My First Fun Felt Shapes

 

Each time you play with Fun Felt Shapes can be a new adventure.

Playing with My First Fun Felt Shapes will give you a chance to let your imagination run wild. It is simply a felt board that comes with 100 pieces so you can build your own scenes and objects. For instance, in the image above a circle, half circle, two triangles and an eye have been assembled to make a blue bird.

The board and pieces.

 

The board measures 20.75" x 11". It is made from a sturdy cardboard-type material. It should hold up if you are not rough with it. The inside is blue felt and it folds so that you can close it in the front. A ribbon tie in front holds the book closed and can also be a chance to practice tying your shoes. Also included is an elastic piece, like a rubber band, that you can put around the book vertically to keep the pieces in the bag from sliding out. The whole thing is pretty light weight.

The thin, felt pieces are in a plastic Ziplock-type bag. Felt shapes include circle, half circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle, cloud shape, heart, sun, star, flower, person, diamond and a few odd shapes. Some pieces are solid colors, others have patterns printed on them. There are also googly eyes with felt on the back and small pom poms. 

Even though the book can stand because of the folding doors, they recommend playing with it on a flat surface. The felt pieces stick, but not that good. There are six objects on the front that you can copy and a simple scene on the back. There is an instruction sheet that shows you how to make four more objects and it also has simple instructions for tying your shoes.

Try this:

• Sort the pieces by color. Name them out loud as you go.
  
• Sort the pieces by shape. Name them out loud as you go.
• Start slow. For example the ladybug or spaceship on the instruction page above. Build it while they watch, talking about the individual pieces and where they go. Use spatial terms. Then take it apart and ask them to put it together. If that is too difficult with a picture, take a picture of the finished model on your phone and place it on the table by the pieces so they have something to look at. Increase the difficulty over time by making objects with more and more pieces. 
• Give them a set of pieces, for instance the cat in the image above, and ask them to make a cat out of them without the use of a picture.
• Look around the room and choose a simple object. Everyone make that object with pieces. Decide whose is the most recognizable.
  
• Use the blank canvas and place the pieces to the sides. Pick a theme and then start a story. Make an image on the canvas that goes with the story. The next player can add a sentence or two to the story and add an image. Go back and forth adding more to the story and more images to the picture.
• Make a mirror image design on the canvas.
  

In the box: One felt board, 100 assorted pieces, instruction/model page