One of our favorite book series is the “How To Catch” series, and our favorite book is How To Catch A Monster! After reading the book, we celebrate Monster Day in our classroom with monster activities for kids, including comprehension lessons, art projects, phonics lessons, and math lessons!
We actually start monster day with our morning meeting! During the morning meeting we create a monster word web!
Monster Activities For Kids: Reading Comprehension Lessons
We read the book How To Catch A Monster and discussed how the kids tried to catch the monster and how the traps don’t work. The story has great vocabulary for explicit phonics instruction, and it’s a great lesson in not judging others and getting to know people despite what we think we know.
We create a story map to retell the story.
Kindergarten Monster Activities For Kids: Phonics
As part of our monster day fun, we used monster words to work on blending our sounds into words. For this activity, I drew a monster on the poster board. The letters are on sticky notes. I said a word, and a student used the sticky notes to spell the word. The rest of the class was writing the word on their whiteboard. FInally, we all decode the word.
Monster Activities For Kids: Math Lessons
For our monster math lessons, we used our monster poster and more sticky notes to add and subtract!
For each lesson, we added or subtracted monster teeth! I wrote the equation, and a student used sticky notes to solve it. The students were solving the equation independently on their board. This lesson was focused on the equation and working with equations.
We also did independent practice with monster teeth using candy corn!
Monster Activities For Kids: Art Projects
Our first art project is a fold and paint project. Students squirt the paint and fold the paper to make a monster. Then they add details to their monster.
Our second art project is sponge monsters! We cut sponges into pieces and students dipped the sponges into paint to make their monsters!
Monster Activities For Kids: Monster Snacks
Our monster snack was a monster milkshake. This is just vanilla ice cream, green food coloring and milk. We added whipped cream, sprinkles and mint Oreos!
Another monster snack idea is to use Rice Krispy treats. Cover the treats with icing, add monster eyes for a fun and easy monster treat!
Kindergarten Monster Activities: Center Activities
We also do monster centers for math and literacy centers!