Submitted by Andrea Cope, Texas
Idea posted March 31, 2005
Ever heard the phrase, "She pulled it out of her hat?" Well, that's literally what I did for my kindergartners and first graders. On slips of colored paper, I wrote down everything we've done this year that could be done in seven minutes or less and put the slips in a glittery top hat. The activities included songs, circle games, stories we'd read (all with CDs), puppets to sing to, scarves to dance with, rhythm stick activities, simple dances, etc. I put another hat on my head and met each class at my door. We sat in a circle on the floor. I alternated letting boys and girls take a turn to pull a slip from the hat, then we did what it said on the slip. They loved it, and were on best behavior in hopes of getting a turn at the hat. It was so successful and easy. I'll probably do it again with the hat on my head being their cue that it's "Magic Hat" day. During our open house, all the little ones dragged their parents into the madhouse to show them the magic hat.