My Monster and Me

Art projects based on "Where the Wild Things Are" are about as common as Rainbow Fish lessons these days. But they are both kid favorites, incorporate lessons in line and color, and allow a variety of ages to feel successful. So my Kindergarten thru 3rd graders created an extra large monster with Sharpie and watercolor based on those of Maurice Sendak. We talked about ways to change the expression of their monster's face: happy, angry and sad. Then I took pictures of each child reacting to their monster. I explained that they might be their best friend and would look up to them smiling, they could be defiant, afraid ect.. We went through a lot of, "What's my motivation?" :D Funny how most of the boys chose an angry monster that they were NOT afraid of while most girls created happy monsters that they smiled at adoringly. Lastly, each child placed their cut picture to create a scene with their monster.