This didactic device is quite simple both to use and to manufacture. Children really enjoy playing with it on their own, and it is very convenient for adults to conduct educational activities with them.
Its main property is the presence of a fleecy fabric surface, on which paper applications are applied, the reverse side of which is also covered with either fleecy fabric or velvet paper. By the way, it should be noted that velvet paper is much better, as it more firmly holds the picture in a vertical position on the flannelgraph.
You can simply hang fleece or a piece of flannel, drape or velvet on the wall. But here it is necessary to hold the fabric with nails, which can be traumatic, since the material needs to be hung at the level of a child’s height. Therefore, it would be more practical to make a portable flannelgraph.
There are also two manufacturing options here:
1. stretching the fabric onto the frame;
2. covering or upholstering a wooden, plastic or cardboard plane with fabric.
It is worth considering in more detail the manufacturing method using plating.
1.To do this, you will need fleecy fabric (drape, flannel, fleece or velvet), a plane intended for sheathing, and a needle and thread. The fabric is taken larger than the area of the plane itself.
2. The plane is applied to the fabric.
3. The fabric is stretched tightly and wrapped over the sides of the plane. You can even spray a section of fabric on the front side of the flannelgraph so that its tension increases after drying.
4. On the wrong side of the flannelgraph, the edges of the fabric are secured with threads, similar to how parcels are sewn up at the post office. If the edges of the material do not meet, it is permissible to tighten them with threads.
5. Cut out applique details or entire figures.
6. Glue them onto velvet paper so that the fleecy part of the paper is on the wrong side of the applique.
7. Cut out pictures.
8. The flannelgraph is installed vertically, possibly with a slight inclination. Applique details are applied to the front side with the velvet side facing the fleecy fabric. The parts are lightly pressed, they stick to the fabric and do not slip.
You can teach children the alphabet in this way: the adult puts pictures, and the child places the letters under them, which begin the word denoting what is depicted. You can “dramatize” the fairy tales “Turnip”, “Kolobok” or “Geese - Swans”. You can also learn to count by placing counting material: pictures of apples or animals and numbers indicating quantity. In general, the field for an adult’s imagination is boundless!
