Hats, Hats and More Hats - A Three Hat Day

A Three Hat Day
written by Laura Geringer
illustrated by Arnold Lobel
Laptime: toddler - early elementary
Story Circle: preschool - early elementary

I love hats! They are so much fun to wear and they express so many different things about someone's personality or profession. In a few words this darling book covers hats, collections, sadness, happiness, dreams and love.

R.R. Pottle the Third has an amazing collection of hats. He loves all kinds of hats. Every morning before he gets out of bed, even before he yawns, he chooses a hat. One morning R.R. feels sad and lonely and decides that it's not a one hat day or two hat day but a three hat day. So he dons three hats and makes his way to the largest hat store in town to cheer himself up. There he finds the woman of his dreams who is, of course, wearing the perfect hat.
This book is a Reading Rainbow Featured Selection. Laura Geringer tells this funny and sweet story in a few expressive words that work well for young readers. Caldecott winner Arnold Lobel, author and illustrator of the popular Frog and Toad books, provides illustrations that are comical and touching.

A Three Hat Day - Laptime Lesson Plan Ideas:

• Go through your house and find all of your hats. Try them on and take pictures for a hat photo album that you can give to a grandparent for a gift.
• Take a plain baseball style cap and decorate it using fun things you find around the house. Try to make each hat represent the personality of the one who will wear it. Be sure and have a fashion show and take pictures.

A Three Hat Day - Story Circle Lesson Plat Ideas:
Hat Parade
Ask the children to bring a hat from home (send a note home a couple of days before your activity). Be sure to have a few extra in case children forget or are unable to provide a hat.
or
Make a hat

• You will need:
• Large piece of construction paper for each child
• Glue sticks
• White glue
• Fun stuff for decorating: lace, fabric, pipe cleaners, feathers, sequins, glitter, buttons, etc.

Make a cone out of the construction paper and glue the sides together with a glue stick or have the teacher staple the sides together.
Allow the children to glue on a variety of decorations.

Have everyone put on their hat and then sit in a circle.
Go around the circle and ask each child to tell what they like best about their hat.
Have a hat parade to other classrooms to show the hats.
If you have a portable CD player play some music to accompany your parade.

AThree Hat Day is published by Harper Trophy a division of HarperCollins Publishers