Discover what many preschool teachers already know, that flannel boards are a great way to engage young children in a story. You can make the story more concrete and involve the child directly. You may choose to buy a ready-made felt-board kit, or you can make one yourself with some felt scraps and Velcro.

Story Board

Here is a fun way to bring a story to life. You can also use nursery rhymes and simple poems with this activity.

• Choose a well-known simple story to illustrate.

• Cut out felt pieces in the shapes of the main characters and props. For the story “The Three Billy Goats Gruff,” you would need three goats, a troll, and a bridge.

• Recite the story, and have your child place the pieces onto the flannel board to match the action of the tale.

Outline Match

Your toddler will have fun while learning about shapes and developing skills in visual discrimination and problem solving.

• Cut out a variety of shapes and figures from the felt.

• Place the pieces on the flannel board and outline them with the chalk.

• Trim the shapes to make them slightly smaller than the outlines.

• Challenge your child to fit the pieces inside the outlines.