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Tattle Monster

Lately we have been having a big problem with tattling, and it’s driving me crazy!  We have been trying very hard to teach the kids about the importance of working together, playing nicely and most important we don’t need to know every little “she took my car” or “he won’t share with me!”

Introducing the newest addition to our family, Murry the Tattle Monster!
Giggles Galore Tattle Monster
Here’s how Murry came to be…One of my sister’s teacher friends pinned this on Pinterest & I repinned immediately and started thinking about how I could use it to help eliminate some of the tattling at our house.  I re-created the poem to match our cute little monster, you can download it here.
My kids are young, so I knew I would need a visual to help get the point across.  I was going to sew a monster, but after a little search on Pinterest (I think I need an intervention!) I saw these cute monsters made out of tissue boxes and light bulbs went off, I’ve got it, they can feed the monster their tattles instead of telling me!

I spray painted an empty tissue box.
After it dried I added some polka dots using craft paint and the end of a paint brush.
While the paint dried I drew some teeth on white craft foam and cut out.
Next, I got the eyes ready.  I used egg cartons and glued googly eyes on them.
Now it’s time to bring your monster to life.  Use a hot glue gun and glue the teeth and eyes on.
Now, we’ve got a friendly and hungry little monster who is ready to eat all those tattles!
Since my sister gave me the tissue box, she talked me into making one for each of the teachers on her team since they will all be introducing the Tattle Monster to their kindergarten kids this year as well.  The kids had fun helping me decide what each one should look like and they were very excited to have these cute little monster’s hanging out with us all weekend.  Meet Murry’s friends…
I’m sharing these little guys here:
Mariah

Mariah

Mariah Leeson is the creative mind behind www.gigglesgalore.net. With a passion for celebrating, Mariah created Giggles Galore to inspire families to celebrate life’s little moments with creative, budget friendly ideas. She loves cooking, reading, crafting, hosting parties and most of all spending time giggling with her family.
Mariah

@Giggles_Galore

Mariah
Mariah
https://www.pinterest.com/gigglesgalore/

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Comments

  7. Amanda says

    Adorable! I made something similar for Kaboose a couple of years ago, only I used a sandwich bag box. Love these!

    I was out searching for kid's crafts to feature on Fun Family Crafts, a site similar to Craftgawker (but kid's crafts only) when I came across this. I would love it if you would submit it! http://funfamilycrafts.com

    Reply

  26. melissa@five foot twelve creations says

    LOVE the idea of tattle monster-so creative!…oh how i needed one of these when i taught first grade! right now i'm thinking i need a “whine monster” for my sweet little 4-year-old. i can just hear myself…”go tell it to the whine monster sweetie” 😉

    Reply

  31. CountryFunMaine says

    Pinned these guys too to make for a book activity later this year. Love how you adapted for a tattle monster. May have to give that some thought for around here also.
    They turned out great! Thanks for the share.

    Reply

  32. Venassa says

    This is genius! So adorable. If I ever have a problem with tattling later down the road, I hope I don't forget this. Bookmarking it in the meantime.

    Reply

  33. Erica says

    Thanks for linking up to my Delight Me party! I love this idea. My son who is 9 months old is starting to throw tantrums…any ideas? I hope you will link up some more of your great projects.

    Reply

  35. brenna says

    Nice. I might have to make one of these, too. I have a big soft pillow shaped like a cell phone in the cozy corner. When the students start to tattle on a friend, I remind them to go call someone on the phone and tell them.

    Reply

  39. Biz says

    These are absolutely precious!
    I might have to make them for my teacher friends, since I don't have any tattlers just yet…we'll have our first baby girl in about 4 weeks and the only tattlers might be the dogs 😉

    Biz

    Reply

  40. Cheryl says

    This is wonderful! I am going to make one ASAP for my classroom…and maybe all the other 1st grade teachers…and maybe my son's teachers. Thank you!

    Reply

  41. Dani says

    So here is a funny. I look at your blog frequently and never realized whose blog it was. So glad to see I am related (by marriage) to such a crafty woman. Thanks for the ideas!!!! Hope all is going well.

    Reply

  44. - Brittany says

    Mariah,

    I'm working on a post about Halloween crafts to do with kids for TLC's Parentables website. May I have your permission to use one of your photos and link to this post?

    I'd appreciate it.

    Sincerely,
    Brittany

    Reply

  45. Libby says

    These are the cutest things and couldn't have come at a better time. I am just about ready to pull my hair out, the tattling MUST stop! Thank you so much. Guess what I'm doing this weekend.

    Reply

  50. Mariah says

    Hi Hkracht – Thanks for stopping by. For this one I used a Krylon gloss spray paint, but I also used a satin spray paint from Valspar on some of the others. I didn't spray any kind of protective coating since I didn't anticipate much wear & tear. So far Murry is holding up and surprisingly working well with the kids. 🙂

    Reply

  52. Lisa says

    Thinking about using this idea for upcoming Halloween party. I'm thinking those folding paper towels from Sams might dispense perfectly out of the monsters mouth. If not then a really really cute decoration!

    Reply

  54. Deebi27 says

    THESE ARE SOOO PERFECT for each of my class make one of their own. They will sit onto top of their cubbie…so they can go and tattle to their Tattle Tale Monster. I found YOU from a Pinterest post and laughed my bottom off…not to mention calling my co-worker and telling her to remind me to show her the post. THANK YOU for a GREAT idea to combat the dreaded…”??? took my ??? from me!”

    Reply

  56. Pam Hoffman says

    Oh, what a great way to reuse tissue boxes! I never had a problem w/tattling – of course, I only had one! LOL

    Would you like to visit our Linky Party too and add your post? I'm always looking for things to do with those things and this is exactly what we're talking about this week: “Creative Final Resting Place”

    Our 'Conservation' blog is fairly new yet getting quite a bit of traffic and ranking very well already.

    You are welcome anytime!

    Thank your consideration,
    Pam Hoffman
    http://conservationofeggs.blogspot.com/2011/10/3rd-conservation-linky-share-ways-that.html

    Reply

  58. Mrs. Coe says

    I found this on Pinterest and I am sharing it on my blog linking back to you! I LOVE this and this was the topic of discussion at school last week.
    littlemisskindergarten.blogspot.com

    Reply

  61. Jen says

    So cute…. I don't have a tattling problem at my home (only one child… who's he going to tattle on? me? LOL) I think I'll use your idea as inspiration to make my son's Valentine's box this year. Instead of the Tattle Monster, he'll be a Love Monster. {Giggle}
    THANKS for sharing.

    Reply

  63. MNash says

    Found this on Pinterest and loved it!! We immediately got out the wrapping paper (too late for spray painting) and created our own Tattle Monster! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  64. Tonya says

    I LOVE the “Tattle Monster Box”!!! When I first say this, I immediately thought of Valentine Boxes!!! What a fun what to create your Valentine Box to take to school or make with your students!!! 🙂 Thanks, T-Shurtz

    Reply

  65. Tonya says

    I LOVE the Tattle Monster Box!!! But when I first saw the box, I immediately thought of “what cute Valentine Box”!!! This would be a fun way to create your own box to take to school or to do with your students!! Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

  66. Tonya says

    I LOVE the Tattle Monster Box!!! But when I first saw the picture I immediately thought of Valentine Boxes!! What a cute way to create a box to take to school or to make with your class. Thanks for sharing!!!

    Reply

  75. CBW says

    I used a tattle box when I was teaching 6th grade English because I figured it would either help with their writing skills (“I need details”) or make them realize if they were too lazy to write it all out, then it must not have been that important. I wish I'd had your creative idea back then – I love the monsters! I would've also loved for them to say, “That's too baby-ish for us” so I could remind them, “So is tattling”. Ahhh, coulda-woulda-shoulda! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  82. Kelly Shults says

    Hi there! I had the same problem last year with the tattling…constantly! So, I would like to give this a try. I was just wondering how it worked out for you? Did you notice a drop in the amount of tattling?

    Reply

  83. Mariah says

    Hi Kelly Shults! Yes, we noticed a huge difference in the tattling in our house. The kids started to think about their actions and found it was better to work things out then to have to come spend time with Murry (and consequently not be playing!) Good luck, I hope it works for you too!

    Reply

  88. chris says

    I found your cute idea while browsing for activities to do with the book, I need a Monster. I love it! We use a book at the beginning of the year called Tattle Tongue. I would probably add the polka-dotted, yellow and long tongue from that book to yours… but i ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Thanks for the ideas. chris

    Reply

  89. Kelsey says

    I adore these little tattle monsters! Is the poem available for download? I’d love to use it in my classroom.

    Reply

  93. Nick says

    STAY OPEN MINDED AND HEAR ME OUT…..I understand your concept and what you are trying to solve for. However, this concept has backfired EXTREMELY hard on many kids. They are now misunderstanding when you should talk to an adult (depending on their age, this may not be appropriate!). You say above to tell when you are hurt. Well what does that mean? Physically hurt or hurt feelings. My nephews school had this same concept. They kids were told to talk to the monster. The kids now feel like they are supposed to keep secrets and not tell people about things that have happened.

    God gave you children for a reason. It’s your responsibility, and yours only to help them, guide them, and TALK to them. You don’t send them off to talk to an empty tissue box called a MONSTER. How does a 3-4-5 year old have the mental capacity to distinguish….they don’t! Sorry, but you totally missed a great opportunity on this one.

    Reply

    • Mariah says

      Nick, thanks for your comment and your feedback about how you feel about my Tattle Monster. I appreciate your point, but also want to point out that the Tattle Monster in MY HOME (which is all I can specifically speak to) is not used to replace talking to an us (or other adults) about feelings or things that are on their heart and mind. In my home I use it to help teach my kids that they are capable of solving problems and working out solutions without me intervening every 10 seconds (ex. “Mom, he took my toy” or “Mom, she isn’t cleaning her room”) Our children have an open relationship with us and know that they can talk to us about anything and we do TALK to them. We talk at the dinner table, we talk in the car, we talk at bath time, we talk at bedtime and most importantly we TEACH our children, which is simply why I created the Tattle Monster in the first place. It was an opportunity to teach my children and guide them to become helpful, caring, and respectful of others.

      Reply

  94. Darvi Jackson says

    I have just found your site, and I love the tattle monster! Could you please send me the poem that goes wth it? It will be great to use in my classroom. Thanks so much!!!

    Reply

    • Mariah says

      Thanks for checking out one of my favorite little projects here at Giggles Galore. You can download the poem directly from the post by click on the link in the post, but I will also send you a copy via email. Enjoy!

      Reply

  99. Lisa Healy says

    I always used this idea in my 1st & 2nd-grade classrooms. It was hilarious to read through all the notes at the end of the day – you’d see a note from a child complaining about another, then THAT child would write a note, then later in the day, there’d usually be another note from one of them saying to ignore the other notes because they were friends again. I think it helps just for them to know they’re heard.

    Reply

    • Mariah says

      I agree Lisa, it really helped my kids learn to work some of their problems out on their own. I won’t always be there to solve things or referee so having a way for them to work through and solve their problems on their own in a fun way was super helpful. And like you said, by the end of the day those BIG problems had usually worked themselves out and everyone was happy again! 🙂

      Reply

  101. Mrs. Robinson says

    LOVE IT! LOVE IT! I’m a nursery school teacher and I have a class of 10 3 and 4 yr, olds. I’m constantly saying..”We don’t tattle in school”.
    Some days I have 3 to 4 children come up to me at ONE TIME!!
    This tattle monster will be a GREAT project for my class to make at the art table..Thank you so much! You saved me!

    Reply

  102. Mrs. Robinson says

    I’m a nursery school teacher in N.E. with a class of TEN 3 and 4 year olds. I’m constantly saying “We don’t tattle in school”, Some days i have 4 to 5 children running up to me to tattle on a playmate.
    This tattle monster will be a great project to make at the craft table!!
    THANK YOU! You saved my sanity
    -Lisa

    Reply

    • Mariah says

      Lisa, I’m so happy to hear that you will be using this idea in your classroom. It really is a fun way to teach the kids that they don’t need to tattle, it truly helped my kids learn to work things out and solve some of their problems on their own. Good luck, I hope it helps!

      Reply

    • Mariah says

      Thanks Samantha! Be sure to tag us on social media or come back and share a picture of what you create so we can share it with our readers too!

      Reply

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  20. […] In the process of looking for potential activities to keep M busy and to recycle (or upcycle) some of the plastic and cardboard in the house (I thought I could cleverly bring together more than one of my objectives during the holidays), I came across this post here. […]

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