When teaching early literacy at home, storytelling tools that blend play and learning are invaluable. One of my favorite resources is the classic felt board—a hands-on, customizable way to bring stories to life and build foundational language skills.
Why Felt Boards Work
Felt boards engage children visually and kinesthetically. As they move characters and objects, they’re building narrative understanding, vocabulary, and sequencing—skills crucial for reading readiness.
How to Create Your Own
You’ll need:
- A piece of cardboard or canvas board
- Felt fabric (background and characters)
- Scissors, glue, and a little creativity
Create reusable story kits: animals for The Three Little Pigs, food pieces for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or weather icons for daily storytelling.
Activity Ideas
- Retell Familiar Stories: Use felt pieces to act out stories you’ve read together. Encourage your child to narrate in their own words.
- Build Your Own Tale: Let your child create characters and invent a story from scratch—perfect for imaginative play and vocabulary expansion.
- Theme Boards: Make seasonal or holiday-themed boards to explore new words and concepts in a fun, interactive way.
Felt boards are cost-effective, screen-free, and easily adaptable to any lesson. More importantly, they give your child the lead in telling and shaping stories—laying the groundwork for lifelong literacy.
