Math Monsters ... er Munchers. Whatever.

Tubs of paint make me happy. 

So I was giddy to pull O's out this week when it was time to make a little craft for our upcoming lessons about "greater and less" in math. Who knew math could be such fun? Bleh.

Last year, I pinned these "Math Munchers" from one extra degree: confessions of a teachaholic. 

In grade school, I remember making the < > marks, then drawing my own teeth on them. Sometimes, I even added 3/4 of a circle to make the signs look like Pacman. I'm sure I wasn't original in doing so.

It made sense because Pacman would always want to eat the bigger of two numbers, right?!

So would Math Munchers, of course. 

So I took a little of one extra degree's Math Munchers idea and, well, added some teeth. 

Using jumbo popsicle sticks, paint, glue, "googly" eyes and white construction paper (oh, and shipping tape - I'll explain that shortly), O and I set out to make some Math Monsters.

O chose the color schemes and decided to make one red with green polka dots. He said he made it for his baby sister because poppies are red with green stems.

A time-saving tip: Use the eraser-end of a pencil to make polka dots.
For even tinier dots, use the "butt"-end of a small paintbrush
or even the tip of a pencil - just wipe it off if you want to use the pencil again.

I love how O's Math Monsters turned out: 

I cut triangles out of white construction paper for teeth. But knowing everything has to be durable around here, I needed to strengthen them up a little. Flouride wouldn't work. And I don't have laminating sheets on hand. I avoid contact paper whenever possible. Clear shipping tape to the rescue. It's simple: Just lay one piece down, sticky side up, lay down whatever small item you're wanting to protect, then lay another piece of the shipping tape, sticky side down, on top. Smash and rub together, and the tape serves as an instant protector and strengthener. (Is that even a word?) 

The "Equals-to" sign is connected by both halves of a smaller popsicle stick, which O painted white. We glued them to the back and then hid them from the front with (now strong and protected) teeth.

I had to stop for a moment and question if my son is a genius when he insisted on placing the googly eye on the corner of his < and > monsters. I had envisioned the eye a little more toward the center of the top stick, which is the reason we needed two symbols - one for "greater" and one for "less." But his decision to put the eye where the sticks meet means we only needed one because < can flip to >. If you think about it, the way I had envisioned it would not have worked that way. 

Apparently, I'm not smarter than a first-grader. 

Now armed with an extra Math Monster, O gave his poppy-inspired monster to Poppi. She didn't want it. She just wanted her mom. 

I told y'all. I wasn't exaggerating. 

(But please note, for the record, she is wearing clothes.)