The Cat in the Hat's Hat

March 2 is Read Across America Day and Dr. Seuss’ birthday! Celebrate both by reading your favorite Dr. Seuss book and making our Cat in the Hat hat!

What You’ll Need:
*Paper Plate
*Scissors
*Red paint
*Clear tape
*Stapler/glue
*Construction paper – 4 sheets white, 2 sheets red

Preparation:
*Cut out the center of the paper plate. You will only need the rim.

Activity
*Paint the rim of the paper plate red. Allow to dry thoroughly.

*Meanwhile use clear tape to tape all four pieces of white construction paper together to create a large rectangle, overlapping edges.

*Cutting both pieces at the same time, cut the red construction paper into 4 horizontal strips, so you’ll have 8 strips all together. Use clear tape to tape two strips together so you have 4 long red strips.
*Lay the 4 red strips over the white paper rectangle. Make sure you have at least a one inch margin on the bottom. Put even amounts of white spacing between the remaining red strips. Glue the red strips to the white paper. Allow to dry.

*Trim the sides and top of the white and red paper.

*Cut vertical tabs in the one inch white border on the bottom of the paper, about one inch apart.

*Once the rim is dry, place it on the floor or table. Roll up the white/red rectangle with red stripes facing out and place it in hole in the center of the rim, with the tabs you cut at the bottom of the hat.

*Allow the white/red rectangle to expand to fill out the entire hole. Slide the rim so that it touches the bottom of the bottom-most red strip. Your tabs should be under the rim, with the rest of the hat above. Staple the edges of the white/red rectangle together so it forms the round part of the hat.

*Flip the hat over and fold down the tabs and press against the underneath side of the rim. Tape down the tabs to keep in place.

*Wear while you are reading and don’t forget to send us pictures! Send us a picture of you and your hat and we may post it to our site! info@mycalendarmaker.com.

Suggested Resources:
• Book Club -- Get more great ideas for pairing books and crafts on our Book Club page!
• Official Seussville Site

This activity can be found in the Arts & Crafts section of our site.