Another fun theme that’s relatable for my toddlers who wear their hats in sun and snow all the time. The hat hide-and-seek flannelboard game with Walrus was a big hit, and my Folkmanis Bunny in a Hat puppet is also a big attention draw. I was pleased to see several families (grownups as well as kids) wear their hats, even if they didn’t stay on long during the program!
Early Literacy Tip: Parents, when you share wordless books with your children, there’s no limit to the conversations you can have together! Taking part in lots of conversations helps your child learn new words, gives them a big vocabulary, and helps them become good readers. Talking with your child will help them get ready to read. –Mel’s Desk
Welcome Song: Hello, Friends* (TT) (TB) (FT)** †
Warm Up Song: Wake Up, Feet* (TT) (TB) (FT)
This is a repeated song that everyone seems to enjoy. I always begin and end with feet and tummies, but find two other body parts to wiggle in the middle. I rotate between elbows, cheeks, hips, noses, arms, chins, thighs, heads, shoulders, ears, knees, and fingers.
Lifting Rhyme: Toast in the Toaster* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Intro: Last week we talked about what we wear on our feet – shoes and socks. What do we wear on our heads? Hats! Just like shoes, there are so many kinds of hats – some are good for a specific activity or job, and some we wear just because we like how they look.
Hats come in all shapes and sizes!
Action Rhyme: Tall Hat, Small Hat (TT) (TB) (FT)
Tall hat, (tall hands above head)
Small hat (small rounded hands on head)
Big hat, (hands wide to either side of head)
Cap (one hand flat on head)
Let me take them off again (hands move down and to lap)
And put them in my lap
Source: Librionyian
Transition: If You’re Ready for a Story* (TT) (TB) (FT)
I actually only “read” one book this week because my following activities were so tied to it, though I kept Hooray For Hats as a backup. I took a lot of inspiration from Jessica at Storytime in the Stacks on how to present Where’s Walrus as a wordless picture book, and how to present wordless books as an early literacy tool from Mel’s Desk.
Walrus is going to be wearing a lot of hats in this book to hide from the zookeeper. Let’s see if you can find Walrus.
Read: Where’s Walrus? by Stephen Savage (TT) (TB) (FT)
Walrus is hiding here at the library! Let’s see if we can find him.
This flannel was again inspired by Storytime in the Stacks. You can find a template for the hats (plus more varieties) at her post. We both used a very affordable download from Etsy seller Creative Cat and Co for the animal faces. To present, I just went hat by hat, talking a little about each one and what it was for, leaving the last one for Walrus.
Flannel Rhyme: Where’s Walrus? (TT) (TB) (FT)
Walrus, walrus, where could you be?
Are you under the baseball cap? Let’s look and see!
[That’s not Walrus? Who is it? Panda! Well, maybe Walrus is under the next hat – a chef’s hat!]
Source: Storytime in the Stacks
I intended to do this guessing game after finding Walrus, but it just didn’t seem right for my first group, so I skipped it. And looking at the clock when we were done, it was a good thing – I ended right on time. With the craft for the next two sessions, I knew it wouldn’t fit, so it didn’t get used at all. But it’s a possible activity for you, so I’m including it here! The original I saw didn’t include a space helmet, so I wrote a verse for it.
Flannel Game: Whose Hat Am I?
I’m hard and yellow, sturdy as can be
To protect your head – who wears me? [Construction worker – Hard Hat]
One, two, three strikes you’re out
I am worn in the field and in the dugout [Baseball player – Baseball cap]
I’m tall and white, take a look
Someone wears me when they cook [Chef – Chef’s hat or toque]
Hocus pocus, look about
A magician taps me and a rabbit jumps out! [Magician – Top hat]
On your birthday, I’ll be there
Sitting up atop your hair [Party goer – Party hat]
I am special, you can see
Worn by those of royalty [King or queen – Crown]
Tall with stars and a pointy peak
Look for my owner if magic you seek [Witch or Wizard – Magic hat]
If there’s a fire, I’ll be there
Protecting my brave owner’s hair [Firefighter – Fire helmet]
I’m made of straw with a brim so wide
Can you tell whose head will be inside? [Cowpoke – Western hat/Stetson]
A knitted hat for young and old
To keep a head warm in the cold [Anyone! – Winter hat]
When my owner walks in outer space
I keep them safe in that airless place [Astronaut – Space helmet]
Source: Stratford (CT) Library
That cowpoke hat is quite something! Let’s do a bounce
Bounce: I Hop on My Horse (TT) (TB) (FT)
I hop on my horse and go to town (bounce)
I ride up high (arms up, or lift child)
and I don’t fall down (arms low, or lower child)
I wear a hat so my hair won’t blow (hand on head)
And when I want to stop I just say “Ho!” (tilt back)
Source: Madison (WI) Public Library
This rhyme is about a grandma and a grandpa who wear a hat.
Rhyme: Grandma’s Glasses (TT) (TB) (FT)
These are grandma’s glasses
This is grandma’s hat
And this is the way she folds her hands
And lays them on her lap
These are grandpa’s glasses
This is grandpa’s hat
And this is the way he folds his arms
And takes a little nap (snore)
Source: Adventures of a Bookworm
Did you know that sometimes when you go to see a magic show, the magician will have a very special hat?
This is a draw and tell rhyme that I thought about using for a magic storytime but didn’t have time in that session. This time I made sure to fit it in, and they did enjoy it – by the time I got to the ears, I heard excited voices saying – “rabbit!” The numbers refer to the photos below, showing what to add at each line.
Drawing Rhyme: The Magician’s Hat (TT) (TB) (FT)
The magician has an empty hat (1)
Turned upside down with a brim like that (2)
Then suddenly a head appears (3)
With two bright eyes… (4)
…and two long ears (5)
And a small round nose… (6)
…and whiskers, too. (7)
And magic stories just for you (I just added some stars here)
Source: Chalk in Hand: The Draw and Tell Book by Phyllis Noe Pflomm (c)1986 via Once Upon a (Story) Time blog
And I’m pretty sloppy, so honestly you don’t need to draw perfectly to get this one!
Little bunny would like to say hello! But bunny is a little shy.
Everyone loves the Bunny in a hat puppet – she gets lots of pets after storytime. After showing the rhyme with the puppet, I tell them, you can do this one with your fingers! And we do it together with just our hands, and then I did it a third time with the puppet and them following along.
Fingerplay: Little Bunny in a Hat (TT) (TB) (FT)
Make a bunny with your index and middle fingers, hide in other hand
Little bunny in a hat, Sitting so still (begin with bunny hidden)
Will she come out? Yes she will! (bunny pops out of hat)
She looks to the left (turn left)
She looks to the right (turn right)
She looks straight ahead (turn to front)
And pops out of sight (hides in hat/fist again)
Source: Jbrary
If you wear a hat, you won’t get rain on your head!
A bit of a stretch for a hat storytime, but I wanted another simple one for our scarves.
Scarf Rhyme: Rain on the Green Grass (TT) (TB) (FT)
Rain on the green grass (shake on floor)
Rain on the trees (shake high)
Rain on the roof (hold above head)
But not on me! (drop scarf)
repeat with: Sun, Snow, Leaves
Source: Jbrary
Speaking of the weather, have you ever tried to wear a hat when it’s windy outside?
Scarf Song: Hats Are Blowing (TT) (TB) (FT)
(tune of Frère Jacques)
Hats are blowing, Hats are blowing
In the air, Everywhere!
Every time the wind blows, Someone’s hat, away it goes
Hold on tight. You’ll be all right!
Source: Storybook Stephanie
This is a silly song. Every time we sing a word that starts with the letter “B”, let’s lift up our “hat” (scarf), and when we sing another “B” word, put your hat on. Listen carefully!
I’m always trying to add in a ukulele tune, so I was pleased to realize I could replace one word in this traditional tune and make it a hat tune. Jim Gill does this one with the hands up/down twist. I try to raise and lower the neck of my ukulele to lead the group. It’s hard! I kept trying to change position whenever I change chords, not just at B words. But it’s all fun.
Note that I changed the key of this song after trying my original sheet – C just worked better for my voice. Feel free to use what works best for you!
Ukulele/Scarf Song: My Bonnet (TT) (TB) (FT)
(tune of My Bonnie)
(raise hands or scarf when you hear a word that starts with “B,” and lower them the next time you hear one!)
My Bonnet lies over the ocean
My Bonnet lies over the sea
My Bonnet lies over the ocean
Oh, Bring Back my Bonnet to me
Bring Back, Bring Back
Oh, Bring Back my Bonnet to me, to me
Bring Back, Bring Back
Oh, Bring Back my Bonnet to me!
Source: adapted from traditional, hear the Jim Gill version here
Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet in the key of C here!
Get a downloadable ukulele songsheet in the key of G here!
It’s time to put our astronaut helmets on so we can zoom, zoom, zoom!
Action Song: Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Craft: Origami Hat Decorating (TB) (FT)
A traditional origami hat! When I was a kid we made these out of newspapers, but for a plain hat to decorate I used white butcher paper that we have as a library supply. I cut pages to approximately newspaper size, 15 x 22″, and made the hats myself. If I had a slightly older group, I may have let them fold. You can find instructions here, using the “pirate hat” instructions: https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Newspaper-Hat. We decorated with dot markers and the library’s extensive supply of stickers.
Play Time
The toddlers have two laundry baskets of baby toys – rattles and cars, sorters and stackers, toy phones and spinners. For the older kids, I have foam blocks, soft food toys, puzzles, and a few other items that are a little more sophisticated than the baby toys. For Family Time, I gauge the overall age of the group and put out what seems right for them. We play for 5-10 minutes at the most, then I ring the bell and ask the kids to help me clean up. I think the clean up bit is good practice for them!
Goodbye Song: See You Later Alligator* (TT) (TB) (FT)
Other books I had available for families to browse (and may work for you on this theme)
Very Good Hats – Emma Straub & Blanca Gómez
Hooray for Hat! – Brian Won
Bedtime Bonnet – Nancy Redd & Nneka Myers
A Hat for Minerva Louise – Janet Morgan Stoeke
I Had Ten Hats – David McPhail
Finders Keepers – Keiko Kasza
I Want My Hat Back – Jon Klassen
Do YOU Have a Hat? – Eileen Spinelli & Geraldo Valério
Hat Tricks – Satoshi Kitamura
Kindergarten Hat – Janet Lawler & Geraldine Rodriguez
Hats Are NOT for Cats! – Jacqueline K Rayner
A Hat for Mrs. Goldman – Michelle Edwards & G Brian Karas
The Magic Hat – Mem Fox & Tricia Tusa
This storytime was presented in-person on 10/14, 10/15, & 10/16/24.
Storytime Handout:
*Lyrics to these songs can be found on the Repeated Songs & Rhymes page.
**These symbols indicate the program sessions I used the activities for:
(TT) Toddler Time, ages 1-2
(TB) Teddy Bears, ages 2-3.5
(FT) Family Time, ages 0-3.5
† Click the image of rhyme/song sheets to download a non-branded PDF
Storytime with Ms. Emily Library 