Are you looking to have a bit of fun with the kids on April Fool’s Day? Do you already know which games and activities you want to have them engage in? If not, I’d like to make a handful of suggestions. Here they are:
Harmless Pranks
Because the holiday is known as a time to play pranks, you may want to consider teaching a few harmless ones to the kids. For example, you could teach the children how to pull off a magical banana prank. The prank involves an unpeeled banana that when opened appears to be sliced into pieces. You can find the instructions for executing the trick posted on the Enchanted Learning website. If you are not a fan of bananas, there are other food related pranks posted on the Spoonful website. There is also a cute prank posted on the TLC website. It involves a coffee can that does tricks.
Silly Songs, Rhymes and Limericks
Based on my experience, some kids will get a kick out of singing silly songs and reciting funny limericks or rhymes. If you do decide to go that route, there are great songs posted on the Holiday Zone website that you may want to utilize. My favorite one is the “April Fool” song because it encourages finger play. As far as the silly limericks go, you can find a few posted on the Giggle Poetry website.
Word Games and Puzzles
Older children may appreciate receiving word scrambles, word searches and crossword puzzles with an April Fool’s Day theme. Oftentimes, you can find such items for free online. One website that has such worksheets is Classroom Junior. Of course you could also opt to make your own word puzzles. The Discovery Education website has a free software program that you could use for such purposes.
Foolish Memories
Another great option would be to play a round of foolish memories. It is played just like the classic memory game only with a twist. The twist is that all of the cards feature famous comedians and none of them match. You can make the cards using the template on the DLTK website. Just don’t tell the kids that none of the cards match. Then lay the cards out onto the table and challenge the kids to a game. Once they start playing, see how long it takes them to realize that there are no matches to be had. Famous comedians to consider using in this activity are Charlie Chaplin, the Three Stooges, Daniel Tosh, Sinbad and Steve Martin.
Source: Personal Experience
More from this contributor:
5 Fabulous April Fools’ Day Books for Preschoolers
Pro Skateboarders Celebrating a Birthday in April
3 Garden Party Non-Alcoholic Drink Recipes
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