Do It Yourself Flannel Board Stories

Jumping right into my summer crafts series, today I'm giving you an activity that has provided hours of quiet entertainment around here: Flannel board stories.

Now you can of course buy cute little pre-made sets of flannel figures or spend hours cutting out pieces of felt to save some money but I've got a cheap way to quickly make your own. You can have a set made in no time--or you can put your children to work making their own.

Look around for coloring books or activity books on a subject your child likes. I think I used Winnie the Pooh at one time though you could use anything from Disney princesses to Spiderman to a generic coloring book about ponies.

If the pictures are too large you can always make them smaller by shrinking the images on a copier or scanner. But whatever size, color the pictures using colored pencils (not markers or crayons that might bleed over time) then cut them out, laminate them in contact paper and stick either a magnetic strip on the back (for use on a white eraser board) or the loopy side of a piece of adhesive Velcro (for use on flannel).

When I made my sets, which I keep labeled in manila envelopes, I used a Winnie the Pooh coloring book but I also found a generic coloring book that had large pictures of all sorts of household items: toys, pets, clothing, tools, playground equipment, food, furniture, school supplies, etc. I also found a booklet at the local teaching supply store that had creative writing prompts with pictures on various themes: the circus, a farm, the wild west, under the sea, fairy tales, etc. These worked great and the kids have spent hours making up their own flannel board stories using these cute little figures (you can see some of the examples on the left here).

If you don't have a flannel board the easiest way to get one is to make one. Cut two sides off of a large box so you have a large hinged piece of cardboard shaped rather like a large book that can open and close, then cover the outside in contact paper. Hot glue a large piece of felt to the inside and stick a couple of rope handles on it and you've got a portable, lightweight flannel board--you can see my blue board in the top picture where it's standing up in the open position.

Kids can easily make their own characters up or find their favorites. You could cut out letters or number or maps. You might also look through discarded book bins at your local library for picture books that can be cut up to make figures, that would be even faster than coloring your own.

Not only does it entertain, it's a good creative play tool that can grow with your child.

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