D.I.Y. Chalkboard/Flannel Board

My daughter absolutely loves the Feltboard that is used during Storytime at our local library. I looked into buying one - but found all of the ones in my price range to be too flimsy. There had to be a way to make a more durable (and less expensive) one myself. It was only after seeing this DIY Chalkboard idea from Chasing Cheerios that an idea was born. Why not combine the two into a double sided chalkboard/flannel board?

Here's how you can "Do It Yourself":

Materials Needed:

-Large piece of Plywood cut to your liking

-Sandpaper

-Chalkboard Paint or spray paint (I barely used an 1/8 of a small can)

-Paintbrush

-Felt (enough to cover one side of plywood) dark blue or black work best

-Staple Gun

1. Sand one side & edges of plywood (spend some extra time sanding the corners).

2. Apply Chalkboard Paint/Spray Paint to one side of the board following instructions on the can.

3. Re-apply coats of paint as neccessary & let dry completely.

4. Place bare side of plywood on top of felt.

5. Cut away excess felt (allowing a little extra to pull over edges).

6. Fold felt over to the chalkboard side and staple every two inches or so.

Voila! Finished! Now for the real test . . .

I can't tell you how many hours we have spent playing with both sides of our board. Pictured to the left - one of the many ways we use our felt monkeys. In this picture we are singing the song: 5 Little Monkey's Swinging in a Tree. We also use these monkeys for 5 Little Monkey's Jumping on the Bed and to re-create one of our favorite stories : Caps For Sale by Esphyr Slodobkina (first picture on post).

Other favorite flannel board sets that we have made (click on highlighted text for template or video): Brown Bear Brown Bear, If You're Happy & You Know It, 5 Little Babies Learning to Go Potty, & The 3 Little Pigs. Your local library is also a great source for books containing stories & templates. Check out Etsy if you'd like to buy some cute pre-mades (or gather ideas to make yourself). Two other sites: A Child's Place & Chocolate on My Cranium (religious felt board templates).