Whew! What a week. Halloween has left me completely exhausted, but boy did we have fun! Our Halloween festivities revolved around the theme of "Monster Mania". I am a little big obsessed with all things monster at the moment. There is something that is so perfectly kindergarten about monsters. It's a great non-scary Halloween theme that the boys and girls equally love.
Monster Milk Jugs for Halloween Treats
The monster madness started earlier this week with Buddy Day! My students met their Seventh Grade buddies for the first time on Tuesday. We kicked of the Halloween festivities a little early by decorating empty gallon-size milk jugs to hold the treats for our classroom Halloween party. The jugs are covered with crepe paper party streamers. Googly eyes and construction paper were used for the eyes and mouth. This is a very inexpensive project that always looks spectacular after it is complete. It is also the perfect job for 7th graders to help with since it would be too much of a challenge for my kindergarten students to handle independently.
The handle of the milk jug serves as the monster's nose. This is the front of the jug. I used a box cutter to cut a large hole near the top on the "back" side of each jug. The hole is large enough for an adult's hand to easily reach in and out of the jug. Then we were ready to decorate!
The first step of the project is to cover the surface of the milk jug with crepe paper. It's an easy-to-manage and inexpensive medium for covering the jugs. Plus, it comes in a rainbow of bright and beautiful colors!
Skinny stips of crepe paper make great monster hair!
Once the milk jug is covered with crepe paper and has sufficient hair, it is time to add embelishments! Googly eyes are always a hit. The students used construction paper to cut out and attach creative mouths onto their monsters.
I love how adorable these monsters are!
All of the monsters from my classroom were lined up and ready to be filled with Halloween treats!
With the monster milk jugs all set for Halloween, we were ready for the main event!
Great Monster Read-Alouds
No monster-themed celebration would be complete without the book Go Away, Big Green Monster! My students ADORE this story and so do I. The text is simple but highly engaging and the die-cut pages are ingenious.
I was BEYOND excited to discover that Ed Emberley created the perfect companion book... Nighty Night, Little Green Monster! Seriously, this book is adorable! Just like the original, Little Green Monster is slowly constructed as you read and turn each page of the book. Then, the stars emerge in the sky and we say goodnight to each part of Little Green Monster (his green face, squiggly purple hair, blueish-greenish nose, etc). The tone is more subdued than the story of Big Green Monster, but this story is an equal delight!
Musical Connection: Monster Spray
I recently discovered the cutest monster song EVER. It's called Monster Spray and it was a great addition to my monster-theme Halloween celebration. Debbie Clement performs this song from the perspective of a child that's scared of the monsters in her bedroom at night. All of the problems are solved with her mother gets out the Monster Spray and gets rid of the monsters forever! The song is catchy and so much fun. You can purchase Monster Spray on Teachers Pay Teachers. It comes with printable lyrics and a few other fun printable resources.
Free Monster Spray Labels
I wanted to give my students a non-candy treat this year (since they get so much of it when they trick-or-treat on Halloween night.) I decided to whip something special up to share with my students: Monster Spray! I found these cute little spray bottles at the dollar store and created "Monster Spray" labels to attach to each bottle. I LOVE how they turned out!
You can download a set of FREE Monster Spray Labels from my TpT Store. The download includes labels with a black background or a white background (for those of us that prefer to conserve printer ink). All labels are formatted to print on Avery 5163 labels. Just print, peel, and stick!
I debated filling the bottles with water, but ultimately decided to leave them empty and encourage my students to use a little imagination when they squirt their Monster Spray.
These labels coordinate perfectly with my Monster-Themed Classroom and Calendar Resources, available for purchase on TpT!
A Feast Fit for a Monster
What kind of a party would it be without some yummy food? The wonderful parents of my classroom really went the extra mile to create the ultimate monster dining experience (inspired by Pinterest, of course!) Seriously, I cannot thank these women enough for their efforts. They made the day so special for my sweet little kindergarten monsters.
Food inspiration:
Green Meanies (Apple Slices and Peanut Butter)
Witches Broom (Cheese and Pretzel Treats)
Monster Fingers (Cheese Sticks)
Disposable monster party goods are from Oriental Trading.
Want to find more great monster ideas?
Check out my Monster Fun Pinterest Board!
Happy Halloween to you and all of your little Monsters!