As a teacher, April Fool’s Day always filled me with a mix of anticipation and dread. I loved the silly spirit, but was always worried someone would take it too far. To help combat some of the unease, I used to teach my students that they had to put themselves in the other person’s shoes.
Our ground rules were:
- No physical, property, or emotional harm.
- Laughs from everyone in 30 seconds.
- Everyone needs to feel warm and fuzzy afterwards.
We always boiled it down to: How will the person I’m pranking feel during, before, and after the prank? We also talked about how being funny means different things to different people. If you make a mistake, it’s important to apologize right away.
With that said, here are 8 of my favorite funny kid pranks as a teacher-mom.
“Brown E” Prank
The “Brown E” Brownie:
I did this one during my first year of teaching and the kids thought it was a riot. We cut out a bunch of brown letter “E”’s out of construction paper. Then we told them we had brownies for snack. They opened a box and had a chuckle over the pun.
Of course, we also had a plate of real brownies waiting for us after the laugh.
The Whoopie Cushion:
I’m not sure why these are hilarious, but they just sort of…are? Either way, it’s fun to introduce it at the beginning of the day at breakfast. Take turns letting your kids hide it in different places around the house for a good game.
Furniture Swap Out:
For young kids, this might mean just putting some chairs upside down, moving the coffee table, etc. They’ll just get a laugh out of furniture in unexpected spaces.
For older kids, see how much furniture you can rearrange before they notice. Start small (ie the tray on your kitchen table) and work your way up to chairs, table, etc. Eventually you’ll end up with a large amount of furniture in the wrong spot. At some point, they’ll probably notice. Even funnier if you pretend to be oblivious “Oh is the kitchen table in the living room? Interesting. Was looking for that.”
Googly Eyes in Fridge Prank
Googly Eyes in the Fridge:
“Mom, the food is LOOKING AT ME.” Our kids got such a kick out of this one and it was so easy- we just taped some googly eyes to a handful of items in our fridge before bed. It gave us all a chuckle!
Food coloring cereal bowl:
Put a few drops of food coloring in the bottom of your child’s bowl and pour cereal over the top. Once you add the milk, the bowl will change color over time. Our preschooler was delighted by this one.
Donut Seeds:
This is silly and fun. Have the kids plant “Donut Seeds” (Cheerios or Fruit Loops) before bed. Wake up to real Donuts. Bonus- it’s an excuse to eat Donuts.
Bubble Wrap Under the Carpet:
Have extra Bubble Wrap? Try sticking some under the carpet in your child’s room. When they wake up, they’ll get a surprise!
Confetti Ceiling Fan:
This is for families that don’t mind a mess. Take confetti (or paper scraps) and spread it over the top of your fan. When you turn it on, it’ll all rain down, delighting your kids.
Doing something fun for April Fool’s Day? We want to hear about it! Leave us a comment below or email kate@kidtivity.com.
