Free printable felt board patterns: ways to use feltboards in preschool lesson plans

Hello my Omschooligans! Today Teacher Omi is taking a walk down memory lane to when I was young. Back then, Sunday school teachers used a tool called Flannelgraph to tell Bible stories. As she told the story, she'd add paper pictures with felt or sandpaper on the back to a piece of flannel attached to a board. The pieces stuck but could also be rearranged. It these made great visuals as well as interactive lesson plans. 

Today we use a similar hands-on activity called a felt board. To teach emergent readers, preschool educators use felt boards to illustrate books and tell stories. As you tell a story, add felt pieces to story board to illustrate. 

Here are free printable feltboard patterns, stencils and felt board reading lesson templates from First Palette. First Palette has free printable stencils and templates of shapes, animals, nature, leaves and trees, flowers, numbers, letters, people, clothing, cars, transportation, food--any pattern you need for any preschool unit!

To make felt board pieces, print stencils, trace on felt or flannel and cut out patterns. Paint pens would probably work best for tracing. You can also just paper clip the template to the felt and cut around it.  Here are more links to free printable felt board patterns. 

Comprehensive Pattern Collections

• Fun Cloth Crafts: This site offers a fantastic "DIY Felt Faces" set to help children explore emotions, along with a weather-themed board. They provide clear, easy-to-use stencils that are perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

• PreKinders Preschool Activities: A great source for classic storytelling sets like Ten Red Apples, Duck in the Truck, and It Looked Like Spilt Milk. These are designed specifically for educators to print, laminate, and use immediately.

• Flannel Board Fun (Freebie Section): While they have a large shop, they offer a very popular Free Cat Felt Board Pattern which includes 10 different cats for counting and color games.

  
  
  

Story-Specific Printables

• Jbrary Favorite Felt Stories: This is a goldmine for librarian-approved sets. They include patterns for favorites like Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and Slippery Fish, often accompanied by the specific rhymes or songs to go with them.

• Rock N Read Academy (via TPT): They offer a beautiful free printable for Itsy Bitsy Spider and Goldilocks. These are designed in black and white, which is a lovely touch—it allows the kids to color their own characters before you trace them onto felt!

Collections of Patterns, Stencils and Templates

• DLTK Coloring has over 50 free printable felt board stencils. Templates include geometric shapes, animal outlines, solar system, seasons, weather, holiday, snowflake patterns, food and other preschool theme shapes.

• Childcare Land has over 150 free felt board themes. Each theme has free printable felt board patterns, stencils, templates and activities. A helpful teaching video demonstrates how to use each lesson. Each kit has free printable stories. Pattern themes include months, animals, holiday patterns, seasonal, weather, children's literature, clothing, body parts, food, transportation, toys and games. Use free printable felt board patterns for science, social studies, reading, writing and math lessons.

• Making Learning Fun has a gigantic assortment of free printable felt board patterns. This site features complete children's book themed felt board patterns: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See?, Cat in the Hat, Clifford, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables and more.

The History of Flannel-Graph

Originally called Flannelgraph (or sometimes Suede-Graph), this medium became a staple in the 1950s and 60s. It was designed as an affordable yet vivid way to teach. The "magic" relied on a simple mechanical principle: the fuzzy nap of the flannel board caught the coarse backing (often sandpaper or felt) of the paper figures, allowing them to "stick" at an angle on an easel.

The Gold Standard: Betty Lukens

While many companies produced these, Betty Lukens is perhaps the most famous name in the industry. For over 30 years, their "Through the Bible" sets have been used globally.

• The Scale: A complete set can include over 600 figures and objects.

• The Manuals: These sets came with detailed teacher's manuals (like the ABCJesusLovesMe guides) that provided scripted stories, telling the teacher exactly when to place "Noah" or "the lost sheep" on the board.

Vintage Characteristics

If you are looking for authentic vintage sets (like those found on eBay or in historical archives), you'll often see:

• Bright, Mid-Century Illustrations: Figures often featured the distinct illustrative style of the 1960s—vibrant colors and simplified, friendly facial features.

• Specialized Sets: Beyond general Bible stories, there were specific holiday kits, such as 1963 Easter Suede-Graph sets.

• Interactive Backgrounds: Teachers wouldn't just place a person; they would "build" the scene, turning a simple cave into a home by adding felt doorways, windows, and small benches.