|
|
PAPER
PLATE HATS
Set out thin white paper plates. Also provide collage materials
such as colored paper and fabric scraps, ribbons and bows, yarn,
rickrack, pompoms, crepe-paper streamers, artificial flowers,
and sequins. Invite your children to use their imaginations
to turn the paper plates into hats by gluing the collage materials
onto the back of the plates any way they wish. When they have
finished, punch two holes on opposite edges of each hat and
attach ribbon or yarn ties.
CONSTRUCTION
PAPER HATS
Try one or both of these ideas with your group.
|
Cone Hats: For each child, fashion
a piece of construction paper into a cone shape
and staple or tape the edges in place. Punch holes
on opposite sides of the hat and attach yarn ties.
Let your children decorate their hats with marker
designs and stickers. |
|
Headband Hats: To make each
hat, cut a piece of construction paper in half lengthwise.
Staple or tape the two strips together to make one
longer strip. Invite your children to decorate their
strips with glued-on collage materials. Then fit
each child’s strip around his or her head and fasten
the ends in place. |
|
HAT GAMES
|
Color Hats: Choose a simple hat shape, such as
a derby. Cut five derby shapes out of red construction
paper, five shapes out of yellow paper, and five
shapes out of blue paper. Mix up the shapes and
ask your children to sort them into three piles
by color. |
|
Shape Hats: Select three different hat shapes,
such as a stovepipe hat, a derby, and a clown hat.
Cut five shapes of each hat out of construction
paper. Mix up the hats, place them in a box, and
let your children sort them by shape into separate
piles. |
|
Number Hats: Count together the number of different
Color Hats and Shape Hats from the games above.
|
|
HAT
PLAY
| Stock a dress-up
box with a variety of hats, such as a derby, a
stocking cap, a sun hat, a party hat, a firefighter
hat, a football helmet, a baseball cap, and a
rain hat. Talk about how some hats protect our
heads from the weather or from injuries, some
are part of uniforms, and some are worn just for
fun or fashion. Encourage your children to try
on the various hats in your dress-up box and use
them for dramatic play. |
|
HAT RIDDLES
Set out five or more hats,
such as a rain hat, a stocking cap, a baseball cap, a
police officer hat, and a bike helmet. Make up short riddles
about the hats. For instance: “You put me on when it starts
to rain. Which hat am I?” Or: “You wear me when you’re
riding your bike. Which hat am I?” As you recite the riddles,
let your children take turns answering them by choosing
the appropriate hats and putting them on.
|
|
HAT
SNATCHER GAME
| Invite your
children to sit on the floor in a circle. Choose a Player
to put on a hat and sit in the middle of the circle
with eyes closed. Silently choose another child to be
the Wind. Have the Wind tiptoe up to the Player, snatch
away the hat, and return to the circle. Then have the
Player open his or her eyes and try to guess which child
was the Wind. Continue with more rounds of the game
until everyone has had a turn being the Wind or the
Player. |
|
HATS ON HEADS
Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Hats on heads here and there,
Hats on heads everywhere.
Hats for rain and hats for sun.
Hats for work and hats for fun.
Hats on heads here and there,
My favorite hat is the hat I wear!
Let your children put on hats and parade around the room as
you sing.
|
|
SNACKTIME HATS
Cut extra-large hat shapes out of heavy paper. Set out crayons,
markers, and stickers. Then let your children decorate the
hat shapes any way they wish to make placemats for snacktime.
|
|
|
