Flannel Board Fun: 2022

Diwali: Rangoli Hide and Seek!

Okay, here we go again!

I love a good reason to come up with another version of Little Mouse, and Diwali is as good a reason as any!

This Diwali set has lots of songs and games that go along with it, which you can read about here. I even briefly mentioned this game in one of those posts, but now I've got a video for it, so wanted to share it again :)

Click the image below to see this simple game in action. It's a great way to introduce Diwali concepts and vocabulary to even your littlest story time friends!

Little Broom Hide and Seek

I've written about this Halloween game before, right here.

You've seen these fine fellows in other posts, like this one, too. Remember? They look like this:

But I've only just gotten around to publishing the Little Broom Hide and Seek video, and I thought it deserved it's very own post. So that's why we're here :)

If you need to know more about Little Mouse and all the fun to be had with this game, please check out all these fun versions of the classic preschool game!

And now, for Little Broom in all it's not-very-scary action.... (Please take note of my blunder at the end, as well as all the vocabulary, position words, color naming and more early learning that goes on in this one!)

Trick or Treat Ghost Count Down!

Let's count some colorful ghosts, shall we?

This fun ghost felt board counting rhyme is all about not-so-spooky Halloween fun 😊 Get the kids counting down and having Halloween fun with this sweet little rhyme. The video shows simple ways to introduce Halloween concepts in a non-scary way.

Here are the ghosts (you can see lots more about them here and here, too!):

And here's the video:

Another Halloween Rhyme!

This Halloween felt board rhyme is simple and sweet. It exposes the kids to Halloween vocabulary words and concepts in a way that is sweet instead of scary. Using this type of felt board rhyme, with visuals to go along with the words, helps those little brains absorb all that early learning goodness 😊

Here are the felt pieces I used in the video:

Here are the lyrics:

Lots of Halloween friends, some are spooky some are sweet…

A friendly witch and some candy--that’s a yummy treat.

Here come some black ones now—bubbling cauldron… prowling cat.

And now two spooky fliers—white ghost and brown bat.

We need a jack-o-lantern, to shine on Halloween night.

And here’s a wiggly spider--it might give you a fright!

This little house is haunted—I won’t go inside those rooms!

This witch’s hat is pointy and it makes a great costume.

So many Halloween friends we have, some spooky, some sweet…

And don’t forget on Halloween Night to say “Trick or Treat!”

And here's video:

I Went Trick or Treating!

Ah, another not-scary-at-all Halloween rhyme!

I don't like to scare kids. But I do like Halloween :) So let's put not-scary Halloween fun into the mix this year with this simple Halloween felt board rhyme!

I like this one because it has fun Halloween vocabulary words like "swooping" and "costume" mixed with colors and rhyming... A witch's brew of Halloween early learning delight, if you will :)

You can learn all the words and join in on the rhyme--here's the video demo for you:

Diwali Is Here!

I've written about my Diwali set before.

You can find that post right here. But I just this minute added a video of this song! I love making up new words to familiar tunes, because it's simple for adults and kids to learn them and join in :)

Here are the lyrics:

Diwali is Here

to the tune of Farmer in the Dell

As you sing about each felt piece, place it on the board.

Diwali is here, Diwali is here

Light the paper lanterns now,

Diwali is here!

Diwali is here, Diwali is here,

Play the music loud and clear,

Diwali is here!

Diwali is here, Diwali is here,

Fireworks on the third night,

Diwali is here!

Diwali is here, Diwali is here,

Light the Diya lamps one by one,

Diwali is here!

Diwali is here, Diwali is here,

Rangoli patterns on the floor,

Diwali is here!

Diwali is here, Diwali is here,

Share some treats and give some gifts,

Diwali is here!

And here's a video so you can sing along :)

Six Colorful Houses: A Felt Board Color and Counting Rhyme

Wait, MORE colors and counting?!

(click the photo for all the details)

Yep, I'm on a roll with colors and counting this month! It's back to school time, so I suppose those are good concepts to be focusing on as the older preschoolers head back to school :)

This felt board set is absolutely one of my favorites. I've used it a zillion times, and I've written about it here.

But it's time to add more--I need this to be a multi-use set. Saves storage space, and planning time, and stress! So here we go with a new rhyme. Fans of building, construction, counting and colors are going to love this Six Colorful Houses finger play and felt board rhyme!

This fun Six Colorful house finger play and rhyme is so fun for kids (and teachers) at circle time or story time. House and construction vocabulary words are introduced or re-enforced; color naming and counting are sneakily tucked inside, too! Let’s play to learn!

Counting Down Trucks!

Ah, colors, counting and construction. What could be better?

No time for a big intro on this one, but you can see these colorful trucks in this post, and this one too. Those two are great for early literacy skills like rhyming and naming letters, to name just a few.

But this new rhyme has the bonus of early math packed into it! Of course with all the rhyming involved there's early literacy in there, too. And it's just all around fun, especially for those kids who really love trucks, and construction, and all things road-related :)

Here's are the trucks (click the picture for all the details)

And here's the video of the rhyme:

(Ohh, and now there's also a pattern for these cuties! Just click below :) )

Hey Diddle Diddle Felt Board Set: Brown Bear Version

If you're like me, you like simple things.

Simple songs.

Simple rhymes.

Frequent repetition so things are...simpler!

And if you're like me, you're also very familiar with the following three things:

1. Hey Diddle Diddle the Cat & the Fiddle

2. Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See

3. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

And if you're like me in one last way, you like to mix things up.

If you fit the bill, you're going to love this one. I've combined all three of those fabulous simple things into one fabulous simple felt board activity.

Let's keep this simple--here's the video :) Enjoy!

Squirrel and Acorn Felt Board: Acorn Count UP!

I love a good squirrel rhyme, don't you?

Wait--what? You don't know any? Well, here I am to the rescue! I've shared a squirrel song before right here, in fact.

But now you can add this one to your squirrel repertoire! This sweet squirrel rhyme gets your kids engaged as they do the fingerplay movements, and reinforces early math concepts in a playful way.

It's another felt board activity in which we get to count UP, similar to this pig one, which I think you'll also like!

But anyway, let the acorn hiding begin! Come count and rhyme with me!

Apple Tree Felt Board: Farmer Brown's Apples!

I never get tired of apples, and I never get tired of apple felt boards! And I never get tired of making up (or piggy backing) apple songs and rhymes to use at circle time...

You can see past apple felt board fun right here.

But onward we must go! Or backwards, in this case--to a song from way back in my early days of teaching.

Now there are LOTS of ways to mix this song up.

🍏I've done it by inviting children up to pick an apple of the tree and pretend to eat it.

🍎I've been the farmer and eaten all the apples myself!

🍏I've had a puppet eat the apples, too.

🍎And in this version, I use felt characters from my dragon, elephant, Over in the Meadow, unicorn, and Kwanzaa sets to munch up those sweet, crispy apples!

I kind of love this song, and I hope you will, too! Let's sing!

Apple Tree Felt Board: Wiggly Worm Hide & Seek!

Apples + circle time. They go together like peanut butter and jelly. In fact, they're so popular that I have written about them before: here, and here, and even here!

🐁 💗And combined with my love of the classic circle time game Little Mouse, I love apple felt board sets even more :) (Rhyming. Early literacy. Color recognition. Fun. 💗)

Throw in a cute, wiggly worm, and my heart is all aflutter ;)

If you need a little more info on why and how the Little Mouse game is so fabulous, please take a look here and definitely here.

And if you need no introduction, let's just skip right to the video!

Apple Tree Felt Board: Apple Count Up!

It's been a long time, but I've written about this apple felt board set once before, right here. And in that post, I did include these lyrics, but it's not till now that I've finally got a video for you!

This apple circle time counting song is a great way to get the kids counting UP from 1-5. It’s all done in a playful way, so kids don’t even know they’re doing math 😊 Plus, there’s a little science thrown in, and color recognition to boot… Hello, apple circle time fun!

Here are the lyrics again:

Apple Count Up © Wendy Gerbi

No apples on this tree, growing for you and me,

No sweet fruit for us to bite and crunch...

One flower starts to bloom,

An apple will be here soon…

Now there is one sweet juicy fruit—yum, yum!

And here, without further ado, is the video:

Two Little Animals: A Rhyming Song!

Once again, I'm figuring out ways to use existing felt board sets in new, engaging, fun ways. Multi-use felt board sets for the big win, right?!

This time, I'm using my Over in the Meadow animal felt board set. I've written about these cuties here, and now I have another new video for you!

This is a song I've used a million times with kids during circle time. You can use your fingers to be the animals. You can use big puppets. Or finger puppets. And hey, if you've got this felt board set, you can use the same adorable critters I use in the video!

This song is wonderful for rhyming, naming and demonstrating opposites, using position words, etc. etc. It's just full of early literacy benefits. And a tiny bit of math, even. Oh--and it's cute. And fun. I love it. Let's sing!

And look, now you can get the pattern for these cuties, too!

Little Bo Peep Hide & Seek: A Little Mouse Variation

I love using one felt board set to accomplish many things.

In this case, it's my Hey Diddle Diddle set, which I've written about before right here.

Nursery rhymes are wonderful ways to build early literacy skills like rhyming and vocabulary. Plus, they're comforting in their familiarity and they're often a little bit silly. Silly means fun, and fun means kids are engaged. Winning.

In that post, I mentioned my little laminated Bo Peep.

Hiding her behind one of the felt characters and trying to find her while chanting a wee rhyme is such a fun way to get the kids involved.

And now I've got a video of this activity!

So much easier to just show you how it works instead of trying to explain it! But in case you need to copy and print the chant, here it is:

Bo Peep, Bo Peep, playing hide and seek...

Are you behind the orange cat?

Let's take a peek!

Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and we've lost HER somewhere!

Is she behind the brown fiddle? Let's look under there!

Down at The Bus Stop (video!)

Need a fun song using animals and a bus? Well, here you go! (I used my Hickory Dickory Dock set for this one. You can see my other post about it right here.)

This bus and animal version of Down by the Station is counting and animal vocabulary fun. Plus there's naming of movements and speeds and other fun early math and literacy stuff tucked in there--your toddler and preschool kids will love this one.

And you could of course invite them to perform the movements of the animals with their hands or with their whole bodies...

Click the picture below to watch the video :)

Want some books to go along with this song? How about some of these...

The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom

Down by the Station by Will Hillenbrand

School Bus by Donald Crews

Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia

Hey Diddle Diddle Remix--Video!

You may have read about my Hey Diddle Diddle set before--I wrote about it here. But I didn't have a video using the set until right this very minute :) So...here it is! Classic Nursery Rhyme fun--but with a twist!

Let's get all mixed up (click the picture to watch the video!)

Fruit Song for Kids: Fruit Salad Ballad!

I can't have a felt board set that can only be used one way, now can I?? No, I can't!

My Rainbow Stew set is definitely a favorite with kids and educators. It's magical, for sure. I've got a video of that fun song right here.

But of course I needed to write another song for it. A fruity song. A song that includes colors and rhyming and pretending...

So I did. And I called it Fruit Salad Ballad. Because I think that's so darn cute.

Here's the video--I hope you love it and use it with your kids as soon as possible :) There will be picking, and plucking, and chopping and tossing and eating! Get ready for fruity fun!

Oh! And now you can also get a pattern and make your own set! Click below :)

Hickory Dickory Dock--Ocean Style!

Hickory Dickory Dock, the fish swam up the clock! Here's a fun way to combine an old classic nursery rhyme with ocean critters.

You can see my Hickory Dickory post here, set for sale here, and original video here. My Ocean Set post is here, the felt set for sale is here, and there are a bunch of Ocean videos here.

The Wheels on the Bus--Ocean Style!

Are you a tiny bit tired of the Wheels on the Bus? But the kids looovee it? And do you have an ocean felt board set that you need to put to good use?!

I've got you covered :) This one is simple to learn and the kids will love it--and they'll be able to join in because they already know the tune!

Stay seated and get those little finger muscles stronger if you do this as a finger play. Or stand up and swim around to build balance and large muscle strength. Either way, vocabulary and creative skills are off the charts :)

Here you go--enjoy:

Somebody's Moving in the Sea (an Ocean Song for Kids)!

When I was teaching preschool, we used to use this tune to welcome the kids to circle time. "Somebody's knocking at my door--oh, Suzie, I hear you knocking..." It's actually an old hymn, but we went a little lighter with it ;)

I thought this tune would work perfectly with my ocean set. I think I was right :) I certainly had fun making this video and performing all the movements.

It would absolutely be super fun to make this a standing up movement activity! Do it!!

Ocean Friend Count Up

I wrote this song to go along with my Five Ocean Critters set last year, but only now got around to making a video for it! I had a lot of fun with this one!

This ocean song is just a wee bit tricky in the math department, probably most understandable to older preschool kids. You'll see what I mean when you watch the video.

But it's SO fun for all the little ones: we get to do diving and splashing and all kinds of fishy movements!

And as usual, I've made it easy to learn and join in on by using a familiar tune--this time, it's the Five Little Ducks tune.

Take a look right here:

Hope you like that one! And I hope it makes any ocean, beach, or fishy themed circle time that much easier to plan for :)

Did You Ever See a Lassie (Ocean Version!)

Whether you're prepping for your Ocean's of Possibilities Summer Reading Program, or you just like oceans critters as much as I do, or you like singing songs about ocean animals with small children--or any combination of the above... This one's for you :)

As always, I'm on a mission to come up with as many way as possible to use each felt set in my collection. My ocean set already has a bunch of songs to use with it (here's a whole playlist!), but I wanted more!

Enter Did You Ever See a Lassie, Ocean Version. I love this one because you can do it sitting down as a finger play, or you can get up and move! It teaches ocean vocabulary--and you can totally switch it up and let the kids come up with the movement words, too. Plus, you most likely already know the tune, so it's suuuper easy to learn this one.

Anyway, enough talk! Here's the video--enjoy :)

If you like singing and rhyming and generally having fun with kids,

I think you'll love these songs strips:

Ramadan Storytime Set

Next month is Ramadan, and I don't have a Ramadan set! Strike that--I DIDN'T have a Ramadan set. But now I do :)

Like my Kwanzaa and Diwali sets, I had to do quite a bit of research for this set--because I don't personally celebrate Ramadan. Here's what I wrote about those holidays, and it applies here, too:

I thought it would be fun to create some holiday sets for holidays that I don't personally celebrate. (I was right--it WAS fun, and wow, I learned a lot while doing research for these sets.) I'm so happy to be able to share these, as I think it's so important to expose kids to various cultures, and to share in celebrations with the kids who DO celebrate holidays outside of my own experience :)

I focus holiday sets on the parts of holidays that kids understand, so the concepts are about simple traditions vs. religious themes.

I also want them to be usable both as storytime sets-- where the adult is using the set pieces as props to support a rhyme, song or story--and as play sets for the kids--where the kids are re-enacting traditions, songs, and stories that they've learned about.

Here's one of the rhymes I've written to go along with this set:

Place your felt pieces on the board s you sing about them and use the pieces to act out the words as you sing them.