For the letter N we learned all about the night sky. I made this easy night sky felt play set, and all of the kids enjoyed using it in different ways.
Making the Set
I chose to make two small sets instead of one large set to hang on the wall. Either way would work for these activities. I went with the small set so that I could use it as a busy bag later. We will be taking a family road trip this summer, and I hope to make a few busy bags to take along for the ride.
For each set I used one sheet of black felt and half a sheet of yellow felt. I made one moon and various big and little stars for each set.
Ideas for Play
1. PRETEND PLAY-Our first activity with the felt play set was open-ended play. Each child interacted with the set differently, and watching them helped give me more ideas to extend our learning.
2. SORTING-Tinker and I are learning “big and little.” Together we sorted the stars by size.
3. PATTERNING-Lovey and Big Buddy are learning to copy and create patterns. One day I made a pattern for them to copy, and they made the same pattern. Then they spent some time trying to create their own patterns.
4. COUNTING & COMPARING–To practice counting and one-to-one correspondence we rolled a number cube and then added that many stars to our night sky. After the kids played a bit with their own boards we started comparing the two numbers. We talked about words like more, greater, fewer, less, equal, and the same. I don’t expect them to learn all of these words yet, but we are incorporating them into our discussions so that they begin to become familiar with the vocabulary.
5. ADDITION-You could also roll two different number cubes and add the stars to the night sky to find the sum. We did not do this activity, but it would be a great extension for kids who are ready.
What other ideas would go well with this night sky felt play set?
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jackie
Wow! What a gorgeous activity, Shaunna! I love how it incorporates math skills as well!
Lisha
Such a simple fun idea! I just bought a set of felt sheets and was wondering how to teach my 2-year-old some fun and learning with it when I came across this. I run a parenting page on Facebook at ConsciousParenting Approach – hoping to share this month sometime on our Crafts, Creativity & Celebrations Special. Inviting you and your fans to come say Hello to us there too – see you there!! 🙂
Shaunna Evans
I’m so glad you like the idea. Felt sheets come in handy for so many learning and play activities.
Noy T.
Hi, I really enjoyed your site. My son especially love to learn new things about the solar system and is really into science. I will have to do this with him and will have to use your ideas for my preschool. Thank you for sharing with us!
Shaunna
I’m so glad you found some useful ideas on the site. I hope you do get the chance to try some of them with your son and your preschool kids. I’d love for you to come back and let me know which activities you try out!
JDaniel4's Mom
What a fun way to work on counting! My son would love to arrange and rearrange the stars.
Shaunna
Thanks! My youngest loved rearranging the stars, and my oldest really enjoyed the games. I love when activities can be used in different ways.
Sugar Aunts
How fun! My kids would love this, they are very into stars/moon/outer space. Have you seen the felt sheets at the Dollar Tree? Very affordable and easy for the little projects 🙂
Colleen at Sugar Aunts
Shaunna
No, I haven’t seen felt sheets at the Dollar Tree yet. I will have to look a bit more closely next time I am there. Thanks for the tip!
Karyn
Very cute! thanks for linking to Share It Saturday 🙂
Play Create Explore
Ohhh I love handmade felt toys and games and this is awesome! There really is a lot of fun and learning going on here! So neat! 🙂
Shaunna
Thanks! It is a great set that both my toddler and preschooler can enjoy in different ways. So glad you like it!
Mom and Kiddo @What Do We Do All Day?
My youngest would like this. He is really into all things solar system-y and space-y right now. I’m not sure I will have the patience to cut out all the stars. I might be lazy and use stickers. I hope that’s okay! 🙂
Shaunna
I was able to put two sheets of felt together and cut out two stars at a time. I think it only took about 20 minutes to make the set. Stickers may work, too. Just keep an extra supply on hand in case they don’t stick anymore, and let me know if it works out. 🙂