How do you incorporate laughter in your classroom?

Recently, I came across an article published by Harvard on the connection between laughter and humor in the workplace. It suggests that these components create more joy in the workplace. I began to wonder about how I use laughter and humor in the classroom.

Upon reflection, here are some things that we do:

Games

Hot Potato and indoor snowball fights are two of our favorites. They are perfect motivators but instantly turn our classroom into a room full of chuckles.

Choice Time

Choice Time is their favorite part of the day. Students are playing collaboratively together in a variety of joyful ways. Oftentimes, I am invited into the play as they "cook" for me or ask me to document their play.

Building Community

Lastly, I've found that building community through morning meetings, check-ins and read alouds has allowed students and myself to feel safe. We begin to have inside jokes, can read each others' minds and develop a sense of understanding for each other. When this magic happens, we truly get to be ourselves; silliness and all.

Share what you do.