From Craft Table to Classroom: Designing Fabric Resources for Language Learning

Barbara Woosey

Former Head Teacher & Fabric Resource Maker for LaLaOpenEdu

LaLaOpenEdu: Barbara, you spent over three decades in early years education. How has that led you to creating fabric resources for LaLa classes?

Barbara Woosey: Once a teacher, always a teacher! When you explained your approach – teaching English through music, movement and play – it immediately reminded me of the way young children really learn. I started thinking about the rhymes, games and stories I used in school and realised I could bring them to life in fabric.

“Children don’t just learn language — they experience it through their hands.”

LaLaOpenEdu: What’s special about fabric as a learning material?

Barbara: Children need to touch things to understand them. Fabric is warm, flexible, colourful – it invites play. When children can hold something, move it, or build with it, the language becomes real. They’re not just listening to words, they’re doing something with them.

LaLaOpenEdu: Tell us about some of the resources you’ve made.

Barbara: The pizza game is a big favourite – children build a pizza from felt pieces, learning food vocabulary as they go. I’ve also made story sets, rhyme props, large dice for movement games, a Christmas tree for seasonal activities and animal sets for songs like Five Little Ducks. Every piece is based on something that already works well with young children.

fabric dice, stretchy band, 'The Hungry Caterpillar' story sack

LaLaOpenEdu: How do these resources support language learning?

Barbara: Children are more attentive when their hands are involved. They have to listen carefully for instructions, wait for their turn, and connect words with actions. That’s how language sticks. It’s learning without feeling like learning.

“If they’re building, touching and playing, the words stay with them.”

LaLaOpenEdu: Has working with LaLaOpenEdu changed the way you think creatively?

Barbara: Very much. I’ve had to plan more, design patterns, and think in a completely different way. It’s pushed me creatively – and I’ve loved that. I’ve even discovered skills I didn’t know I had.

LaLaOpenEdu: Is there a need for this type of resource in schools?

Barbara: Absolutely. When I was teaching, we used story sacks, but they were very limited. There was nothing for all the everyday rhymes and songs. There’s a real gap in the market for hands-on language resources – especially for early years.

LaLaOpenEdu: Any advice for teachers using tactile resources?

Barbara: Set clear boundaries! Children get excited, which is wonderful, but they need structure. When the rules are clear, the learning flows.

LaLaOpenEdu: What keeps you inspired?

Barbara: Seeing children enjoy learning. If something I’ve made helps a child understand a word, a song or a story, then that’s time well spent.

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Barbara Woosey is a former head teacher from Liverpool with over 30 years’ experience in early years education. Now collaborating as a fabric resource maker for LaLaOpenEdu, she creates handmade materials that support language learning through music, play and story.