Today we’re sharing a fun Monster Munch sight word game for early readers.

This monster learning game and craft is something I made for my daughter back in kindergarten when she was struggling to memorise her sight words. She really disliked boring sight word drill cards and “switched off” whenever we tried to practice them unless there was a game involved.

With her new pet monster sight word practice wasn’t nearly as boring, and I’m happy to report that over time she grew to be a great reader (She’s in 4th grade already!).

With Halloween fast approaching, we’ve decided to reshare our monster munch game again for todays audience. Burp!

We have a new pet in the house: a baby monster by the name of Sparkle and she is very, VERY hungry. She needs to eat lots of sight words to grow up big and strong.

Miss K does NOT like to practice reading the sight word flash cards that get sent home from school each week, but she does love to feed them to her new pet! Here is how it works:

Sight word game 1 – Sight word Munch

1. Read the sight word. If it’s correct, Sparkle gets to eat it. If not it goes to the bottom of the pile and Sparkle gets impatient for her dinner.
2. When she’s finished eating, of course she needs to go toilet. Open the flap at the back and remove the sight words to play again.

Miss K reads the sight words and pops them into Sparkle’s hungry mouth, the quicker the better (she doesn’t like to be kept waiting!).

Now, I tell the truth when I say that I hesitated to add this feature, but what goes in must come out. So just like any creature, after Sparkle eats she needs to go to the toilet.

Miss K loves this feature best of all! (surprise surprise)

Now she’s all ready to play again, simple as that.

But look out! If Sparkle eats too much too quickly she feels a bit sick in the tummy and needs to spew, which brings us to the next game that you can play.

Sight word game 2 – Sight word spew

1. Are you feeling lucky? Reach into the mouth and pull out a sight word. If correct, you get to keep it. If not, Sparkle gobbles it up again.
2. The game is finished when she’s “spewed up” most of the sight words.

Miss K changed the name of this game to “Lucky dip sight words”, because she didn’t like her monster baby Sparkle feeling sick.

If you want to create a Sight Word Eater like Sparkle, this is how to make one:

How to make a Monster Munch sight word eater

You will need

• A recycled box (we have used a small cereal box, but a shoebox or similar would also work)
• Contact paper
• Felt scraps
• Glue – I have used fabric glue
• Scissors or a sharp knife
• Masking Tape

How To

Seal the open parts of the box up with masking tape and then cover with the sticky backed plastic. Alternatively you could either paint the box or cover it with coloured paper.

Lightly sketch a mouth shape over the covered box that is almost the full width of the front, and is large enough to fit a small hand inside once you’ve made it into a hole. Cut the hole with your sharp knife or scissors and then use the piece that you have removed to trace onto the felt to get the mouth exactly the right shape. Trace slightly wider than this for lips and cut the lips out from the felt with a hole the exact shape of the piece removed form the cereal box.

Design a monster face using felt pieces (anything goes, it’s a monster). It’s easiest to draw the shapes on paper first, and then cut the paper while holding it over the piece of felt that you are using to get it to the right shape. Once you have cut out all the pieces it’s a good idea to put them together to see if the design works before sticking it onto the box with the fabric glue.

For the tail, cut a rear flap on the box to stick it over.

Once the pieces are glued on allow them to dry overnight while lying flat so that they stay in place.

Now you’re ready to play – and sight word practice has never been so much fun!

More Fun Monster Crafts

• Make some egg carton monster treat holders
• Use our free printable to create some balloon monster decorations
• These colourful peg monsters are so cute and easy!
• Here’s an easy fluffy yarn monster craft to hang on the wall
• Create a monster mask from a cardboard carton (perfect for Halloween costumes!)