Fun Activities for Kids, Families, and Teachers

How to Make a Flannel Board

Although I sell wonderful pre-printed educational felt boards and story figures through the home party business, Story Time Felts, I have found that making my own small plain flannel boards is a great way to present our product as gifts for hostesses or giveaways at home parties. Since children of all ages love working with felt and flannel board stories, I thought I’d share how to make a great flannel board gift. You can make your own felt figures or purchase some through Story Time Felts, but making your own plain felt board of any size is easy and economical! I am showing you how to make a “lap board” here, suitable for individual stories, but you can use the same techniques to make larger flannel boards for home or classroom. If you have any questions, let me know! Also, if you have your own ideas for making flannel boards or accessories, please add them to the Comments section! This is just one example of the many creative ideas I’ve seen out there!

How to Make a Flannel Board

Materials:

Stiff board, about 9″ x 12″ for a lap board. I used Coroplast but double walled cardboard (or 2 pieces glued together), masonite, or any other firm board works, too.

Fabric - flannel or felt, about 1.5 to 2 inches wider than your board

Adhesive: I really recommend 3M’s 777 Multipurpose Spray Adhesive

Scissors

Packing tape

Plastic wrap, 18 inch width

Step 1

Position your board on your fabric to make sure the sides are about evenly cut.

Step 2

Lift off the board and lightly spray the back of the fabric with the spray glue, then lay the board down again, centered where you want it.

Step 3

Fold up the straight edged sides of the fabric and smooth down across the back edges, leaving the corners to meet up and form “bunny ears.”

Step 4

Take your scissors and snip off the “bunny ears” on each corner as close to the flannel board as you can. This will leave you with a nice mitered corner which will be flat.

Step 5

All 4 corners cut. It is OK if they are not perfect! The front is what matters most. LOL
Step 6

Using packing tape, tape down the straight edges on all 4 sides of the back of the flannel board. The spray glue will help the fabric stick but the tape is a little extra reinforcement. If you are just using the flannel board yourself, you are done! Flip it over and have some fun! The following steps are for wrapping it up as a gift with felt board story figures.
Step 7

The following steps are if you are presenting this as a gift with felt board story figures. I am using the Story Time Felts figures for Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? which will be a donation for a local fundraiser silent auction. Take the roll of plastic wrap and put it at one end of the table and unroll at least twice the length of the flannel board you are wrapping.

Step 8

Lay your finished flannel board on the plastic wrap toward one end and lay out your felt story figures. You may want to insert text of the story or other information under the back side of the flannel board. As a Story Time Felts Consultant, I am sure to insert my catalog and contact information at this step, but I omitted that in these pictures.

Step 9

Bring the other end of the plastic wrap over the top of the flannel board to meet the other side, then cut with scissors, with 1 to 2 inches left on the side to wrap tightly to the underside of the flannel board.

Step 10

After pulling the cut side of the plastic wrap tightly and sticking it on the back, pull the top and then the bottom of the plastic wrap and stick it to the back on those edges. This gives the front of your flannel board gift a nice finished look.

Step 11

The back of your wrapped flannel board will be covered and can be taped down if you wish.

Step 12

Voila! Your beautiful flannel board gift is ready to present to one lucky child! For suggestions for great felt board story figures, be sure to visit my Story Time Felts website. Our Figures to Tell collection works especially well with this sized board and do not already come with a flannel board to use. Have fun and please leave us suggestions or comments!

With “Back to School” time here, I thought this was a great craft to share. It could be used with a classroom or just with any group of kids who are meeting for the first time such as a scout group, church group, etc. This idea has been passed around and I cannot find the originator. I haven’t done it myself yet so if you try, let us know how it went in the Comments section, or send me a picture to use! Have fun!

Independent Consultant for Story Time Felts
http://www.funfelt.com

Name ____________________________ #______

Getting To Know You Necklace

The chart below tells you what each color bead means. Read the chart carefully and choose your beads.
RED ˆ if you are a girl
BLUE ˆ if you are a boy
ORANGE ˆ how many sisters you have
GREEN ˆ how many brothers you have
WHITE ˆ how many pets you have
BLACK ˆ how many different elementary schools you have attended
YELLOW ˆ if you like reading (0=don’t like, 1=a little, 2=a lot)
PURPLE ˆ if you like math (0=don’t like, 1=a little, 2=a lot) SPORTS ~ pick 1 bead to show which sport you like the
best

SMILEY FACES ˆ if you like this grade (0=don’t like, 1=a
little, 2=a lot)

* Once you have your beads, get your initials and make a
cool pattern.

Please bring your necklace to me when you are finished and I will put the end on it! Fill out the questions below. Just look at other students’ necklaces to find your answers!

1. Name one person who has the same number of sisters as you:
______________
2. Name one person who has the same number of brothers as you:
____________

3. Name one person who has more pets than you do:
_________________________
4. Find two people who have gone to more than one elementary school:
___________________________ ___________________________
5. Find one person who likes reading the same as you do:
_____________________
6. Find one person who likes math less than you do:
_________________________
7. How many people in your group like third grade a lot? ________

8. How many people in your group have pets? ________
9. How many people in your group like reading and math a lot? ________
10. How many people in your group have only gone to one elementary school? __
11. Write your own question!
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

Answer:
__________________________________________

Getting to know you necklace - DIRECTIONS
1. I buy the beads (colored, sports, and smiley faces),string (black stretchy necklace cord), and clasps in the craft section of Wal-Mart.

2. Before the day of the activity, cut the necklace cord and attach the clasp to one end. Make sure you make it the right length for your kiddos!

3. Copy the paper and fold it in 1/2 below thesmiley faces. Let the kids choose their beads using the chart. They get a cord, arrange the beads in a pattern of their choice, and bring it to you to attach the other end of the clasp.

It’s very helpful to have another adult or two to help you tie! I usually don’t have help, so I plan the activity so that I can tie the necklaces while they are in specials or at lunch and then we continue the activity later…

4. When everyone has a necklace the kids should all put them on. Then they flip their papers over and go around the room answering the questions by looking at everyone else’s necklaces.

5. Helpful tip –> Tell the kids that they will probably want to wear them again, especially at the end of the year. (For some reason they always do…although some will wear theirs throughout the year). Tell them to find a safe place to hang it at home so they won’t lose it !

Do you have a picky eater like I do? Is it a struggle every day to figure out a nutritious lunch to pack for your children like it is in our house? This month Story Time Felts has our awesome FOOD PYRAMID felt set on sale, and to go along with that, I thought I’d offer up these great Lunch Box Choices for those of you who would like some ideas. I know in our house, the less I have to think in the morning, the better! So I put this list on the fridge and let the kids choose how they’d like to build their lunch! If they follow the guidelines, choosing from each category, I can rest assured that they have a nutritious lunch box! I hope this helps some of you as it has helped me!

Independent Consultant for Story Time Felts
Fun Felt for Kids: http://www.funfelt.com

LUNCH BOX CHOICES

Protein Foods (choose 1 or 2)

* shaved lean meat
* hard boiled or chopped egg
* cheese cubes
* string cheese
* yogurt
* cottage cheese
* chicken drumstick
* peanut butter
* hummus
* beans, mashed or whole
* soup

Grains (choose 1)

* bread
* pita
* bagel
* tortilla
* potato
* rice
* pasta
* couscous
* English muffin
* rolls

Veggies/Fruit (choose 1, 2 or 3)

* celery
* baby carrots
* cucumber spears or coins
* green beans
* melon, cubed or cut
* orange wedges
* kiwi slices
* berries
* pineapple cubes
* applesauce

Dessert/Snack (Optional)

* chips/pretzels
* 2-3 cookies
* frosted cereal
* fruit/dessert yogurt
* pudding cup
* granola/breakfast bar

Beverages (choose 1)

* 100% fruit juice
* milk
* water
* vitamin/flavored water
What are your kids’ favorite school lunch choices?? Share in the Comments area!