Mittens and hats

Mittens and hats

Activities for toddlers and babies

This theme is a great way to introduce little ones to mittens and hats. It is packed with activities that are perfect for winter!

AREA SETUP

Mittens and hats
Deposit several different hats on the floor throughout your daycare. Hide a pair of mittens inside each hat. Let children discover and manipulate the hats and mittens.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Soft mitten
Find a very soft mitten (fur or other material) and use it to make diaper changes extra special. Wear the mitten on your hand and gently rub it over children's arms, legs, face, and stomach. Let children manipulate the mitten too.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (look and touch)

Fill a large container with colourful mittens and hats. Let babies and toddlers manipulate them as they wish. They will enjoy touching them and wearing them. Name the different colors for little ones.

SENSORY ACTIVITIES (touch)

Mittens on my feet
This is a silly activity that little ones really enjoy. Collect several mittens that are big enough to be easy to manipulate. Ideally, collect mittens that offer different textures (fur, felt, wool, etc.). Remove children's socks and help them slide the mittens over their feet.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Hats
Cut strips of construction paper. Let little ones draw on the strips of paper or decorate them with a variety of materials. When they are done, simply join both ends of each strip of paper together to create simple hats children will love to wear.

Felt mittens and paint
Cut mitten shapes out of felt for the children in your group. Sew two mitten shapes together for each child and invite toddlers to paint their mitten. Painting on felt is perfect for young children. Although it may be somewhat more difficult than painting on paper, they find the texture very interesting.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Hats for dolls and stuffed animals
Purchase several socks and cut them, keeping only the toe portion of each sock to make simple hats that will fit dolls and stuffed animals perfectly.

Mitten puppet
Purchase a large mitten that is made of thin fabric. Cut circles, a square, and a crescent shape out of felt or fabric to represent eyes, a nose, and a mouth. Sew the shapes on the mitten to create a face. Have fun tickling children with your mitten puppet.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Hidden objects (object permanence)
Purchase several large mittens. Hide a toy inside each mitten. Encourage little ones to slide their hand inside the mittens to discover the hidden objects.

Are these hats too small?
Deposit several winter hats that fit the children in your group on the floor. Add a few hats that are too small, such as doll hats. Encourage toddlers to try the hats on so they can discover how some hats are too small. When they find a hat that is too small, invite them to place it on a doll's head.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

Mitten manipulation
This activity will help children practice manipulating a variety of items while wearing big winter mittens. Indoors, fill a large container with objects of different sizes and shapes (figurines, trucks, scarves, balls, etc.). Have children wear mittens and attempt to seize the different objects. This activity can also be done outside during winter months.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word mittens
Print and laminate different pictures or word flashcards. Fill a container with mittens and hide a picture inside each one. Encourage babies and toddlers to pick a mitten and present the picture that was hidden inside to their friends. Name each item with the children in your group.

Chantal Millette
Early childhood educator

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