When I redid my 1940s classroom, I stripped it down to the plain walls and one table. I took the bulletin and chalk boards down and the shelves and brackets off the wall and got rid of the storage cupboard. Then I scoured Pinterest for ideas of how to create an enticing classroom in a small space.
I saw cool flannel boards on Pinterest that were placed low enough for kids to play with. I decided to make my boards shorter and wider than the tall and narrow boards on the original Pinterest post. I had the vision of having felt cutout pieces from Bible stories available for the kids to play with when they arrived early.
These flannel board construction instructions are adapted from one of my favorite blogs, Apartment Therapy which has great DIY ideas for small spaces.
Supplies:
- Two 48 x 32-inch pieces of Homasote or other brand of wallboard (available at home centers) or foam-core board (available at art supply and craft stores)
- Two 54 x 38-inch pieces of felt in bright colors
- Staple gun
- Scissors
- Wall anchors
- Center a board on a piece of felt. Wrap the felt to the back and staple at the center of each side. Make sure the felt is even and tight. Continue stapling, working to within 6 inches of the corners.
- To miter the corners, fold the felt corner point in toward the board. Staple it in place along the edges of the board, then trim away the point.
- Fold down the "ears" that remain and staple them in place to finish the miter.
- Find someone to hang the boards for you
Felt figure sources:
I purchased the pieces for the nativity scene from Oriental Trading. The kids love playing with it at Christmas. (It is a seasonal item. Keep your eyes out for it.)
Betty Lukens has some great flannel graph sets. Pictured at left is one of the stories from a Betty Lukens Felt Book Activity Kit. The activity kit pieces are a lot smaller than their other offerings. The upside is that I got 8 stories for $15.00! They sell regular sized felt stories and even giant sized ones.
Betty Lukens also sells sets using the pictures and characters as drawn in the Beginner’s Bible. I have been drooling over these for a long time!
Moderator's note: This resource is from Rotation.org member Joan Eppehimer's KidFrugal blog, which she is sharing here at Rotation.org in order to preserve it for posterity and make it available more widely with our community. It is part of a large group of lessons and resources that she developed to make "ministry happen when there are no resources to make it happen." Thank you, Joan, for sharing your creativity with our community!
You can read more about Joan and her ministry here.
