Glad Monster, Sad Monster

One of my favorite Halloween books is Glad Monster, Sad Monster.  This book is always a hit with the kids, especially because they get the chance to wear one of the masks attached in the book.   The book talks about different feelings (which is why there are masks for the children to wear-  there is a mask for each feeling), and what causes the monsters to feel that way.

 

I like to read the book by first having a volunteer wear one of the masks, and ask the other kids to guess what the monster is feeling.  This is a great way to talk about how you can tell how a person is feeling for your social language kids, as well as good general artic and language practice (what is the opposite of happy? sad-  hello antonyms;  what is another word for happy?  glad-  hello synonyms).  Then I read why the monsters feel that way, and ask them what makes them feel the feeling we just read.  This, again, opens up great opportunities to share and gain practice at the same time. 

After we read the book, we make a Halloween mask using paper plates (I cut eye holes in them before the students come) and craft supplies such as glitter glue, foam sticky shapes, markers, and pipe cleaners.  I punch a hole on opposite ends of the plate and we attach string at each end so they can wear their masks.  They love to describe their masks to each other (more language practice).

I also like to play the game “Go away, monster” with my kindergarten and first grade students found here at Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-303-Go-Away-Monster/dp/B00001TPYA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380745438&sr=8-1&keywords=go+away+monster+game .

 

 

This is a cute game where each child gets their own bedroom to set up and they must pick an item their room needs (i.e teddy bear, lamp) from a bag (included in the game) without picking a  monster.  If they get a monster, they put it back in the bag and tell it to “Go away”.  The first person to get all of their pieces for their room first wins.  Fun activities for a fun time of year!