Lap Flannel Story Board

Things You'll Need:
Old pair of adult blue jeans.
Scissors,
Tape measure.
Felt,
Thread,
Sewing machine.
Iron.
Pins.
Iron on pellon.
60" length of bias tape.

Instructions
Step 1:Cut open a leg of the blue jeans. Cut a rectangle 20" x 9" from the denim. If there is not enough material, adjust pattern as needed. Cut out one of the back pockets.

Step 2:Cut 20" x 9" pieces of felt and iron on pellon. Iron pellon to felt to help felt hold shape and keep from stretching.

Step 3:Lay denim face down. Place felt on top with pellon in center. Pin together. Sew around edges using a ¼" seam allowance. Trim edges.

Step 4:Fold in half and mark fold with pins or chalk. Sew marked line to create a spine for the lap book.

Step 5:
Sew bias tape around edges of lap book. Trim threads.

Step 6:On the front, hot glue blue jean pocket. Use to store flannel board pieces when not in use.

Fun stories to make for your flannel board:
Hey Diddle, Diddle
Print out, laminate and apply felt or sandpaper to the back of figures of a cat, fiddle, cow, moon and dog. You can find templates online or draw or trace the figures directly onto felt and cut them out. Introduce the figures one at a time as you say each verse. For example, bring the cat out, then the fiddle. Place them to the side of the board and bring out the cow and the moon, and so on until you finish the rhyme.
Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater
Re-enact this nursery rhyme using a large pumpkin flannel board piece, a figure of a man (Peter) and a woman (his wife). Hide Peter's wife under the pumpkin when you get to the end of the rhyme, which describes him putting her in a pumpkin shell.
Pussycat, Pussycat
Make flannel board figures of the queen, cat, chair and mouse. For maximum durability, print the figures onto card stock or another sturdy paper. Recite the story, hiding the mouse under the chair and performing other actions along with the rhyme. Let the children take turns telling the story from different perspectives such as that of the mouse or the queen.
Georgie, Porgie
Print out or make several boy and girl figures, as well as images of puddings and pie (since he's "Georgie Porgie, Pudding and Pie"). Make sure you add large lips to the two main characters so that Georgie can bestow kisses. Start with one figure of a boy "Georgie" (surrounded by a pudding and pie) and one figure of a girl. Add more boys and girls to the board when you come to the part of the rhyme where "the boys came out to play." Make Georgie disappear when other children appear.
Three Little Kittens
Create flannel board figures of three cats and three sets of mittens. Be sure the cats are large enough to wear the mittens. Color the cats in shades of white, brown, black or gray and the mittens in primary colors. Recite the rhyme once or twice in its original form, then add colors into it, such as "One little white kitten lost his blue mitten and he began to cry...."