Tag Archives: monster

Camping? Nom Nom Nom

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camping nom nom nom

Pack your tents and hit the great outdoors with your friends Monster and Mouse. But keep an eye on Monster…he tends to eat the equipment!

We read Monster and Mouse Go Camping, written by Deborah Underwood, and illustrated by Jared Chapman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2018). Mouse is very excited to camp, but Monster is reluctant…camping seems a little scary. However, with the promise of food, Monster is happy to try. Except that he eats the lantern, sleeping bags, and tent. Another problem? Mouse forgets to pack the ACTUAL food. Now the two friends are quite cold and hungry. Then they spot another campsite. Polite inquiries are made…only to get a unexpected reaction that makes this one of the FUNNIEST read-alouds, ever. Highly recommended!

You’ll need:

  • 1 large tissue box
  • 1 box cutter
  • A selection of construction paper
  • 1 manila file folder
  • 1 toilet paper tube
  • 1 monster camping equipment template on 8.5″ x 11″ card stock
  • Scissors, tape, and glue for construction
  • Markers for decorating

front of camping monster

First, the monster! Use a box cutter to create a mouth in a large tissue box. Then decorate the box with construction paper (we also offered large eye stickers). While you are decorating, make sure to leave the tissue box hole hole open in the back. This will allow you to retrieve your camping food later.

back of camping monster

As you can see in the above photo, our monster is also sporting a backpack. Ours was fashioned from an old manila file folder using this template. Curl the wings of the template around the circle, then secure everything in place with tape to create a “cup” backpack (we used color masking tape to decorate the backpacks too).

Attach the cup to an extra strip of manila paper, then tape or glue it to your monster box. Add a toilet paper tube mouse if you’d like:

side view of monster backpack

Now for the equipment! Color and cut the items from the template, then feed each item into the monster’s mouth. Retrieve the items using the hole in the back of your monster box. And yes, we did make sure to include all the fixings for s’mores in the set:

monster edible camping equipment

One things I love about the simple and open-ended decoration projects is the styles and color combinations kids come up with. Here are just a few from story time!

When Monsters Go Mobile

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when monsters go mobileWe’ve made a lot of monster projects on the blog, but this is our first monster…on a bicycle! Where is he going? To find YOU, of course. And make a very special delivery.

We read Bedtime for Monsters by Ed Vere (Henry Holt, 2011). There are monsters out there. In fact, there’s one thinking about you at this very moment…and now he’s heading your way! But as he’s cycling, climbing mountains, and crossing swamps, is his thinking of how delicious you’ll be on toast? Or how tasty you would be slathered in ketchup? No silly! He just wants to give you a big goodnight kiss!

You’ll need:

  • 1 small oatmeal container
  • Construction paper
  • 1 small box
  • 1 piece of yarn (ours was 30″)
  • 1 set of wheels (more on this below)
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating
  • Hot glue

In one section of the book, the monster rides a bicycle. We loved the idea of a pull string bike and a pursuing monster. But it turns out, crafting working 2 wheel bikes is really hard! So you’ll have to pardon us if our bike ultimately had 4 wheels.

monster bikeThe bike is a 4″ x 4″ x 4″ craft box cut down to 2″ tall (a small tissue box works too!). We also cut the lid off the box and used it to create the T shape handlebars for the bike. Use color masking tape or markers to decorate the bike and handlebars.

The yarn pull string gets taped to the bottom of the box, and we also added a jingle bell secured with twisteez wire. To get things rolling, we recommend our “classic wheel assembly” (instructions here), but wooden wheels or spools work too. And did you notice the basket on the back of the bike?

basket on monster bikeUse a small box or extra cardboard to create a small bike basket, then tape or hot glue to the back of the bike box. Not only does the basket keep the bike from tipping too far back when you’re pulling it, the basket holds something VERY special a little later. Finally, we have our monster…

monster bike riderWrap a small oatmeal container with construction paper, then add arms, legs, eyes, ears, and horns. We added a little paper crinkle to the top of his head as well. Note: if your bike box was small like ours, you might consider folding the monster’s legs upwards so they don’t get crushed. A crushed monster is an unhappy monster.

When the bikes and monsters were finished, kids pulled their creations around the gallery to where I was sitting with some construction paper hearts.

monster bike kissesThese were “kisses” the monster was carrying with him in his bike basket for you! Awww!

monster delivers kisses

Monster Class

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monster class photo

Even monsters need to learn their ABCs! These easy monster mask / hat combination costumes made it easy for terrifying young scholars to brainstorm ideas for their very own spooky alphabet books.

We read My Creature Teacher, written by Laura Leuck, and illustrated by Scott Nash (South China Printing Company, 2004). It’s your typical day at school…monster school that is! Hang up your spider sack, raise your paw in class, spell spooky words, and take the fire-breathing class pet out for a little fresh air. Teachers, no matter where they are, or how big their fangs are, all deserve our respect and gratitude.

You’ll need:

  • 1 plastic hat
  • Poster board
  • Mask decorating supplies (more on this below)
  • Scissors and tape for construction
  • Markers for decorating

The thing I like best about these masks is that they’re attached to a hat. This makes it easier to avoid the dreaded “mask sag.”  And let’s face it, hats are awesome, especially on werewolves!

werewolf maskWe offered 3 different types of hats, all purchased from Oriental Trading Company:

  1. Top hat ($7 a dozen, item #13743494)
  2. Fedora ($10 a dozen, item #31/243)
  3. Derby ($7.50 a dozen, item #25/562)

Cut a mask from poster board, then curl it a little and tape it to the inside front of a plastic hat. In the below image, you can see where we attached the Creature from the Black Lagoon mask to the plastic fedora:

creature from the black lagoon maskHowever! It’s best to decorate the mask before you attach it to the hat. Just make sure you leave some empty space at the top of the mask so it rests flat on the inside of the hat.

For decorating supplies, we offered curling ribbon, paper crinkle, crepe paper streamers, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, sparkle stems, craft ties, mesh tubing, iridescent cello, patterned paper, foam beads, pom-poms, dot stickers, goose quills, cone water cups, fabric flowers, and self-adhesive foam. And the Bling Bin of course.

The crepe paper streamers were INCREDIBLY popular for making braids down the sides of the masks. The more streamers, the thicker the braids. We secured the braid to the hat with tape, but we secured the bottom with staples.

skeleton maskOnce the transformation to monster students was complete, we gathered in the “classroom” to learn the monster alphabet. Basically, I created a template with space for illustrations (see mine below). I had the class recited the monster alphabet with me (even though it was hard not to giggle).

monster alphabetWe also printed and stapled together a set of alphabet letters for kids to take home a illustrate themselves. And yes, Z is for ZOMBIE!

z is for zombie