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Hats theme for toddlers: a week of activities

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A hats theme lesson plan for toddlers: what a day looks like, then the week's circle time (two or three minutes, on laps), books, craft, song, snack, letter and outside time, each with what changes at this age.

Plan this week for toddlersThe whole hats week

A day of the hats theme with toddlers

  1. Arrival and free play on the floor.
  2. Sing “The Grand Old Duke of York” with actions; repeat it while you change and feed.
  3. Hold and pass something real for the week (hat), and say its name.
  4. Snack: a toddler-safe version of rice cake faces (check the recipe's lines for under-4s).
  5. Outside: a short walk looking for head.
  6. Read The Hat Cat on laps, pointing and naming.
  7. Nap, then the song once more at pick-up.

Hats circle time

  1. Hello song: sing hello to each child by name.
  2. Look out of the window together: sun, rain or clouds?
  3. Show the theme: hold up something real and name it.
  4. Sing: The Grand Old Duke of York.
  5. Read: The Hat Cat (level 3).

Infants and toddlers: two or three minutes, on laps.

Hats theme books

  • The Hat Cat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A cat and a hat, with short words a four-year-old can follow.
  • The Red Hat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): One red hat, for the colour talk and pointing.
  • Six Cats, Six Hats (level 1, free on peabody.kids): Counting hats on cats: six, then fewer.
  • Rain on the Hat (level 3, free on peabody.kids): A hat for the rain, and the sound it makes.
  • Where Is Ned's Hat? (read aloud, level 5): A read-aloud: a hat lost on a cold day, and where it turns up.

Infants and toddlers: one book, read every day; point and name.

Hats craft: Paper-plate hat

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You need (5): paper plates, crayons, stickers, a strip of card, tape.

  1. Color and sticker the plate.
  2. A grown-up tapes on a card band to fit.
  3. Wear it in the hat parade.

With a grown-up. No heat, nothing hot.

Infants and toddlers: let them touch and hold the materials while you make it; nothing small enough to swallow.

Hats song: The Grand Old Duke of York

The words

Oh, the grand old Duke of York, He had ten thousand men; He marched them up to the top of the hill, And he marched them down again. And when they were up, they were up, And when they were down, they were down, And when they were only half-way up, They were neither up nor down.

Traditional; public domain. From Top 52 nursery rhymes with lyrics.

Hats snack

Rice Cake Faces from the Peabody Kitchen: picture steps, allergy swaps and safety lines on the recipe.

Letter H activities

HhH is for hat. Print the two pages (a trace page and a color page).

Infants and toddlers: skip the trace page; show the picture page and say the word.

Outside activity: Hat parade

March around the yard in your hats while the class sings. Freeze when the song stops.

Hats theme for 2 year oldsHats theme for 3 and 4 year oldsHats theme, all ages

Checked 2026-10-30