Friday, December 5, 2014

Flannel Boards--Are they it worth it?

I made my very first "official" flannel board!!  Storytime presenters in this system LOVE to make and use flannel boards!  I even co-hosted a program for parents and teachers last month called "Say It With Flannel".  (I was suppose to host the program...but I have NO flannel experience...).  When I see something cute on "Flannel Friday" that I want to use I find a clipart picture on Google, print them on cardstock, cut them out and laminate, then stick a magnet on the back. That, to me, was a "flannel board".

But I decided to try my hand at a real flannel board story--complete with multiple colors, layers, etc.
Here is my finished "I Know an Old Lady who Swallowed a Pie"...  I got the "template" from OMazing Kids


I thought they turned out pretty good...although they are not perfect by any means.  The first few pieces were actually kind of fun to put together.




But by the time I was at my last few pieces I was so DONE with the project!  It was taking forever...and my later pieces didn't look nearly as cute as my first ones.  I decided to back the pieces with black felt so that they would be more sturdy--especially if they got played with by the children.  This project took me so long that I ended up having to just print the template out on cardstock, laminate and put a magnet on it so I could take the book to an outreach storytime!


Verdict:  I am not against using flannel boards...if someone else makes them.  Real, true flannel boards are just not worth it to me...the time, expense, frustration.  Laminated, Google images with a magnet on the back works for me!!  But I am looking in to buying some "premade" flannel board sets to use--generic ones like "Farm Animals" from The Felt Source.

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