Materials
Construction paper
Scissors
Bag or box
Tape
White poster board
Marker
Blindfold, optional
Paste, optional
Instructions
1. Bring in several different hats from your home, such as a baseball cap, hardhat,
party hat, or summer straw hat. Put them into a bag.
2. Before the children arrive, put on one of the hats. Without mentioning what
you are doing, change into different hats throughout the day. These hat tricks
will grab the children's attention!
3. When you gather the children for story time, ask if they have noticed anything
different about you that day. They will undoubtedly point out your varied
headgear!
4. Explain that people wear different hats for different reasons. Ask the children
to name different hats and why they are worn.
5. Show them the book Ho for a Hat! Tell them that this book celebrates the fun
of wearing hats! Point out the author and illustrator, and the twenty different
hats pictured on the cover.
6. Ask the children to help you read the book out loud. Explain that "Ho for a
hat!" means "Hurray for hats!" or "Hats are great!" or "I love hats!" Explain
that when you point to this sentence, they should all say "Ho for a hat!"
together. Practice several times.
7. Read Ho for a Hat! with enthusiasm, remembering to pause to cue your audience
for their response.
More to do
Dramatic Play: Place different hats in the dress-up center. The children can pretend
to have various careers and cultures as they wear the different hats.
Language: Make a special bulletin board display of the children's artwork. Ask
them to draw a picture of their face and top it with a fantastic original hat.
Encourage them to dictate a sentence to you explaining what they do in
their hats.
