February 2015
Flannel Boards
Flannel boards are a great tool for telling stories, finger plays, and songs.
They are also perfect as a story telling center so children can practice retelling stories. Here are a few simple flannel boards you can make for your classroom.
Pizza Box
Glue felt on the inside lid of a pizza box or school box. Store puppets for stories and songs right in the box.
File Folder
Staple the sides of a file folder and glue felt to one side. Store pieces in the pocket.
Board Game
Glue felt or flannel to an old board game. It’s easy to fold up and store.
Fabric Bolt
Recycle bolts from a fabric store by wrapping felt or flannel around the bolt and gluing in place.
Bulletin Board
Cover a section of a bulletin board with felt. Staple colorful fabric to the top and then drape on the sides to make stage curtains.
Story Pieces
Cut figures out of felt and add details with wiggly eyes, yarn, or fabric pens.
Hint! Add Velcro (loop side) to the back to make pieces stick better.
Cut paper figures from magazines, children’s drawings, or photos. Back with a piece of Velcro.
Milk Filters
Cut milk filters into 8 ½” by 11” sections so they can be used in a copy machine. Place book illustrations of characters on the copy machine and make color copies. Cut out and you’ll have some perfect story pieces.
•I googled “milk filters” and ordered mine online. They are also available at farm feed and seed stores. (Make sure you get the 15” disks. You’ll have enough to share with the whole school! They can also be used for children’s drawings or figures from the newspaper.)
LITTLE RED HEN
Flannel Board Story
Materials: felt (red/hen, brown/dog, black/cat, pink/pig), felt scraps, wiggly eyes, scissors, craft glue, flannel board
Directions: Cut the figures from the following page out of felt. Add details with felt scraps. Place them on the flannel board as you tell the story below.
Once there was a little red hen who decided to grow some wheat. She asked the other animals in the barnyard, “Who will help me plant my wheat?” “Not I!” said the dog. “Not I!” said the cat. “Not I!” said the pig. “Well, then,” said the little red hen. “I will do it all by myself.” And she did.
The wheat grew tall and was ready to be harvested. The little red hen said, “Who will help me pick my wheat?” ?” “Not I!” said the dog. “Not I!” said the cat. “Not I!” said the pig. “Well, then,” said the little red hen. “I will do it all by myself.” And she did.
Next, the wheat had to be taken to the mill and ground into flour. “Who will help me grind my wheat?” asked the little red hen. “Not I!” said the dog. “Not I!” said the cat. “Not I!” said the pig. “Well, then,” said the little red hen. “I will do it all by myself.” And she did.
Finally, the flour was ready to be made into bread. “Who will help me make my bread?” asked the little red hen. “Not I!” said the dog. “Not I!” said the cat. “Not I!” said the pig. “Well, then,” said the little red hen. “I will do it all by myself.” And she did.
The bread smelled so good when it was baking. All the animals’ mouths started watering as they gathered around hoping to get a piece of bread. “Who will help me eat my bread?” asked the little red hen. “I will!” said the dog. “I will!” said the cat. “I will!” said the pig. “No!” said the little red hen. “You did not help me plant my wheat. You did not help me pick my wheat. You did not help me take it to the mill to be ground into flour. And you did not help me make my bread. I did it ALL BY MYSELF! And my little chicks and I will eat it all by ourselves!” And they did!
•Let children act out this story
•Children will also enjoy making puppets and retelling this story. They can make stick puppets or paper bag puppets of the different animals.
BINGO
Tell and Draw Story
Draw this story on a chart or on the board.
One day my dog Bingo disappeared. I went to the park to see if I could find him.
When I got there I accidentally stepped on a pile of bumblebees. They came out and swarmed all around me.
I wanted to get away from them so I jumped in a pond of water. But they were still there.
I ran to the top of a hill.
When I got to the top of the hill I saw two doors with two doorknobs. I knocked on the doors, but nobody was there.
I ran down one side of the hill.
And then I ran down the other side of the hill.
Has anybody seen my dog?
Hint! Use your dog’s name in the story.
•Children will love this story so much they will want to learn to retell it and draw a dog.
•This is the perfect time to sing about the farmer’s dog.
•Make a dog bone and write the word “Bingo” on it as shown. Use paper hands to cover up the letters as you sing the song.
•You can also write the letters for the song on paper plates. Put numbered hands on the back for children to hold up as you sing.
•Click here to download the pdf file about Bingo.
SNUG AS A BUNNY
Tell and Draw
One day a man went for a walk with his hands behind his back. 
It started to snow.
He got a sled so he could play in the snow.
But after a while he got cold and decided to build himself a house with two stories.
He put two windows in the top floor and divided them in half.
Then he built two chimneys.
He threw some sticks on the fire.
And soon he was snug as a bunny!
•Click here to download the pdf file for the bunny.
HERE KITTY, KITTY!
Tell and Draw
Here is Timmy’s house. It’s made with the letter T.
It has two rooms.
Each room has a chimney and a window.
Growing outside the door is tall grass.
Here’s his friend Suzie’s house. It’s made with the letter S.
One day Timmy went to Suzie’s house to borrow some milk.
Suzie took Timmy down in the basement to get the milk.
They slipped and spilled the milk, so they went back down in the basement and got more.
Timmy took a shortcut home. He went down one valley and up a hill.
Then he went down another valley and up another hill.
He gave the milk to his special pet when he got home.
Can you guess what it was?
•Challenge the children to draw the story along with you.
•Click here to download the pdf file for Here Kitty.
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