Materials
White baseball hat (paint stores sell inexpensive paint hats)
Permanent fabric markers
Fake pearls, scrap materials, pompoms
Glue
Instructions
1. Ask the children what they remember about one of their birthdays.
2. Tell them that you are going to read them a book called Birthday Presents. In
this book, parents describe the day their child was born, and all her birthdays
up until she is five years old.
3. Show the children the cover of the book, pointing out the title, author, and
illustrator. Before you read the book, ask them if they can tell from the
pictures how the girl felt on her birthdays. Was she happy?
4. Read and discuss the book with the children.
5. On a piece of poster board, make a chart with five columns. Label the
columns ages one through five. Leave enough room to glue small pictures to
the chart.
6. Divide the class into five small groups. Explain that each group will draw small
pictures representing gifts appropriate for a certain age. One group will draw
presents for one-year-olds, another group for two-year-olds, and so on.
7. Brainstorm with each group some of the presents they might draw.
8. Cut out the pictures and glue them in the appropriate age column.
9. Write the name of the item beside each thing (rattle, ball, book). Title the
chart "Birthday Presents."
