At the end of Term 1 each year, our Kindergarten and Year 1 classes make Easter hats to wear at our annual junior school Easter Hat Parade. The children plan for and make their own hats, and although it can get quite messy and even a bit hectic (especially when the hot glue gun makes an appearance), this tradition at our school is something my students and I look forward to each year.

The children are always so proud to parade around our hall wearing their very own Easter hat. Each child creates a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that is carefully constructed with both determination and excitement. Parents and grandparents come in droves to watch our Easter Hat Parade. They sit around the edge of the hall clapping and waving as their child parades past.

After parading around the hall, the children all congregate on the stage to perform some well-rehearsed Easter songs – complete with cute little actions! It really is a lovely afternoon and a great way to finish our first term.

How to Make an Easter Hat

We usually start to prepare for our Easter hat parade in Week 8. That gives us nearly 2 weeks to design and finish a whole class load of hats.

I start by discussing with the children what they can expect from the process, and explain that they will be designing and independently making their very own hat. For inspiration, we all view my Easter Hat PowerPoint. You can download the Easter Hat PowerPoint we use HERE in my Free Resource Library!

This Easter PowerPoint consists of 36 slides containing pictures of all sorts of creative hats that I have sourced from all over the web. This PowerPoint is always accompanied by many “ooh’s” and “aah’s” from the children. It really builds their excitement and gets the ideas flowing.

Then we all have some quiet thinking time while we contemplate what our Easter hat is going to look like. The children begin to formulate an idea of their own hat in their minds. I then get the children to turn around and describe their ideal hat to a friend – I encourage them to think about all the small details of their planned design. My children are encouraged to give feedback to their peers on their plans. It’s important that their designs remain practical, realistic, and achievable.

Your children may benefit from asking each other the following questions:

• Will you be able to wear and walk around in this hat?

• Will we be able to supply the materials needed to make this hat?

• Will you be able to make this hat independently?

Easter Hat Planning

Once the children have a clear picture of their hat in their mind, I give each child their planning sheet. On this planning sheet, each child draws a detailed picture of their hat. I encourage them to make the drawing as detailed as possible – so detailed it looks like a photo!! They must include every decorative piece they think they will need. I ask the children to colour their drawing with the exact colours they plan on using.

While they are drawing and colouring, I go around the room and interview each child. We discuss the practicalities of their design and the planned size and shape. I also make sure to note all of the materials each child will require. There’s a designated space on each child’s planning sheet for me to list the desired materials. You can download the Easter Hat planning sheet we use from my Free Resource Library HERE.

After school, I use the children’s planning sheets to compile my shopping list, and then I begin to source all the art and craft supplies they will require.

Easter Hat Making

Once I have gathered all the materials my class needs to make their Easter hats, I set up an investigation area (usually a big one) where the children can begin working on their hats.

Nearly every year there are a few children wanting to change their minds and stick something on their hats that wasn’t on their original plans – especially when they see the treasure trove of supplies and notice what their peers might be using. I tell these children that they will have to wait until all of the class hats have been completed to ensure no-one misses out on the materials they planned to use.

These children will need to wait to see if the supplies they wanted are available. Sometimes they get to use the leftover supplies, sometimes they have to miss out, and sometimes they forget about it altogether!

It usually takes us just over a week to get every hat completed to the satisfaction of each little creative genius. Sometimes it’s a mad rush and we are still finishing off hats the day before the parade!

But it’s such an exciting time and heaps of fun for all the children, and I just love seeing their proud little faces as we enter the school hall on that last day of term.

If you are looking for some engaging Easter Worksheets to keep your students on task and learning while you help some of your other children with their Easter hats, you might be interested in these fun Easter worksheets.

They are perfect to keep your kids learning during all the exciting Easter craziness. Check out these 32 Easter Math Worksheets - your class will LOVE them!

You might also be interested in another blog post I have written on some Easter themed Math investigation areas you can set up in your classroom. Click HERE to read the Easter Math Ideas For Play Based Learning Blog Post.

I also have an Easter Activities Pinterest board you might like to follow. On this board I pin fun classroom Easter activities for kindergarten, preschool and first grade.

How about you? Do your children make their own Easter Hats at your school? If not, how does your class like to celebrate the end of the term? Drop me a comment down below because I’d love to know.

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