How to Use These Fun Monster Activities for Preschool

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Try out these fun monster activities for preschool. Teach letters, sounds, rhymes, color, and shapes with this printable set…perfect for Halloween & beyond.

I am so excited to show you this cute monster-themed activity that I created.  The thing that I LOVE about this activity is that you can use it to work on many different concepts in a fun way.  Teachers report that “the kids loved being able to “feed” the monster. They were very engaged and enthusiastic.”  The activity, which is available in my store, is perfect for the autumn months,  Halloween time, or any time of year.

Activities for a monster theme.

I designed the monster so that he is cute and not-so-scary.  With some minimal assembly, your kids can actually stick pieces of printable candy in his mouth to feed him.  Hopefully, he won’t get a belly ache when they feed him lots of candy.

Assemble the Monster Activity

After you print the monster and laminate him for durability, you need to cut out an opening in his mouth.  There is a rectangle shape inside his mouth.  When you cut it out, the candy cards will fit perfectly inside them.  A craft knife or utility knife to do the trick.

How to assemble the monster activity.

Attach the Monster to a Box

The monster is going to work best if you stand him upright.  There are a few ways that you can get him to stand.  The first method is to use a box.  A pasta box, cracker box, or tissue box will work.

When I designed this little guy, the opening on his mouth lined up perfectly with the cutout on the front of a Barilla pasta box.  Well, since then, Barilla has changed the design of their boxes.  The pasta box still works just fine….you just have to make the existing opening a little bit bigger.

Use a box to help your monster stand up for this activity for preschool.

After cutting the opening, attach the monster to the front of the box with double-stick tape.  Now, as your kids feed candy to the monster the pieces of candy will fall into the box.

Attach your monster to the box for this fun monster activity for preschool.

Attach the Monster to a Paper Bag

If you don’t have a box to attach the monster to, you can attach him to a paper lunch bag.  Trace the opening onto the front of the bag.

If you don't have an extra box then attach your monster to a paper bag for this monster activity for preschol.

Cut the opening slightly larger and then attach the monster to the front of the bag.  When kids feed the hungry little guy, the pieces of candy will fall into the bag.

How to use the fun monster activity for preschool.

Attach the Monster to a File Folder

The third option for assembling this activity is to attach the monster to a file folder.  Trace the opening onto a file folder, cut it out and attach the monster to the folder with tape.

Attach the monster to a file folder for this monster activity for preschool.

Now, you can open the folder and stand it up on a table.  When kids feed the monster, the pieces of candy will fall onto the table behind him.

Stand up the folder to feed the monster with the fun monster activity for preschool.

Choose a Set of Activity Cards to Use

Now that you have your monster set to go, you can start using the activity set.  There are 5 sets of cards included with the resource, so choose the objective that you want to work on with your kids.  These are the sets that are included:

  • Alphabet (uppercase and lowercase candy cards are included)
  • Beginning Sounds (cards with and without labels are included)
  • Shapes
  • Colors
  • Rhyming (cards with and without labels are included)
5 set of activity cards to go with your monster activity for preschool.

Each set includes rhyming direction cards and smaller candy cards.

How to Play: Monster Activities for Preschool

After selecting a set of cards, you are ready to go. You may overwhelm your kids if you use all of the cards in a set at the same time,  Start with a smaller number of cards and add more as your kids are ready.

Shuffle the large direction cards and place them in a pile.  Spread the candy cards face-up on a table.  Ask a child to select a direction card and you can help read the silly rhyme.  The rhyme is very repetitive so that your kids will start reading the cards on their own very quickly.

The rhyme will tell your kids what type of candy to feed to the monster.  In the example below, kids need to look for a piece of candy that has an “s” word on it.  When kids find the correct piece of candy, they can feed it to the monster.  They can continue to select direction cards and corresponding candy until there is no more candy.

Feed the monster the "S" card during this fun monster activity for preschool.

Monster Alphabet Activity

Both uppercase and lowercase candy and directions cards are included in the alphabet set. You can use matching candy and direction cards (uppercase to uppercase), or you can mix things up and match uppercase direction cards to lowercase candy and vice-versa.

Monster alphabet activity for preschool.

To give kids an extra challenge, you can use both uppercase and lowercase candy at the same time. When the monster requests a letter, the kids can then find both letters and feed him two pieces of candy.

Feed the monster upper and lower case letters as part of this monster activity for preschool.

Make the game extra silly as you practice letter sounds.  Pretend that the monster makes the corresponding sound as he eats a letter.

Monster Beginning Sound Activity

If you are looking for another literacy activity, pull out the beginning sound cards.  You have the option of using beginning sound candy with or without labels.  You can also reinforce the letter sounds by pretending that the monster makes the corresponding sound as he eats a piece of candy.

Beginning sound practice with the monster activity for preschool.

Monster Color Matching  and Math Activities

Kids can work on matching colors while using the set of color cards.  Make additional copies of the color candy and you can increase the challenge of the game.   When the monster requests a color, you can ask children to find all pieces of candy in that particular color.   They can practice counting as the colored candy pieces are placed in the monster’s mouth.

Color matching with this monster activity for preschool.

Instead of working on coloring matching, you can use the colored candy to work on math concepts.  You will need to make additional copies of the color candy. Now, your kids can roll a die or dice to determine how many pieces of candy to feed the monster.  They can work on one-to-one correspondence when they count as they stick the candy into the monster’s mouth.  If your kids need more of a challenge, they can practice the concept of one more by placing 1 additional piece of candy in the monster’s mouth.

Monster Shape Matching Activity

The shape set includes directions cards that have shape illustrations and directions cards that do not.  Obviously, the direction cards without the shape illustrations will be a little bit more challenging for your kids.

Practice their shapes with this monster activity for preschool.

If you make additional copies of the shape candy, your kids can find all of the matching shapes and count them as they feed the monster.

Monster Rhyming Activity

The rhyming set includes candy cards with labels and candy cards without labels.  The cards with the written word will help those kids who are just learning to understand the concept of rhyming.  They will be able to hear the rhyme and will be able to see why the words rhyme.

Rhyming work with the monster activity for preschool.

Do your kids need an additional challenge?  You can ask kids to think of another rhyming word that rhymes with the word on the direction card and its matching candy card. You can also reinforce the rhyming concept by adding an m sound (or any other sound) to create a new rhyming word. Pretend that the monster says the new rhyming word as he eats. For example: If the monster requests something that rhymes with plant and a child feeds him a piece of candy with an ant on it, you can pretend that the monster says “mant, mant, mant” as he eats.

What Are Teachers Saying About This Activity

Here is what some teachers like you are saying about this Feed the Monster Activity:

Not only do I LOVE this, but my students do too! They get to work on academics along with practicing turn-taking and waiting skills” Melissa S

So super cute!! Can work on a myriad of activities with this one resource!” Jessica T.

Excellent item! I use it both in my classroom and with my children at home”  Kylie G.

Purchase the Feed the Monster Activity Today

know that your kids are going to have so much learning and playing with these monster activities for preschool.  To purchase your Feed the Monster Activity, click on the image below.

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