Pre-School Storytime: Hats

 

Hold On to Your Hat!

Stories and songs on the uses of hats, parts of the body, plus interactive storytelling of the classic story “Caps for Sale” and the concept of “echo.”

Hats, Hats, Hats – Ann Morris (pictures of people in hats from all over the world)

Rhyme: Hats (source unknown – suit actions to words)
A cowboy wears a cowboy hat (Hands encircle head)
As he gallops on his horse.(Gallop)
Firefighters hats keep them safe (Hands encircle head)
As fires run their course.(Spraying motion with hose)
A clown wears a point hat (Hands form point on head)
And a smile upon his face (Draw smile on face)
And astronauts wear helmets, (Encircle face with hands)
When blasting into space. (Palms together, shoot hands up to sky.)

Interactive Book: Whose Hat – Margaret Miller (younger), Whose Hat is This? – Sharon Katz Cooper (older – nice, non-gender stereotyped)

Book: This is the Hat: A Story in Rhyme – Nancy Van Laan or Who Took the Farmer’s Hat – Joan Nodset (both tales of hats that get away – Van Laan’s has great cut paper collage illustrations perfect for a follow-up art project. Nodset’s is an old but supremely satisfying story of a farmer’s hat that is re-purposed by a resourceful bird…)

Rhyme: Hat Woes (source unknown – suit actions to words)
I put a hat upon my head,
But it covered my face.
I put another hat on,
But it wouldn’t stay in place.
The next hat was red,
It popped off my head.
The last hat was straw,
The wind blew it far.
So the next time you try
To cover your head,
Remember what happened to me
It’s not so easy to wear a hat,
For hats just want to be free!

Who’s Under that Hat? – David Carter (Q&A, listening skills – Carter book has a rhyme to clue the hidden animal – talked to parents about encouraging listening skills)

Action: The Magic Hat (source unknown, tune: The Farmer in the Dell – use whenever needed for getting out the wiggles…) 

Put on your magic hat. (Pretend to put on hat.)
Put on your magic hat. (Pretend to put on hat.)
Oh, you can do most anything (Spread hands wide.)In your magic hat!
You can hop and hop and hop…etc.
You can make a face…etc.
Children’s suggestions…Close with: You can sit right down…etc.
“Sometimes it is hard to keep the hat on your head:”

Interactive Story: Caps for Sale – Esphyr Slobodkina (acting out classic story – read from the book -- start out with construction paper caps on librarian’s head, had kids take them when I “sleep” then they became the “monkeys”)

Song: The Funny Hat  (source unknown, tune: “This Old Man”, fun to use a funny hat – Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat is quite good for this.. )

On my head I wear a hat.
It is such a funny hat
That my head will wiggle, wiggle to and fro.
Where else can my funny hat go?
On my foot I wear a hat…etc. Children’s suggestions…
Close with the following:

On my hands I wear a hat
It is such a quiet hat.
That my hands won’t wiggle, they just go clap
Then I put them in my lap.

If time: Book: This is Not My Hat – Jon Klassen (Caldecott-winning tale of a small fish who’s a big thief…)
(display: I Want My Hat Back – Jon Klassen)

Video/DVD: Happy Birthday Moon (Weston Woods – introduce concept of “echo” -- Bear thinks Moon is talking to him)  Alt: Reading Rainbow: Florence and Eric take the Cake

Song: Be My Echo (echo and response song – reinforces idea of echo from the above story.)

Sing what I sing, sing after me
Be my echo if you can be
Sing tra la la (tra la la)
Mi mi mi (mi mi mi)
Ha ha ha (ha ha ha)
Hee hee hee (hee hee hee)
Pick a peck of peppers (pick a peck of peppers)
Fiddle diddle dee (fiddle diddle dee)
Be my echo (be my echo)
Sing what I sing (sing what you sing)
Follow the leader and sing after me (sing after me)

Sing what I sing, sing after me
Be my echo if you can be
Sing dee dee dee (dee dee dee)
Dough do do (do do do)
Hi hi hi (hi hi hi)
Lo lo lo (lo lo lo)
Pick a peck of peppers (pick a peck of peppers)
Fiddle diddle dee (show off!)
Be my echo (be my echo)
Sing what I sing (sing what you sing)
Follow the leader and sing after me (sing after me)
Sing...after...me...(sing...after.. MEEEEEEE!)

www.songlyrics.com/sesame-street/sing-after-me-lyrics/#VTaRI8kG6jRLaH5w.99

5.13 5.16

Option: could omit some stories from above and open with a windy story:

Book: One Windy Wednesday –Phyllis Root or One Monday – Amy Huntington
Song: The Wind (from Totline 1987 Robert Mohr – tune: The Muffin Man)
The wind is full of tricks today,
It almost blew me far away
It almost knocked me off my feet
As I came walking down the street!
The next time that I go outside,
The wind won’t take me for a ride.
I know just what I will do,
I’ll put some glue on the bottom of my shoe!

Optional Crafts:

• "Who Do You Want to Be" Hat -- crown, astronaut helmet, baseball star, hard hat, firefighter, police officer, fancy top hat..
• Torn paper collages inspired by Van Laan’s This is the Hat (above)

Happy Birthday Madame Chateau -- Andrea Beaty