Do the Monster Mash

Today was one of our bimonthly trips to the library and while Sean hunted for...gasp- TRAIN books, I picked out a few monster books. We have a few at home that Sean likes to read (Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton, Glad Monster, Sad Monster by Ed Emberly, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak) and I had seen some cute projects on Instagram, so I thought I’d grab a few new titles.

 

We read Creepy Monsters, Sleepy Monsters by Jane Yolen and Monsters on Machines by Deb Lund. While reading we took note of how different the monsters looked in size, shape, and body parts. Sean counted eyes, used adjectives to describe, and created silly names for them based on appearance.

 

When we finished the book we whipped up half a batch of The Imagination Tree’s 4 minute no cook playdough. Anna has a very creative play based blog that I’ve been reading for a while. She has TONS of playdough ideas that far exceed simply busting open a jar of dollar store playdough. I usually make JELLO dough but didn’t feel like cooking. I prefer making my own because it doesn't dry out as fast as store bought, and it's a great way to get kids involved in the kitchen.

 

Her recipe is simple: (I halved her recipe so check out her blog for the original recipe)

• 1 cup flour
• ¼ cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tarter
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ¾ cup of boiling water
• Food coloring

 

 

Mix flour, salt, cream of tarter and vegetable oil in bowl. Add food coloring to the water and gradually mix in the water. Mix until it comes together and is slightly sticky. When it cools down knead it until no longer sticky. You may need to add a little flour if it’s too sticky. I separated the dry ingredients into 3 small bowls and added a little less than ¼ cup of colored water to each bowl.

 

 

I gathered some random loose parts and placed them in an old egg carton and Sean, Olivia, and I started creating monsters.

I used googly eyes, buttons, pom poms, cubes and craft sticks. I also pulled out some rollers, scissors and other random playdough tools.

 

This was a great activity for both kids. Yes! Olivia did try out the playdough, but since it has salt she quickly discovered that it was better for play than snacking!

 

 

After making several monsters, Sean decided he wanted to make a birthday cake for his monster like in his book Birthday Monsters by Sandra Boynton.  I love that playdough can really spark those creative juices!

 

 

 

Some other great Monster reads are:

• Go Away Big Green Monster

• If You’re a Monster and You Know It

• How to Potty Train Your Monster

• Tickle Monster

• That’s Not my Monster

• Go to Bed Monster

• The Book that Eats People

• The Monster Show