The Magic Hat Chant

Magic Hat

by Mem Fox, illustrated by Tricia Tusa

You will need an oversized stocking cap. I took a plain one and sewed beads, foam shapes, and embroidered patches on it to make it look more magical.

Have a group of students students stand in a circle and toss the magic hat around the group while chanting:

"Oh the magic hat, the magic hat! It moved like this, it moved like that!”

The person who was holding it when the chant was over had to put it on and then say the name of the animal that he/she had become along with a rhyming word such as “whale with a striped tale” or “goat who could float”. After everyone had a turn to wear the hat I asked them to go to their seats and draw the animal they would become (older students could use the activity as a writing prompt).