Make this reversible felt glove to provide attention-grabbing finger play with preschoolers. Add pumpkin or ghost cutouts to the felt glove for Halloween rhyming, counting, and singing with early learners.
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Fingerplay is a sure way to grab kids attention at circle time. Simply wiggle your fingers and clap your hands to spark curiosity.
This homemade glove is one prop you can easily make to provide finger play in fun ways all year long. It adds interest to the words and movements, drawing and holding kids attention.
Finger play is an effective tool for building language and fine motor skills. Kids are drawn to silly lyrics, repetition, countdowns, and hand and finger movements offered in finger play.
Simple rhyming and a singsong tempo contribute to the ability of kids to remember and repeat verses or a chorus.
This DIY is made with a Halloween theme. You can adapt it to any season or theme using different felt cut-outs. Grab some Halloween finger plays at the end of the tutorial!
DIY felt fingerplay glove
A felt glove is a valuable tool to have in your toolkit. It is durable, colorful, versatile enough to adapt to seasons or circle time themes.
A fingerplay glove provides opportunities to engage kids in meaningful ways at circle time including:
- attracts kids attention
- contributes to sensory experiences with color and texture
- encourages engagement and participation
- highlights or extends a theme
- provides learning through play
This simple tutorial shows you how to prepare a fingerplay glove without a printed pattern. It can be sewn by hand or on a sewing machine.
Supplies
- Felt – orange, white and black
- hook and loop closure
- permanent marker
- scissors
Instructions
Step 1. Trace hand.
Trace your hand onto a piece of orange felt with chalk.
Make the outline larger than your hand to allow for sewing seams.
Repeat with black felt.
Cut out the felt hand shapes.
Step 2. Sew cut-outs together.
Stitch the orange and black hand cut-outs together.
I used the sewing machine for this step but you can also sew by hand with a blanket stitch or straight stitch.
Step 3. Attach hook and loop.
Secure one side of hook and loop closure to a finger of the glove, and the other side to the felt cut-out.
I used sew-on Velcro and stitched each piece by hand.
You can sew non-adhesive hook and loop closure on the sewing machine if preferred, before you sew the two hand cut-outs together.
Alternatively you can use self-adhesive dots or strips of hook and loop closure.
If you look closely you can see the outline of the sewing machine stitch on three of the jack-o-lanterns, around the nose area. I stitched these cut-outs onto the orange felt fingers before sewing the two felt hands together.
I chose to sew most of the hook and loop closure by hand after the gloves were sewn together, although it’s more time consuming process.
A simple prop like a felt glove is great way to engage kids at home or in the classroom.
- Invite kids to circle time.
- Introduce an activity with a song or countdown.
- Support basic math skills with counting and take-away games.
- Encourage kids to copy motions with their hands and fingers.
Circle time fingerplays
Ghost finger plays
5 Little Ghosts Singing and Storytelling – The Preschool Toolbox
5 Little Ghosts and No-Sew Puppets – Kids Activities Blog
5 Little Ghosts and Footprint Puppets – Toddler Approved
5 Little Ghosts Puppet and Fingerplay – Mama Smiles
Pumpkin finger plays
5 LITTLE PUMPKINS
1 little pumpkin is looking at you
Here comes another one and now there are 2.
2 little pumpkins are looking at me.
Here comes another one and now there are 3.
3 little pumpkins are sitting on the floor.
Here comes another one and now there are 4.
4 little pumpkins we’ve seen arrive,
Here comes another one and now there are 5.
5 little pumpkins are a marvelous sight,
Dressed up like jack-o-lanterns on Halloween night.
5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on a Vine – The Preschool Toolbox
I Can’t Wait for Pumpkin Pie – Preschool Powol Packets
5 Little Pumpkins Feelings Rhyme – jDaniel4’sMom
