Kids just love hats. And here's a fun hat project that is so simple and inexpensive, but sure to brighten up your party or playdate.
You'll need: construction paper (12"x18"), stapler, glue sticks, pencil (for curling paper). Optional: crayons, markers, and other embellishments.
For each child, cut 2 strips of paper about 12" x 3". Staple them together to make a long strip. This will be their crown. Let them decorate this strip with crayons, markers, or cut-out shapes and glue sticks. When they're happy with the decorations, wrap the strip around their head to measure for size, then staple the ends together to make a crown they can wear.
Next, cut several strips of paper 18" long by about 1" wide. To curl the paper strip, hold one end of the strip on the edge of the pencil. Roll the pencil, holding the paper securely against it. When you've rolled the whole strip of paper wround the pencil, let go, and you have a curl. Talk to the kids about what else they can do with a paper strip. Show them an accordion fold (fold one direction, then the other direction, like stairs). Ask them to think about how they can attach these pieces to their crown. Maybe leave them long like hair? Maybe cutting them shorter to stand up more. Let them decide what kind of party hat they'd like. This might lead to requests for more paper strips, different kinds of folds. You might think this is just a silly hat project, but this is also a great sculpture lesson--you're giving your kids experience with making something three dimensional, letting them make decisions about how these pieces take shape and how they can combine them together to make forms and movement.
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