Love Monsters, reading and writing elements, kinesthetic elements, symmetry, drawing, painting, and cutting – this project has it all!

Rachel Bright, a graphic designer-printmaker-author, wrote a really cute book about Love Monsters. Mrs. Plouff posted some really adorable Rachel Bright-inspired Love Monster collages, and I knew I wanted to try the art project with my artists when I saw it.

We read the book and discussed both the pictures and the illustration details.

Art doesn’t naturally work as well as PE for the physical learners, so I’m always looking for ways to add movement in art. I read Rachel Bright’s Love Monster book to my firstie artists in my rolling chair while they were gathered in a rainbow shape in the front of the room. It naturally evolved to include a kinesthetic element when the first grade artists reached out and touched the illustrations as they talked about what they liked in the book as I rolled around to the students after I read each couple of pages. I think they liked reaching out and touching the book as much as they liked learning about the Love Monster’s adventures in Cutesville.

After we finished reading the Love Monster and discussing it, we picked out our background and Love Monster paper. We introduced the idea of symmetry and folded our Love Monster paper in half. Then we drew our Love Monsters and cut them out. It was a challenge for some students to find the fold and start their drawing as they imagined the middle of a forehead, but they all got there. The artists loved their reveal moment when they unfolded their very own Love Monster.

We glued our Love Monsters on a background and then cut out and glued eyes, teeth, and hearts. We painted around these glued elements and added details. Their Love Monsters’ personalities really came alive once they added all their details.

There was a writing element to this project, too. We talked about what we loved, and I wrote down on the whiteboard what they said they loved. I also wrote it in Spanish if that was requested.

Enjoy the Love Monster project. I’m excited to hang these in the school as Valentine’s Day gets closer.