Activities: The Funny Pages
Inspire your kid's inner comedian by creating a joke book.
Submitted by
Grisel
Grisel
Does your child have a wicked sense of humor? Have him put it to use helping his community. Help him make a book of jokes, riddles, funny photos and sayings to hand out to patients at a local hospital. He could be just what the doctor ordered!
- Little comedian:Your child.
- Entourage:You and your partner.
- Great jokes:Spare your audience. Keep the jokes short!
- White printer paper:Regular old 8½ x 11 sheets.
- Markers and crayons:For a low-tech version.
- A computer and printer:For a high-tech version.
- Glue or tape:Whatever sticky stuff grabs your kid's fancy.
- Photocopier:Because making 30 copies by hand takes a whole other kind of patience.
- Card stock paper:Just ask for it at the photocopy shop.
- Hole puncher
- Yarn or ribbon:Tie it all up in a pretty bow.
Contact your local hospital or children's hospital and tell them your child would like to make a funny book and bring it over for the kids to make them laugh.
Sit down with your kid for a brainstorming session. Have the whole family offer up a few hilarious (G-rated) jokes. Need more material? Check with friends or search the Web for kid-appropriate gags.
Jot the jokes down on a piece of paper.
Have your child look through your old photos to see if there is anything chuckle-worthy. Do you have a picture of your cat in a tutu? A funny photo of Junior with a diaper on his head? Can't find anything? He can create a funny photo with a little collage magic! For example, have him cut out a picture of his head and tape it on to a bodybuilder's body.
Hunt with your child through the Sunday funnies, his comic book collection, your graphic novels, old "page-a-day" calendars or magazines for funny stuff—comics, photos, illustrations and so on.
Once you have all your funny stuff, glue the pictures onto a few sheets of white printer paper.
Then, either using a computer (if your kid is computer savvy) or some crayons and markers (if he's more low-tech or artistic), help him write the jokes up. Have him add borders, drawings, stickers—anything to the pages of the book to jazz it up.
Next, have your child make a cover page by taking another clean sheet of paper and gluing on a silly picture of himself.
Don't forget the title! Maybe something like: The Funny Pages or Bob's Book of Jokes or Gavin's Giggle Book.
Help him compile a final version of the funny book and take it to your local copy shop to make several copies. Ask that the title page be copied onto card stock so it's more sturdy than a regular sheet of paper.- Bind the book by adding a blank sheet of card stock to the back.
- Use a hole puncher to punch a hole in the top left-hand corner of all of the pages, and then help your child tie a piece of ribbon or yarn through the hole.
- During visiting hours, bring your child to the hospital and have him work his magic. Encourage him to pick a floor and go room to room, handing out his book. If the patient seems receptive, he might want to tell a few jokes before he leaves the book. Who can resist a cute kid telling a knock-knock joke? Tell him to keep it short and be understanding if someone is sleeping or not in the mood for a comedy act.
- Here are some of our favorite clean, kid-friendly jokes:
Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine!
How do you catch a squirrel? Climb up a tree and act like a nut!
STUDENT: Miss can I please go to the toilet?
TEACHER: Yes as soon as you say the ABCs.
STUDENT: OK, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO … QRSTUVWXYZ.
TEACHER: Where's the P?
STUDENT: Running down my leg!
Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Anita.
Anita who?
Anita tissue … ahhh-chooo! Too late!
What did the pork chop say to the steak?
Nice to meat you!
What do you get when you mix a cow and a duck?
Milk and quackers! - Need more? Nick Jr. has a book full of Backyardigans Knock-Knock Jokes to print and share.
- Not sure where to start? Check out the Make a Child Smile site.
- Looking for another way to brighten someone's day? Bring your dog along with you to the hospital.
- Check out our ages and stages guide to volunteering opportunities.
Submit!
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