Danny's Monsters by Martin Rooney is a fantastic book about monsters that live in or on us and how Danny and his Dad get rid of them. It is a book about monsters but also how to keep clean by making the monsters away. The book contains a rhyming story which always goes down well in our house and the pictures are bright, colourful and fun to look at. Another good thing about the book is that all the pages are coloured so the writing is written in different colours on different pages and every page is so colourful and unique.
Activities
Practice the activities in the book (on themselves or on a toy)
Design their own monster
Make their monster
Shaving foam and toothbrush activity
Make and play with slime
Monster throwing activity
Bubble blowing
Toy hunt in hair (long grass/hay)
Make a monster using outdoor materials
Monster smoothie
Monster sandwiches
Monster cakes
Indoor
There are lots of ways mentioned in the book to make monsters disappear so you could do some of these activities with your child/children or they could practice on a toy. The activities are blowing your nose, combing your hair, cleaning your ears, cleaning teeth and using mouthwash. After reading the book some children will find the activities more fun because they now feel like they will be getting rid of the monsters rather than just cleaning themselves because they have to. You could get your child/children to design their own monster and they could use crayons, paints or felt tips to create what their monster looks like and where it lives. If they can't think of one they could always copy one from the book. Another fun activity could be to then make their monster out of playdough or other art and craft bits and bobs like pipe leaners, card, pegs, paper plates/cups etc. and they need to think about a way to make their monster go away. For a messier activity you could put some plastic toys on a tray and then cover them with shaving foam. With some toothbrushes, your child/children could brush away the shaving foam from each of the toys. This will improve their co-ordination and they will become more confident using a toothbrush. A final indoor activity could be to make (and then play with) some slime. There are lots of recipes for slime on the internet and kids seem to love it. If all else fails you could buy some from a shop, there is no judgement for cheating here.
Outdoor
If you can get hold of a large tub then you can decorate it to look like a monster with a big mouth then your child/children can take it in turns to throw bean bags or balls in to the mouth. This is a good game to improve co-ordination and helps to practice throwing. Even very small children can take part in this activity. Another fun activity could be to get the bubbles out. Children seem to love blowing bubbles and if you have more than one then the others can chase them and take it in turns to do the blowing. Another fun activity could be to get some long grass or hay and hide some little toys in (if you hide little monsters you get bonus points) and encourage your children to find them. You could make the game harder for older children by hiding smaller toys and by getting them to retrieve the toys using tweezers or chopsticks. A final outdoor activity could be to collect some outdoor materials like sticks and leaves and pebbles and then get your child/children to create their own monster. If they really like their monster they could always glue it on to some paper or they could just keeping adapting how he/she looks by finding new materials.
Cooking/Food
For a healthy monster inspired recipe you could make a monster smoothie with your child/children and they could be involved in the choosing the colour the smoothie will be and the fruits/vegetables that they are going to include. Older children could also help with the peeling and chopping of the fruit and younger children could help by turning the blender on and pouring the smoothie in the cups. For a savoury monster dish you could make some monster sandwiches with your child/children. Provide them with bread, shape cutters and a range of fillings such as cheese, cucumber, ham etc. and let them be creative and create their own monster sandwiches. Don't forget to take photos. For a sweeter dish you could make (or buy) some plain cakes and then your child/children could decorate them to look like monsters with various sweets, chocolates, icing etc. If you struggle to get the right consistency of icing the fall back in our house is chocolate spread. Just spread it on and then your child/children can add their toppings (unless they don't like or can't have chocolate of course).
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