How To Make Preschool Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hats
Early Childhood Holiday Theme Art Activity
Nov 14, 2009
Celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in the preschool classroom by creating festive Pilgrim hats. Using basic art supplies such as construction paper, young children can design and make this unique wearable art. This art lesson is a perfect fit for an autumn holiday theme.
Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hat Lesson Objectives
- Learn about the Pilgrims and the Thanksgiving holiday.
- Create wearable art.
- Explore art materials and process.
- Develop fine motor abilities.
- Increase color and shape recognition skills.
- Follow steps in a sequence.
Age/ Grade Level
This art activity can be used with children ages four and up. Try adapting it to fit the specific classroom and developmental needs. Very young children may need some adult assistance during the assembly process. It is best to have more than one adult present while creating the hat. This will ensure that each child can be helped in a timely manner.
Young preschoolers may feel challenged by this activity. Challenging a child’s abilities is one way to promote positive growth and development. Give the children the verbal assistance needed to overcome feelings of frustration during the process steps. Allow the children to participate fully in the construction process, thus building a sense of pride and confidence.
It may be best for teachers to try this activity first. This will help to decide upon how difficult the project will be for the class.
Materials Needed to Create Preschool Thanksgiving Pilgrim Hats
- Large pieces of construction paper
- Children’s Scissors
- Crayons
- Circle shape template or stencil
- Tape
- Glue
Steps to Create Wearable Holiday Art
Pre-activity
Many preschoolers might not know who the Pilgrims were or what they looked like. This makes creating a Pilgrim hat difficult. Before beginning this art activity, try reading a Thanksgiving children’s book that features illustrations of the Pilgrims. Discuss how they dressed and the hats that were worn.
Another pre-activity or preparing step is to determine the correct size of paper to use. The children will be creating a paper hat to be worn; therefore the paper must be large enough to fit around the head. Regular sized construction paper sheets will not be large enough for this activity.
Process Steps
- Give each child a piece of construction paper and a circle template. Ask the children to trace the circle onto the paper using a crayon. If black or dark brown paper is being used, give the children white or bright yellow crayons to trace with.
- Ask the children to cut out the circle using safety scissors.
- The next step involves creating an inner circle on the paper. This will be where the child’s head goes. Adult assistance is needed for this part. The teacher or other adult should create a circle template that corresponds to the child’s head size. The child can then trace this circle inside the cut out circle. A teacher or other adult will need to assist the child in cutting out this inner circle. The end result should be a continuous circle with an empty center that looks like a hat brim.
- Give the children another piece of construction paper that is cut to fit the inside of the circle.
- Invite the children to cut small slits on the bottom of the paper.
- Fold the paper into a cylinder and tape where the two ends meet (along that entire edge). Insert the paper into the hat brim circle, and then fold back at the slits to form tabs. Help the children to tape the tabs underneath the hat brim.
- Add a long, thin rectangular piece of paper around the hat where the cylinder (or top) meets the brim. Glue this down.
- The children can then cut a small rectangle shape that looks like a buckle. Glue this to the front.
- Set aside to dry, and make sure that there is no tape sticking out that may catch hair.
- Wear!
Pilgrim Hat Lesson Wrap Up
After the hats have been completed have the children discuss the process used to create them. Ask to see who can remember or recall all of the steps needed to make the Pilgrim hat. This includes recalling art processes, shapes, and colors.
Follow the process discussion with another brief Thanksgiving story. Invite the children to point out pictures in a book that look like what was created.
Early Childhood Enrichment Activities
This art activity is a great way to introduce the Thanksgiving holiday. Use this lesson plan with a holiday unit, and try to incorporate it into a variety of other curricular areas such as dramatic/imaginative play, history, and literacy skill building.
Examples of classroom enrichment activities for this project include:
- A Pilgrim/Thanksgiving class play.
- Read Pilgrim books.
- Play dress up.
- Have a Thanksgiving parade.
The Thanksgiving Pilgrim hat making activity is a creative way for preschoolers to learn about this important American holiday. Although young students will need assistance in making this wearable art, the end result will help to promote imaginative play and can be tied to other classroom themes or areas. Try adjusting the lesson plan for the children’s needs, and watch as the class creates fun hat costumes!
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