There is healing in laughter, and it can turn a not so good day into a better day. Laughter is our body’s response to humor. When we hear or see something funny, it means we have and/or are developing our sense of humor. Humor has many benefits including:
- Stress relief
- Increase of happiness and optimism
- Increase in self-esteem
- Helping us deal with difficult challenges
- Seeing things from many perspectives
- Increased creativity
- Improvement in immune function
- Lower heart rates and blood pressure
To learn more about how laughter works, click here. If you would like to encourage a sense of humor in your child read more here.
Some tips to help you and your family enjoy a nice laugh:
Step #1: Think.
- Think about the last time you had a good laugh or made someone else laugh?
- Why did you laugh?
- What was funny to you?
Step #2: Join in.
Choose one of the following exercises to help you find some laughter.
- Laughter Yoga a video for children
- For young teens and adults click here – this may be uncomfortable at first but have some fun with it 😊
- Comic Strips can help children read and learn
- Jokes for Kids
- Watch your favorite funny movie or find a book that makes you laugh
Step #3: Create.
- Design your own comic strip. Steps and worksheets available here
- Create a family-friendly joke. Enjoy reading some family-friendly jokes here
- Have a family comedy night. How these comedians put on a show at home with their families.
Step #4: Share the laughter.
- Which exercise was your favorite? Why?
- Share with family and friends the exercise you participated in OR the laughing activity you created!
To submit your challenge, please post a photo of your child smiling or laughing on your timeline and tag it #FISWellnessChallenge by 5/13 at 5:00 PM. If you have trouble submitting your post, or if your Facebook is private, please send it to Jessica Torres at jtorres@familiesinschools.org.
