classroom so don’t just keep it tucked away as the “teacher board!”

Ten fun ways to use a felt board by Teach Preschool

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Deborah J Stewart

Deborah J Stewart

Every time I think I know everything I need to know about teaching young children, God says, "Hold on a minute!" and gives me a new challenge.

Let me tell ya...

With each new challenge that you overcome, you will find yourself better equipped and more passionate about teaching young children.

God didn't call wimps to lead, teach, or care for His children. Nope, he has high expectations, so get ready. You will have to give your very best but after teaching for over 30 years, I can tell you that it is a wonderful and rewarding journey.

Whenever your calling feels hard, just remember, 'He who began a good work in you (and in the children you serve) will be faithful to complete it.'

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