Hello, October – and Happy National Book Month!
As autumn settles in and your classroom fills with the excitement of new discoveries, October offers the perfect opportunity to celebrate stories and characters that spark imagination. What better way to do that than by bringing a favorite classroom friend to life—Mat Man!
“When children connect with a character, they don’t just listen—they imagine, create, and grow.”
— Unknown
The Mat Man books are more than just read-aloud stories—they’re a gateway to building literacy, social-emotional learning, and creativity through a familiar, engaging character. This month, we’re inviting you to explore the magic of Mat Man not only through story time, but through hands-on building, drawing, and classroom activities that help children connect with the character in meaningful ways.
In this post, we’ll share fun ideas to make Mat Man a living part of your classroom—and your students’ imaginations.
Meet the Mat Man® Book Set: Four Adventures, Endless Possibilities
Bring Mat Man to life through stories your students will love! The Mat Man® Book Set includes four engaging books that build early literacy, vocabulary, and comprehension—all while connecting to hands-on classroom fun. Each book helps students connect meaning to text, laying the foundation for strong early reading skills—while keeping learning active and fun.
- Mat Man on the Go
Explore vehicles and movement words as Mat Man travels by land, air, and sea. Great for action words and pretend play. - Mat Man Opposites
A playful way to teach concepts like up/down, smile/frown and whisper/shout —perfect for developing language and critical thinking. - Mat Man Shapes
Help children identify and describe shapes in the world around them. A perfect launchpad for drawing and building activities. - Mat Man Hats
Celebrate community helpers and the jobs they do—ideal for role play and social studies connections. Mat Man Poster
A vibrant, classroom-ready poster that reinforces body awareness and serves as a visual guide for building and drawing Mat Man throughout your lessons.
Mat Man in Action: Hands-on Fun Beyond the Books
Reading about Mat Man is just the beginning—help him jump off the page with hands-on activities your students will love:
- Image
Build It: After reading, build Mat Man together using the Wood Pieces, Blue Mat, and other accessories or props from the stories. This activity reinforces body awareness, sequencing, turn-taking, and more. Don’t forget to sing the Mat Man Song as you build—it's a favorite!
Reinforce shape awareness by swapping the Blue Mat (Mat Man’s body) with other shapes—check out the last two pages of the Mat Man Shapes book for fun ideas.
Draw It: Invite students to draw Mat Man —great for fine motor skills and creativity. For young learners, provide support by using the cue, “My Turn, Your Turn.” Model drawing Mat Man from head to toe, and have students imitate each part, one step at a time.
As children gain drawing confidence and skill, encourage them to personalize their drawings - Mat Me, Mat Family, or even Mat Friends!
- Act It Out: Recreate scenes from the stories! Pretend to drive vehicles, wear different hats, or move like opposites.
- Connect It: Match classroom themes (transportation, shapes, helpers) with the books to reinforce cross-curricular learning.
These playful extensions deepen understanding, strengthen vocabulary, and make Mat Man a true friend in your classroom community.
Support Mat Man Learning with PreKITT
Did you know the Mat Man books are also available on the Pre-K Interactive Digital Teaching Tool (PreKITT)? Simply project the digital versions onto your classroom interactive board to bring stories to life during whole group lessons.
Students can follow along with the audio as the book is read aloud—making it easy to support listening comprehension and classroom engagement. Just click, play, and enjoy story time together!