It's April Fools Day

Great website to help inspire anyone: http://www.thefoolsday.com/index.html

This year I will recreate and act out a speech to the kids. I am going to stand there and say this speech with a very dour attitude and a long face. Then I will ask the children what I was talking about and how they feel. I will then tell them I am going to reread the same speech. This time I am going to tell them a joke first and then reread the same speech with an enthusiastic approach and an animated face. Then I will ask the children to discuss the joke and express to me how they felt or how they are feeling.

This is a good way to show the children how using your attitude, voice and body language can control how information can be received. This is a great exercise that I use in many different ways to control the atmosphere around the children. It is a great exercise to get the children to try.

Knowing how to tell a good joke and gaining a broad sense of humor is critical to a growing mind. Think about it, in conferences, speeches and from a podium jokes are used to breach uncomfortable moments or to create the kind of atmosphere you want in an audience. This is a good skill to have and know. I want my children to have an appreciation for the joke as well as the linguistics incorporated in telling a joke.
 
  Found this Power Point Presentation that you can use to educate the kids about April Fools Day.  You can download it from there website HERE.  You can also use the same website to get more power point presentations to use with any lesson plan you have as well as to help in educating others.

Each of us made these fun and easy Jester Hats.  We used sheets of foam and hot glue with Jingle Bells on the tips.