Hats off to September!!!

Well, it's mid-September... another summer is (successfully) behind us! Hats off to Fall! There are some fun activities that go along with this post that might be handy through the winter to make time pass more quickly until next summer! Hopefully you'll enjoy them!

Holm, Sharon Lane.
Zoe's Hats.
2009 (2003).
Boyds Mills Press.

Summary from Boyds Mills Press:

Zoe loves hats - floppy hats, flowery hats, and downright funny hats. Some hats look wonderful on her, while others, well... even Zoe has her doubts. But there's no doubt that children will share Zoe's enthusiasm for dressing up. Sharon Lane Holm's lively book introduces children to colors and patterns with bold illustrations and a simple, rhythmic text.

This is a wonderful book that could be used in so many ways! It's perfect for very young children to simply teach them their colors. As for children just a bit older, it makes for a perfect book for beginning readers, as the illustrations allow for children to use context clues to figure out words - if they know their colors, they'll feel confident that they can actually read this whole story!

Kitamura, Satoshi.
Millie's Marvellous Hat.
2009.
Andersen Press USA.

Summary from Amazon:

Millie loves hats, but she can't afford to buy any of the beautiful ones in the hat shop. But the shopkeeper has an idea. He produces a box containing an amazing hat with the most perfect shape and color imaginable - if Millie dares to imagine it. Millie does dare, and soon she sees not only her own marvellous hat, but everyone else's hats as well.

This book is every bit as wonderful as Zoe's Hats. However, the lucky thing about this book is that it's level of appropriateness extends to much older children! Millie's use of her imagination is enough to inspire children to imagine their own fancy hats! Encourage children to draw "their" hat, as they wish they could own. Children of any age love to draw, and this would be tying in literature to the drawing activity! If you so wish, engage them in writing about their hat. What materials would they need in order to create their hat? What steps would have to be taken to create this hat? How much would they be willing to pay for their hat? Have children create an add for their hat, giving the sale price and a brief description of the item. If you're really into the project, allow your child to actually create his or her hat!

Other Teaching Ideas:

• H is for Hat, when teaching children the alphabet. Use the following printable as handwriting practice for the letter "H."
• Invite children to wear their favorite hat for the day to participate in Hat Day!
• Plan a day to clean out your craft cupboard - cover the table with newspaper and fill it with all your scrap crafting supplies. Buy each child a plain hat at the local craft store and then encourage them to be creative and design their own Crazy Hat.
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com.