My Amazing Feeling Monster!

Materials Needed:

• Large construction paper or cardstock (various colors for monster bodies and backgrounds)
• Scraps of colored paper, fabric, felt, or yarn
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick or liquid glue
• Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Pipe cleaners (optional)
• Recycled materials like bottle caps, buttons, toilet paper tubes (optional)
• Picture cards or a book showing different emotions (optional, for inspiration)

Let's Get Started: Talking About Feelings! (10-15 minutes)

1. Begin by asking your student: "How are you feeling today?" Listen to their answer and talk a little about it.
2. Introduce different kinds of feelings. You can use simple words like happy, sad, angry, surprised, scared, or excited. If you have emotion picture cards or a book, this is a great time to look at them together.
3. Ask: "What does a happy face look like? Can you show me? What about a sad face or an angry face?" Make the faces together – it can be fun!
4. Now, let's connect feelings to art! Explain that colors and shapes can also help us show feelings.
   • "What color makes you think of being happy? Maybe bright yellow like the sun, or a cheerful pink?"
   • "Is there a color that feels sad to you? Perhaps a soft blue like a rainy day?"
   • "What about a strong feeling like anger? Could red remind you of that?"
   • "Think about lines. Do wiggly, bouncy lines feel different from straight, pointy lines? Which one might feel playful or excited? Which one might feel calm or even a bit grumpy?"
   Encourage your student to share their ideas. There are no right or wrong answers; we're just exploring how art can express feelings!

Time to Create: Make Your Feeling Monster! (25-35 minutes)

1. Announce: "Today, we're going to use our imaginations and art supplies to create our very own 'Feeling Monster'! This special monster will show a feeling we choose, using all sorts of colors, shapes, and fun materials."
2. Ask your student to pick one feeling they want their monster to show. It could be a happy monster, a sleepy monster, a silly monster, or any feeling they like!
3. Spread out all the art supplies so your student can easily see and choose what they want to use.
4. Help them brainstorm their monster's design by asking questions like:
   • "What color(s) will your monster be to show it's feeling [chosen emotion]?"
   • "What shape will its body be? Will it be round and cuddly, or perhaps spiky and energetic?"
   • "How many eyes will it have? What kind of mouth? Will it have long arms, short legs, horns, fur, or shiny scales?"
5. Let the creativity flow! Your student can draw, cut, glue, and decorate their monster. Remind them that their monster is completely unique, and there's no "right" or "wrong" way for it to look. The most important thing is that it expresses the feeling they chose. Offer help with tricky cutting or gluing if needed, but encourage them to do as much as they can themselves.
6. Feel free to create your own Feeling Monster alongside your student – it’s more fun together!

Show and Tell: Meet the Monsters! (5-10 minutes)

1. Once the masterpieces are complete (or as complete as they want them to be!), it's time for a mini "Monster Show and Tell."
2. Invite your student to introduce their monster. You can ask:
   • "Does your monster have a name?"
   • "What feeling is your monster showing us today?"
   • "Can you tell me why you chose those particular colors for your [feeling] monster?"
   • "What part of your monster best shows its feeling? Is it the eyes, the mouth, the shape, or something else?"
3. Give lots of praise for their wonderful creativity and for how well they expressed the emotion through their art. Find a special place to display the Feeling Monster!

Clean Up Together! (5 minutes)

An artist always cleans their workspace! Work together to put away all the art supplies. This is an important and respectful part of the art-making process.

Fun Ideas for Later (Optional Extensions):

• Write or tell a short story about the Feeling Monster. What adventures does it have?
• Create a whole family of Feeling Monsters, with each one showing a different emotion.
• Use playdough or clay to sculpt a 3D version of their Feeling Monster, or a new one!
• Read a book about emotions and see if you can spot characters that might look like your Feeling Monsters.