Let’s face it; sometimes the world around us is just not that funny. In light of current events filled with Covid19, frightening weather, Ukraine, and the usual assortment of political discourse, life can be pretty frightening for a young child. That’s why it is more important than ever that educators take time daily to have a laugh with their students. Having fun also has been shown to enhance creativity. We often hear, “We simply can’t afford the time.” Maybe the question should be, “Can we afford not to take the time?”
It doesn’t take a lot to create a classroom of laughter…. just a big imagination and little inhibition.
We have heard of brain breaks. How about laughter breaks?
Need ideas? Here are seven we recommend.
In our sister organization, Fiction, Facts and Fun enrichment program, (where we originally introduced both the Quirkles® and Fuddlebrook® series), Ms. Terri introduced a small troll-like looking doll named Earlene. She explains, “Earlene would frequently appear on me after I came out of the supply closet, back of the room, etc. Earlene stuck on me with a magnet (great time to link to Fuddlebrook book, A Case of Attraction). I always acted like I didn’t know Earlene was on me. Well, you can imagine the excitement of the kids when Earlene appeared. Earlene would be on my ankle or shoulder, or even on my behind. Earlene became a part of our classroom and she was always good for a laugh, no matter how many times she “jumped” out of her cage.”
Sometimes a crazy costume does the trick!
Create a funny box. Come out with a red nose, big clown shoes, silly hat, funny glasses…you get the idea. The sillier you are, the more the children like it.
Make up silly names for the kids. How about Goofus, Rufus, Dufus, and Sam? Kids will want to know what their name is for the day.
Take a couple of minutes out daily for joke time. Children can search to bring jokes to share with the class. You can tie to the Freddie Plays A Joke book and teach a science lesson too!
From Freddie Plays A Joke. Cracking jokes with the kids can be fun for all!
Act forgetful when you are counting the calendar numbers. (Forgetting becomes easier and easier for us!) Call the numbers funny names like Tooty-one, Tooty-two, Tooty-three. Of course, the kids will correct you. Phone the “Number King” for clarification. Then act totally “surprised” when you learn the children are correct.
Play a quick game of “Grandma’s Underpants.” No matter what the question, the answer is my grandma’s underpants. If a child smiles while saying this, he or she is out of the game. As you can imagine, children beg to play. There is no prep time or props, just a simple circle game.
Remember, teaching is about creating experiences and connecting with the students. It takes little time, money, or effort to create memories for a lifetime. Invest in a little laugher during the school day! Not only will everyone have fun, it will pay big dividends.