How to Pair Felt with Learning Concepts

How to Pair Felt with Learning Concepts
by Brenda Miles, Speech and Language Pathologist
(An excerpt of an article from the Story Time Felts Connection. You can visit my website LearningFelt for more great information. - Tammy)

Young children divide their development and learning between movement and language, often concentrating on one or the other until they can experience both simultaneously. That's why Finger Plays are wildly successful with the 3 to 5 year old group. If they can't do the words, they can do the movements, until they've mastered the whole routine. What a great example of "whole body listening" as opposed to "passive listening." We should call it "interactive listening," one of the greatest benefits of "learning by felt." It enhances auditory memory and the full range of auditory-perceptual (listening-sensing) skill: attention, distinguishing differences, reception (really hearing), sequential memory, and processing (working it through mentally).

Let's look at the specific learning made possible by Finger Play Fun: How is each piece with a 5 figure set the same or different? (colors, sizes, shapes, function). Read their "body language" (gestures, facial expressions, posture) to guess what they're thinking or feeling. Which one would you want for a friend or pet, and why? Which one needs a friend? Some of these same concepts can be applied to Little League Line Up, Stack Up Snowmen, Sunshine Search (all from Preschool Pals) or even the hens in Henny's Hen House (from the Farm Fun Series). The Create a Face and Create a Clown are fun for any age to talk about facial expressions and what they represent.

Other concepts that a child can "play into learning" are the prepositions/spatial concepts: on-off, under-on top, in front of-in back of, between-next to, above-below. Begin within a familiar context by using figures from Grandpa's Farm, Down on the Farm Book, Farm Animal Mitts, Zoo Babies, Can Do Activity Book, or whatever you already have on hand. Start by placing animals, one at a time, in, on, under, or wherever, identifying the location in simple terms. Children love to play teacher, placing the animal somewhere on a board or book and having you say "The pig is in the barn." Even more fun is to make a ridiculous mistake and let them correct you!

For Kindergarten through 3rd grade, try a "barrier reference" activity Take two mounted felt background boards or play felt boards and sit them against the backs of two chairs. Place the chairs back to back. One player will sit facing each board, and will be unable to see the other board. The Toy Counter set is ideal for this game, unless you're lucky enough to have two Can Do Activity Books, or two of something else with lots of figures. Each person takes turns giving directions to the other as to which figure is used and where it is to go. (Descriptive words as well as spatial concepts). If the person does not give enough information, the other has to ask for clarification. (What color, what place on the chair or background?) At the end of the game they compare results, which should look the same, but seldom do, and provide lots of laughs while they learn the importance of clear directions, as well as good direction-following skills!



Have I exhausted the possibilities? Not a chance! Think about the impact of felt on children with developmental delays and/or language disorders. One Story Time Felts mom reports that her child never uttered a fluent or smoothly spoken phrase until he began playing with the felt Nursery Rhymes sets. She cried when he began repeating a rhyme without stuttering.

A teacher of autistic children ordered $300 of felt products for her classroom of 8 children because she saw the appeal of felt manipulatives to her very tactile young students. Special needs children both at home and in schools can benefit greatly from having their teacher, and special needs providers (physical therapists, occupational therapists, teacher of visually or hearing impaired, and others) all sharing one set of materials in a theme-based approach to learning. Share the message of how our felt can generate in a child's eyes a light that will not dim.

Give the gift that truly keeps on giving.