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: 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!

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

Sorting With Vehicles!

Okay, time for a little sorting fun.  Ready?  Let's go!

I'll use my Transportation Set for this little game.  Because it has sorting cards, which we need for this activity...  Here they are (laminated in all their cardstock glory :) ):

(The steering wheel you see in the pictures goes with this hide and seek game, by the way.)

Okay, so what do you do with these sorting cards?  The point is to engage the kids in playful early math and early literacy. No strict rules or right or wrong--just have fun.

One way to use them:  Put the sorting cards that represent the four types of vehicles on your board on the four corners.  Talk with the kids about what each of the cards mean.   Now place each of your vehicles in the center of the board. Ask the kids to help you figure out where to put each vehicle.  You might want them to simply call out where that vehicle goes, or you might call children up to pick a vehicle and “steer” it to the right spot.

Use your “many” and “few” cards in the same way.  Does a particular vehicle carry many or few people?  What do many and few mean?

And then of course you can combine the cards and get them thinking even harder:

Have fun sorting, you little mathematicians!

Hey, by the way...  I bet you'll like my Transportation playlist over on my YouTube channel!  

Go take a look:) 

Five Little Teddy Bears

I love this little counting rhyme! I've posted it before along with a Five in the Bed rhyme, but I only now got around to creating a video for it :)  Important PS--this rhyme is by Susan Pflug, 1998.

My sweet little bears:

Starring in their new video:

Oh and yep--now you can make your own set!  Click below for the pattern:

Can't wait to come up with more videos and rhymes for these cute friends!

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Screen Free Ideas

I posted recently on my website Resource Center about screen free activities that are easily implemented using stuff you've already got on hand.  Whether in the classroom or (stuck) at home, I'm sure there's something in here for you!

Click the image below to get all the fun screen free activities--art, outside fun, and more:

Three Green Frogs on a Log!

So we all know Three Green and Speckled Frogs.  It's a classic preschool song, and I love using it at circle time.  In fact, I've posted about it here. 

But I like to mix things up, so I'm using these froggies for a few new songs, to be posted here over the next several months.

Here's the first installment of my mini frog series :)

Three Green Frogs on a Log 

Here are the felt pieces I use:

...and here are the lyrics.  

(For the tune and a demo, click here or on the lyrics picture below :) )

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5 Little Snowmen on a Sled--The Video!

Winter is coming!  Let's get out the sleds, build some snowmen, and do a little counting while we're at it...  You can see my post on this cute set right here, buy those cuties right here, and click below to watch the video!

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Ducks, ducks, ducks!

In my experience, preschool kids dig ducks.  And anytime a preschooler likes something, they’re bound to learn a lot as they play with that thing.  So let’s give them lots of duck stuff to do!  Preschool duck activities galore, right here for your viewing pleasure…

Click below to keep reading:

Recognizing Numbers

Preschool number recognition is more of an early reading skill (symbols have meaning, and this symbol is a 5, and this one is an A… ) than a true math skill.  It’s when kids get the idea that a specific number symbol refers to a specific quantity of things that it becomes a math skill.  But it doesn’t really matter what you call it.  

Click below to read more!

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Jungle Friends Felt Board Video

Editing:  Wait a minute, these cute critters are actually wild animals, not jungle!  Their habitats are the savannah, plains, rainforest and more--so I'm going to stop calling them jungle animals :)  AND, I've made some changes and updated these cuties!  So though the set below has changed, and the links will take you to a new Wild Animal set, the early math and early literacy aspects remain the same!

Got jungle creature fans on your hands?  Here's a simple way to use my Jungle Critters Set at home, at circle time, at story time...  Build those math skills!  Build those early literacy skills!  Have fun!

Love that jungle felt set?  You can get it in my shop, and it comes with the lyrics to more rhymes and songs, plus a list of animal/jungle books to go along with it!  (I do the work for you ;) )  Click the cuties below to shop:

Like what you see here?  

Building Math Skills through Play

Math is everywhere!  Check out my flannelboardfun.com blog post about building your preschoolers' math skills simply by playing with them...

Five Little Ducks on YouTube

Perhaps you already know the tune and movements to Five Little Ducks.  But it's always fun to watch someone else perform, isn't it?  Come join me over on my YouTube channel for my little rendition!  And bring your kids with you for a few minutes of fun, with learning secretly tucked inside...

Using Ramps at Small Group time

Science and math happen all the time during play, but sometimes its fun (or necessary for assessment reasons) to set up an activity and take the time to make note of what the kids know and understand.  Ramps are a great option for this, because they are fun, easily accessible, and kids love them! 

When I planned with my co-teachers for small group activities, there were two main goals:  1.  We wanted the kids to have fun and 2. We wanted the activity to allow us to easily gather the info we needed for whatever assessment we were focusing on.  For this activity, our assessment goals were to see whether the children used and understood distance, position and comparison words like close, far, near, farther, closer, higher, lower, faster, slower, etc.

So all we need for this activity are ramps (we had flat boards and some double unit blocks that we used) various things to prop them on at varying heights, balls and other small toys that do and don't roll, a roll of masking tape, and a pen.

We'd break the kids up into pairs (this is a great time to pair up kids who might not normally choose to work together, just to expand their horizons!) and give them all of the materials (other than the pen, which you'll be using).  We'd give them a little prep or a challenge, like "Can you guys see which of your toys can roll or slide down your ramp the fastest?"  And off they go!  

As they work together, using tape to mark where their toys land, you can write the names of the items on those pieces of tape, and encourage them to try things in different ways.  "What if you make your ramp lower?  Does that make the ball roll faster or slower?  Does the block go far from the ramp, or stay close?  How can you make your toys move more quickly?  Why can't things roll UP the ramp?"  Have a notepad or clipboard all set up ahead of time with the kids' names already printed, and jot down notes about what they do and say to transfer to your assessment tool later.  You can even use the marked pieces of tape to make a graph with the kids, noting which things traveled farthest from the ramp...

Fine Motor Activity: Plant a Flower!

I had been using flannel boards in my classroom to share stories, songs and games for quite a while before I started making actual felt sets for the kids to use.  For some reason with the sets I made for the kids, I had limited myself to scanning my story sets, printing them out on card stock, laminating them, and attaching Velcro.  

I guess it was probably quicker and easier that way--but those sets were quite limited in that the pieces couldn't be layered, and the kids didn't get to experience the feel of felt, or the problem solving that happens when felt snags slightly on a dry finger, or needs to be pressed a little more firmly to stay on the board...

But finally I realized the error of my ways, and began to make what I call DIY sets for the kids.  These sets are kind of amazing in all the skills they enhance--and all simply through play!  

Math skills like color sorting, shape naming, counting, one to one correspondence... 

Early literacy skills like vocabulary building and labeling happen naturally--and I include a list of awesome books to read as well as several rhymes and songs to use with the kids.  

Fine motor skills grow of course, as they pinch and grasp and place/remove/replace the pieces.  

And then there's creativity and imagination, as children decide whether to decorate a butterfly's wings with circles or tear drop shapes; to put 1 or 10 leaves on a flower stem; to turn a lady bug into the center of a flower...  

The ideas they come up with always make me realize just how limited my own imagination has become!

Do you use felt sets in the classroom, beyond the circle time stories and games you might have?  If not, I encourage it!  If you're crafty, felt is inexpensive and you can create all kinds of sets around a zillion different topics.  

If you're not crafty, come buy some from me ;)  

Two Art-Area-Organizing Ideas

If you're a preschool teacher, you're probably on a bit of a budget.  Even if not, it's always nice to find ways to recycle!  These two simple tips will help keep your art area just that little bit more organized; will provide simple ways for the children to help at clean up time; and can even build a few math skills at the same time!  Here they are, easy as pie:

Organizing your crayons has never been so simple.  Collect and clean out empty food cans--all the same size works best (for those of us with a few OCD tendencies, at least!), and I prefer them short enough so the tips of the crayons can be seen sticking out of the tops.  You'll want the number of cans to be equal to the number of colors in your collection.  Simply cut colored construction paper to wrap around the cans, gluing or taping them neatly on.  Cover that paper with Con-tact paper or clear packing tape, and voila!  Store your cans in a shallow tray or basket, and you've got a nice organized crayon storage method.  Kids can easily transport the whole tray or individual cans to the art table, find the color they're looking for, and can get a little practice in math and color recognition at clean up time :)

Next up:  paper storage!  How many random baskets and tubs of  papers do you have making an eyesore of your art area?!  (I admit that even with this one in use, I still kept other messier baskets on the shelves as well, to provide a larger variety of types and sizes of paper...)  But this is such a perfect paper holder, and fits so nicely on a preschool classroom art shelf, and lets the kids be so self-sufficient and independent, that I consider it a must have.

The box you see pictured below is the storage box from a class pack of markers.  My school always got ours from Discount School Supply (here's a link).  Now if you don't already buy these class packs, you're not going to want to order a set for $90 just to have this paper storage solution!  But if your school already buys them this way, all you have to do is take off the lid, cut your papers to fit, and you're set!  Just as with the crayon cans, this lets the kids be independent, helps them sort and organize naturally, and is a big help at clean up time.  Mine lasted at least five years, and my school went through boxes and boxes of markers each year, so this was a no-brainer :)  You can even cover the bottom of each section with its own color of paper if you really want to help with the whole color sorting idea...

Do you use these or other similar tools to keep your art supplies organized?  Leave your comments below!

Simple Math Activities

Math is an area that can sometimes be a struggle when it comes to including it in a preschool curriculum.  Some teachers can feel intimidated or unsure of how to provide opportunities to develop math skills in a developmentally appropriate way.

It's important to realize that math is all over the place--you don't have to do "projects" to help children gain math skills.  Your engagement with the kids as they use the simplest materials can help them gain math concepts like one-to-one correspondence, sorting, and patterning.  Below are some examples of incredibly simple materials that build math skills naturally through play.

The shape sorting puzzle above is a math bonanza on its own, and combined with teddy bear counters it goes even further.  Children can sort both the blocks and bears by color and size; they can line them up and begin to create patterns; they can put all the red things together, or all the small things together, or create a pile of just blue and yellow, a line of alternating blue and green...  The list goes on and on.  See how they're working with the materials on their own, and enter their play at that level.  Then as they're ready, you can begin to make suggestions, or simply model another idea to get them thinking.

Even toddler toys like the linking ducks above provide math opportunities, over and above the obvious fine motor skills involved.  "Oh, it looks like you have three blue ducks in your line.  Can you help me count them?  1, 2, 3.  Yep!  You've got three.  I wonder how many yellow ducks we can add to your line?"  

Adding colored bowls, plates, or even pieces of colored paper to a set of counters adds another element of math.  Children might choose to sort by color into the coordinating bowl/plate/paper.  They also might not--and that's fine! It's all about providing the opportunity, not doing things the "right" way.  Commenting on what you see is a great way to simply make children more aware of things.  "Hey, look!  You put two purple animals in a purple bowl, and you put one purple animal in a yellow bowl!  I wonder where you're going to put that blue animal?  We have five bowls to choose from..."  Using math language really does occur naturally when you involve yourself.  Open-ended questions are the way to go, as it encourages thinking and language development.

What are your favorite math materials?  How do you encourage math skills in a developmentally appropriate way?  Comment below--I'd love to hear your ideas!

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Cats!

I happen to have two kitties who are in my lap as I type this.  I've been a cat owner for the past 25 years, and yet I've not had a cat flannel board set!  

Thanks to a recent request from a librarian, I was able to make this stinkin' cute set :)  Bonus for you:  you can buy these cuties in my shop!

(Since this post was originally published, I've added another kitty cat felt board set to the mix!  

You can check out the blog post here, and the felt set is right here.)

So many ways to use this set!  You can pass out the cats and ask the kids to bring them up by color, and use position words like over, under, next to, above and below as you ask them to place them on the board.  Doing a color theme or story time?  Ask the kids with a cat the color of a night sky, or a violet, or dirt, (or whatever clever ideas you have) to bring their cat up.  Increase their visual discrimination skills--"If you have a sleeping cat, bring it to the flannel board!"

I've also come up with a rhyme for using five of these:

Five Little Kitty Cats
Five little kitty cats sleeping on the floor
One pounced away, and now there are four!

Four little kitty cats, cute as can be,
One leapt away, and now there are three!

Three little kitty cats, hunters through and through,
One caught a mouse, and now there are two!

Two little kitty cats, basking in the sun,
One slinked away, and now there's only one!

One little kitty cat got up to stretch and yawn,
I looked away...and now he's gone!

Thinking about doing this with puppies too!

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