I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells.
- Dr. Seuss
“We are always the same age inside.”
- Gertrude Stein
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.” Tom Wargo
“Humor helps us to think out of the box. The average child laughs about 400 times per day, the average adult laughs only 18 times per day. What happened to the other 382 laughs?”
- Dr. Seuss
“We are always the same age inside.”
- Gertrude Stein
Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.” Tom Wargo
“Humor helps us to think out of the box. The average child laughs about 400 times per day, the average adult laughs only 18 times per day. What happened to the other 382 laughs?”
The "R" in humoR is Recreation or "Recess"
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to spend two years as a substitute teacher in Muskegon County, Michigan (Norton Shores Public Schools) – probably interacting with (okay, entertaining!) over 1,000 elementary school kids in the process. In this R chapter, I’m going to share some of the humor I found that the children liked. They loved not having their regular teacher because they could be more relaxed and have more fun. Animal humor always hit the spot. Clean stuff, of course. I’m also eager to share the MANY THINGS we can learn from children about being more playful and taking a recess at least a few times a day to go out and play. I remember accompanying them outside during this time and looking at the grumpy faces of the school’s regular instructors. Lighten up, I thought. Look at these kids. Try to recapture that joy and innocence. Can’t you figure out some way to frolic amidst the gloom? I could!
This chapter is the art of being Child-like without being too Child-ish (at least most of the time). Mel Torme sang a Christmas song once for “kids from 1 to 92.” It’s all a state of mind. You can have Christmas all year round, if you choose. And you don’t need trees, tinsel and snow to be merry!
If you use humor in these four areas of life, the fifth area, relationships, is a natural healthy consequence because ALL your relationships, at work, at home, at play, with your friends will be enhanced by a big smile, a hearty laugh and a toolbox full of jokes and humor appropriate for all occasions.
I feel like I’m channeling “Sesame Street,” like: This chapter is brought to you by the letter “R.” R means Recreation. R means our relationship to Loved Ones/ Friends/People We Enjoy). You know, Recess, Rest, Relax, Sex (wait, that’s not an R word! Uh oh(, Free Time, Games, Fun. GET CREATIVE – Make a Bucket to LIVE List. Make your life a perpetual Bucket List!
This chapter is the art of being Child-like without being too Child-ish (at least most of the time). Mel Torme sang a Christmas song once for “kids from 1 to 92.” It’s all a state of mind. You can have Christmas all year round, if you choose. And you don’t need trees, tinsel and snow to be merry!
If you use humor in these four areas of life, the fifth area, relationships, is a natural healthy consequence because ALL your relationships, at work, at home, at play, with your friends will be enhanced by a big smile, a hearty laugh and a toolbox full of jokes and humor appropriate for all occasions.
I feel like I’m channeling “Sesame Street,” like: This chapter is brought to you by the letter “R.” R means Recreation. R means our relationship to Loved Ones/ Friends/People We Enjoy). You know, Recess, Rest, Relax, Sex (wait, that’s not an R word! Uh oh(, Free Time, Games, Fun. GET CREATIVE – Make a Bucket to LIVE List. Make your life a perpetual Bucket List!
Being a Kid Again
Do You Remember What It Was Like To Be a Kid?
As you take a look at your daily planner, do you see a day full of meetings, presentations, conference calls, lunch dates, and getting your oil changed? Play time is nowhere to be seen. Gosh, when did being an adult become so predictable and drab? Where did all the fun go?
Do you remember the days of never ending games of hide and go seek? Outdoors! Swingsets and swinging in tires? Jungle gyms and hot metal slides? Merry-go-rounds? Games of Red Rover! Trips to the ice cream parlor, without worrying about calories! Going to Disneyland when it was almost affordable! The whole day was basically play time. Summer was forever. Running through the days, Never looking behind. We had the luxury of being fully present in whatever we were doing. We were little people who were free from society’s expectations. We were not lost in the past or imagining the future, just deeply immersed in the now. Garth (Dana Carvey) in “Wayne’s World”: Live in the Now!
Remember, it's not good to skip a meal, but it’s good to skip to a meal.
I remember when I was a kid, I used to play games outside like tag, bloody murder, kick the can, baseball, football, basketball, you name it. I almost felt like a jock! When dinnertime came, it was sort of a "bummer" because we wanted to stay out and play more. Especially in summer, with the endless hours of sunshine.
We would come inside, quickly finish our meal, and go out and play again. If we had homework, we’d rush and finish so we could LIVE and be free! As adults, we work and look forward to meals and that next trip to Starbucks, even to the point of it being the highlight of our day...
What happened? We are forgetting to play, forgetting about recreation, having fun and going outside for recess. We’ve imprisoned ourselves in these full-grown bodies and our lives of responsibility. We have forgotten the fun of being a child.
As I mentioned in the introduction and various times throughout this book, the average child laughs 400 times a day and the average adult only 18 times a day. And for us grown-ups, that’s pushing it sometimes. The problem with most adults is they have a "serious" problem". That is, they are serious way too often. Check me out, talking about “adults” like they’re some foreign thing even when I’m one myself. The earth spins and we age chronologically – but we can control our mindset in that aging body! And we can tell jokes! We can laugh if we choose.
So yes, I was fortunate to substitute teach part time for two years for Kindergarten through 5th grade students, averaging three days a week, in some cases more (if the teacher was out). The pay was lousy but my payoff was great. It did not PAY very much, but I got to PLAY much.
You see, substitute teachers (“subs”) are not really expected to teach, just sorta have fun with the students and accomplish some pre-assigned activities. For the most part, subs (or Guest Teachers as one school generously called us), are there to basically babysit the kids, keep them out of trouble and have a good time with them. We’re the stand-up comics and game show hosts of the educational world. We’re the Kindergarten Cops with the best weapons – humor, games, movies and jokes. On most morning, I would arrive with a stack of games and or movies along with a couple homework assignments sandwiched in.
Yes, there was education, but from my experience, it was mostly fun. AND (BIG PLUS), I got to go outside for recess. It was all I could do to not want to jump on the swings with the kids and spin on the merry go round! I don't know why high school and college have no recess. When did it get so serious? Oh yes, those are prep for the “real world” where humor takes a back seat. I’m here to save you, dear reader, from that fate – and show you there’s better living through joke-telling!
One day, on a cool fall afternoon, I decided to break the unwritten rule. At recess time, I went outside and played tag and various games with the kids. I remember 3 “regular” teachers standing sternly on the sidelines, so to speak, and giving me the “evil" eye. It was sorta like teachers were not supposed to have fun.
Well, that was the nice thing about being a substitute or “guest teacher.” We were only there short term, so I really did not care what the other teachers thought.
But that image is still etched in my memory because it personifies the attitudes of most adults versus children. Why is it that being an adult has to be so serious, stressful and burdensome? Why do most adults live paycheck to paycheck with no real fun in their lives? Why are so many people so straight-jacketed in their day to day existences? Were they just waiting for me to help them jump over the emotional prison wall? Maybe not, but I’ve got some awesome tools to that end!
Well, I think we should ALL seriously consider taking kindergarten over again and relearning what it is like to have fun, laugh, be creative and live in the moment. What have we got to lose? The mundane, humorless treadmills we’re stuck on? With apologies to Steppenwolf, I thought we were born to be wild. Could I have been wrong?
The other key point that I mentioned in the introduction is that most kids (especially young ones age 3-8) ask up to 300 questions a day according to one study! Kids do not know all the answers. They love exploring. They’re rambunctious and freewheeling in their quest for knowledge and joy. They don't have to be right all the time. If they are, they probably learned that from their stuffy parents (LOL).
Somebody once told me, "You can be right, or you can be happy." Consider back to when you were talking with someone and tried to prove you were right and they were wrong… How did that make you feel? Probably not so good. It seems that everyone always wants to be right. To rule the foolish world of Smarterdom (that's where are you very smart but unhappy).
If you simply cannot have fun and laugh, you may need to take Kindergarten over to get back to that childlike state of curiosity, wonder and the gleeful place of “not knowing it all.” If you face the unknown by "not knowing", then you will be prepared.
As you take a look at your daily planner, do you see a day full of meetings, presentations, conference calls, lunch dates, and getting your oil changed? Play time is nowhere to be seen. Gosh, when did being an adult become so predictable and drab? Where did all the fun go?
Do you remember the days of never ending games of hide and go seek? Outdoors! Swingsets and swinging in tires? Jungle gyms and hot metal slides? Merry-go-rounds? Games of Red Rover! Trips to the ice cream parlor, without worrying about calories! Going to Disneyland when it was almost affordable! The whole day was basically play time. Summer was forever. Running through the days, Never looking behind. We had the luxury of being fully present in whatever we were doing. We were little people who were free from society’s expectations. We were not lost in the past or imagining the future, just deeply immersed in the now. Garth (Dana Carvey) in “Wayne’s World”: Live in the Now!
Remember, it's not good to skip a meal, but it’s good to skip to a meal.
I remember when I was a kid, I used to play games outside like tag, bloody murder, kick the can, baseball, football, basketball, you name it. I almost felt like a jock! When dinnertime came, it was sort of a "bummer" because we wanted to stay out and play more. Especially in summer, with the endless hours of sunshine.
We would come inside, quickly finish our meal, and go out and play again. If we had homework, we’d rush and finish so we could LIVE and be free! As adults, we work and look forward to meals and that next trip to Starbucks, even to the point of it being the highlight of our day...
What happened? We are forgetting to play, forgetting about recreation, having fun and going outside for recess. We’ve imprisoned ourselves in these full-grown bodies and our lives of responsibility. We have forgotten the fun of being a child.
As I mentioned in the introduction and various times throughout this book, the average child laughs 400 times a day and the average adult only 18 times a day. And for us grown-ups, that’s pushing it sometimes. The problem with most adults is they have a "serious" problem". That is, they are serious way too often. Check me out, talking about “adults” like they’re some foreign thing even when I’m one myself. The earth spins and we age chronologically – but we can control our mindset in that aging body! And we can tell jokes! We can laugh if we choose.
So yes, I was fortunate to substitute teach part time for two years for Kindergarten through 5th grade students, averaging three days a week, in some cases more (if the teacher was out). The pay was lousy but my payoff was great. It did not PAY very much, but I got to PLAY much.
You see, substitute teachers (“subs”) are not really expected to teach, just sorta have fun with the students and accomplish some pre-assigned activities. For the most part, subs (or Guest Teachers as one school generously called us), are there to basically babysit the kids, keep them out of trouble and have a good time with them. We’re the stand-up comics and game show hosts of the educational world. We’re the Kindergarten Cops with the best weapons – humor, games, movies and jokes. On most morning, I would arrive with a stack of games and or movies along with a couple homework assignments sandwiched in.
Yes, there was education, but from my experience, it was mostly fun. AND (BIG PLUS), I got to go outside for recess. It was all I could do to not want to jump on the swings with the kids and spin on the merry go round! I don't know why high school and college have no recess. When did it get so serious? Oh yes, those are prep for the “real world” where humor takes a back seat. I’m here to save you, dear reader, from that fate – and show you there’s better living through joke-telling!
One day, on a cool fall afternoon, I decided to break the unwritten rule. At recess time, I went outside and played tag and various games with the kids. I remember 3 “regular” teachers standing sternly on the sidelines, so to speak, and giving me the “evil" eye. It was sorta like teachers were not supposed to have fun.
Well, that was the nice thing about being a substitute or “guest teacher.” We were only there short term, so I really did not care what the other teachers thought.
But that image is still etched in my memory because it personifies the attitudes of most adults versus children. Why is it that being an adult has to be so serious, stressful and burdensome? Why do most adults live paycheck to paycheck with no real fun in their lives? Why are so many people so straight-jacketed in their day to day existences? Were they just waiting for me to help them jump over the emotional prison wall? Maybe not, but I’ve got some awesome tools to that end!
Well, I think we should ALL seriously consider taking kindergarten over again and relearning what it is like to have fun, laugh, be creative and live in the moment. What have we got to lose? The mundane, humorless treadmills we’re stuck on? With apologies to Steppenwolf, I thought we were born to be wild. Could I have been wrong?
The other key point that I mentioned in the introduction is that most kids (especially young ones age 3-8) ask up to 300 questions a day according to one study! Kids do not know all the answers. They love exploring. They’re rambunctious and freewheeling in their quest for knowledge and joy. They don't have to be right all the time. If they are, they probably learned that from their stuffy parents (LOL).
Somebody once told me, "You can be right, or you can be happy." Consider back to when you were talking with someone and tried to prove you were right and they were wrong… How did that make you feel? Probably not so good. It seems that everyone always wants to be right. To rule the foolish world of Smarterdom (that's where are you very smart but unhappy).
If you simply cannot have fun and laugh, you may need to take Kindergarten over to get back to that childlike state of curiosity, wonder and the gleeful place of “not knowing it all.” If you face the unknown by "not knowing", then you will be prepared.
Being a Kid Again - Let Your Inner Child Out and Play More
There are many idioms and expressions in the English language with the word KID in them. I think there’s a good reason for us to say “Kidding Around,” "Just Kidding", "All Kidding Aside, “Kid's Stuff,” "You've got to be Kidding,” and “Kid in a Candy Store.” All the but the last has a slight standoffish meaning in that your are almost apologizing for joking around. Think about that – and let’s get back to the candy store!
Being more “child-like” without being too “child-ish” is the secret to happiness. Try it sometime, you’ll see. We need to laugh and smile more, be more spontaneous and in the moment, express our energy, stop worrying what others may think, question more, be open to learning and not try to win arguments and be right all the time. Children don’t try to control or suppress their energy; they simply let it express itself in the most natural way in the moment. The reason they sleep so peacefully and naturally is that they don’t suppress anything so things don’t carry over into their sleep. Being eternally child-like might be the ultimate cure for Insomnia!
Part of the problem for most adults is just worrying what others think, and trying to fit in. Keeping up with the Joneses, and now the Kardashians. Where does it get us? Who cares what anyone else thinks? Have fun without inhibition as long as it does not harm another person.
Take the time to think about the last time you really let loose and played like a child. A time when you let all your physical movements dance with joy. Not worrying about how your actions would be perceived by others. A body free of tension and stiff mechanical movements. When you allow your body to be completely loose and fluid you will begin to notice your subtle energy body. You will walk gracefully and feel weightlessness inside you. You’ll feel like you’re on the moon, or jumping with the cow over the moon. Ah, I just had to find a way to get an animal reference in here!
When you carry unnecessary tension, anxiousness, and stress within you, you feel heavy and stiff. Your energies are constricted and not allowed to flow. So loosen up!!
Below are just a few suggestions that you can plug into your daily planner. When you participate in these activities, try to move your focus to less thinking and more feeling. Don’t think, feel. It’s no big deal! Focus your attention on how the experience is making you feel, don’t verbalize it. Go with the flow.
How to be a kid again is all about learning to feel. As we get older, we become mainly mind-oriented, so you just need to learn to bring your awareness back to your body. If you can master “feeling” over “thinking,” just think! Or Feel! You may be able to do this without scheduling it in your daily planner. You’ll just say, I’m out! Jump on the swings, proverbially or literally, and have a blast. It’s the ultimate Prison Break!
Here are some examples of fun stuff that kids do... At least before the internet... We need to get back to the OUTer Net.
*Running for pure pleasure
*Climbing trees or rocks (Be safe, of course!)
*Cannonballing into cold water on a hot day
*Playing dress up (without needing to shop for designer clothes and matching accessories.)
*Catching fireflies in jars
*Jumping rope
*Hopscotch
*Skipping (Tell the truth, when was the last time you saw an adult skip? Not that I'd particularly want to see it, but still...)
*Play more sports instead of watching them - football, baseball, tennis, soccer, basketball.
*Go ice skating or rollerblading
*Go to the beach and swim, make sand sculpture, bury yourself (not your face!) play beach games (frisbee, paddle ball, volleyball, etc.) – it’s the sure way to experience that forever summer!
*Playing make-believe and having no one question whether you plagiarized the characters or the dialogue.
*Playing with Barbie dolls (women), GI Joe (men)!
*Playing with Dollhouses (women), blocks and Tonka trucks (men!)
*Collecting trading cards
*Eating cereal for lunch and dinner
*Putting on a real baseball uniform and having your family watch you play--not because you're a superstar, just because it's fun.
*Picking up an instrument
*Playing with kids as if you are one of them
*Playing all sorts of games
*Riding a bike and doing a wheelie
*Playing with Hot Wheels. Rejoice as the cards fly off the track
*Drawing and being creative
*Being adventurous and curious.
*Reading for pleasure
*Jumping in bounce houses and trampolines
*Amusement parks and water parks
*Playing in Puddles and in the mud - remember when it was fun to get dirty
*Jumping in a pile of leaves
*Making a fort with blankets, furniture or snow and camp out
*Dressing up in costumes even if it is not Halloween
*Stopping the ice cream truck
*Tickling Someone Today
*Racing go karts
*Playing on a swing and see how far you can jump
*Attending Music Festivals
*Music throwback – Make a playlist of songs that were popular when you were a kid (80's music please! Classic Madonna! Boy George! Wham!)
*Visiting the arcade or kids or adults playground (Chuck E. Cheese, Dave and Busters)
*Going to the Zoo – but learn some animal jokes before you do!
*In fact, just flat out learn more jokes
* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT!) HAVE FUN AND LAUGH WITHOUT CENSORING IT!!!!
Not to break the mood, but here’s a much crappier list of what we adults generally get as a “reward” for the time we've put in on this planet:
*Work 9-5 to pay the bills
*Look forward to dinner, than feel awful after because we ate too much
*Sit in front of the TV for most of the night. Constantly flipping channels because we’re so bored with most things we’re seeing.
*Cell phones, texting, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook to fill the gaps
*Look forward to robotic, duty-oriented sex, or if not getting it, probably watching too much internet porn
*Constantly dealing with problems, kids, family friends.
*Maybe go back to school for fun (this isn’t too bad, at least we’re learning new stuff!)
*Take your work home (working more than 9-5).
*Not getting enough sleep, dreaming of coffee and breakfast
*Yardwork, chores...As if work wasn't enough!
Dull Dull Dull! Gosh, I’m yawning as I write this. And I’m as guilty as you are of living this way sometimes!
Being more “child-like” without being too “child-ish” is the secret to happiness. Try it sometime, you’ll see. We need to laugh and smile more, be more spontaneous and in the moment, express our energy, stop worrying what others may think, question more, be open to learning and not try to win arguments and be right all the time. Children don’t try to control or suppress their energy; they simply let it express itself in the most natural way in the moment. The reason they sleep so peacefully and naturally is that they don’t suppress anything so things don’t carry over into their sleep. Being eternally child-like might be the ultimate cure for Insomnia!
Part of the problem for most adults is just worrying what others think, and trying to fit in. Keeping up with the Joneses, and now the Kardashians. Where does it get us? Who cares what anyone else thinks? Have fun without inhibition as long as it does not harm another person.
Take the time to think about the last time you really let loose and played like a child. A time when you let all your physical movements dance with joy. Not worrying about how your actions would be perceived by others. A body free of tension and stiff mechanical movements. When you allow your body to be completely loose and fluid you will begin to notice your subtle energy body. You will walk gracefully and feel weightlessness inside you. You’ll feel like you’re on the moon, or jumping with the cow over the moon. Ah, I just had to find a way to get an animal reference in here!
When you carry unnecessary tension, anxiousness, and stress within you, you feel heavy and stiff. Your energies are constricted and not allowed to flow. So loosen up!!
Below are just a few suggestions that you can plug into your daily planner. When you participate in these activities, try to move your focus to less thinking and more feeling. Don’t think, feel. It’s no big deal! Focus your attention on how the experience is making you feel, don’t verbalize it. Go with the flow.
How to be a kid again is all about learning to feel. As we get older, we become mainly mind-oriented, so you just need to learn to bring your awareness back to your body. If you can master “feeling” over “thinking,” just think! Or Feel! You may be able to do this without scheduling it in your daily planner. You’ll just say, I’m out! Jump on the swings, proverbially or literally, and have a blast. It’s the ultimate Prison Break!
Here are some examples of fun stuff that kids do... At least before the internet... We need to get back to the OUTer Net.
*Running for pure pleasure
*Climbing trees or rocks (Be safe, of course!)
*Cannonballing into cold water on a hot day
*Playing dress up (without needing to shop for designer clothes and matching accessories.)
*Catching fireflies in jars
*Jumping rope
*Hopscotch
*Skipping (Tell the truth, when was the last time you saw an adult skip? Not that I'd particularly want to see it, but still...)
*Play more sports instead of watching them - football, baseball, tennis, soccer, basketball.
*Go ice skating or rollerblading
*Go to the beach and swim, make sand sculpture, bury yourself (not your face!) play beach games (frisbee, paddle ball, volleyball, etc.) – it’s the sure way to experience that forever summer!
*Playing make-believe and having no one question whether you plagiarized the characters or the dialogue.
*Playing with Barbie dolls (women), GI Joe (men)!
*Playing with Dollhouses (women), blocks and Tonka trucks (men!)
*Collecting trading cards
*Eating cereal for lunch and dinner
*Putting on a real baseball uniform and having your family watch you play--not because you're a superstar, just because it's fun.
*Picking up an instrument
*Playing with kids as if you are one of them
*Playing all sorts of games
*Riding a bike and doing a wheelie
*Playing with Hot Wheels. Rejoice as the cards fly off the track
*Drawing and being creative
*Being adventurous and curious.
*Reading for pleasure
*Jumping in bounce houses and trampolines
*Amusement parks and water parks
*Playing in Puddles and in the mud - remember when it was fun to get dirty
*Jumping in a pile of leaves
*Making a fort with blankets, furniture or snow and camp out
*Dressing up in costumes even if it is not Halloween
*Stopping the ice cream truck
*Tickling Someone Today
*Racing go karts
*Playing on a swing and see how far you can jump
*Attending Music Festivals
*Music throwback – Make a playlist of songs that were popular when you were a kid (80's music please! Classic Madonna! Boy George! Wham!)
*Visiting the arcade or kids or adults playground (Chuck E. Cheese, Dave and Busters)
*Going to the Zoo – but learn some animal jokes before you do!
*In fact, just flat out learn more jokes
* AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT!) HAVE FUN AND LAUGH WITHOUT CENSORING IT!!!!
Not to break the mood, but here’s a much crappier list of what we adults generally get as a “reward” for the time we've put in on this planet:
*Work 9-5 to pay the bills
*Look forward to dinner, than feel awful after because we ate too much
*Sit in front of the TV for most of the night. Constantly flipping channels because we’re so bored with most things we’re seeing.
*Cell phones, texting, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook to fill the gaps
*Look forward to robotic, duty-oriented sex, or if not getting it, probably watching too much internet porn
*Constantly dealing with problems, kids, family friends.
*Maybe go back to school for fun (this isn’t too bad, at least we’re learning new stuff!)
*Take your work home (working more than 9-5).
*Not getting enough sleep, dreaming of coffee and breakfast
*Yardwork, chores...As if work wasn't enough!
Dull Dull Dull! Gosh, I’m yawning as I write this. And I’m as guilty as you are of living this way sometimes!
Becoming More Childlike: Quick Tips On How To Be Kid Again
1. Suspend your beliefs and feel the experience.
2. Don’t hesitate: If you feel like doing something, Just Do It (NIKE ain’t lyin’!) and stop once you are no longer getting enjoyment from it. If you get the urge to ride your bike, what’s stopping you?
3. Be Open: Kids step out into the world and declare “Here I am world, show me what you got.” The spotlight’s on you!
4. Be direct: When kids are discussing what to do, they simply say “wouldn’t it be fun if we….” and then proceed to do it.
5. Put your ego aside: Before you were conditioned by your parents and society, you were in a state of constant bliss, always exploring the unknown without thinking of how it might affect your ego.
6. Reclaim your child-like creativity. If you learn how to be a kid again, your creativity will naturally explode. Let it out – WITH ABANDON!
And finally, because I wrote this book for this very reason and you wouldn’t still be reading if you didn’t agree:
7. Learn Jokes and LAUGH MORE!!!
(Oh crap, just noticed it's already noon, and I haven't laughed nearly enough yet. I've clearly got some serious laughing to do.) But if I look for an old George Carlin or Stephen Wright routine on YouTube, then I’m guilty of being that passive “YouTube” adult. Maybe I can crack myself up. Hey, Bryant, did I ever tell you about the priest, the rabbi and the…LOL
2. Don’t hesitate: If you feel like doing something, Just Do It (NIKE ain’t lyin’!) and stop once you are no longer getting enjoyment from it. If you get the urge to ride your bike, what’s stopping you?
3. Be Open: Kids step out into the world and declare “Here I am world, show me what you got.” The spotlight’s on you!
4. Be direct: When kids are discussing what to do, they simply say “wouldn’t it be fun if we….” and then proceed to do it.
5. Put your ego aside: Before you were conditioned by your parents and society, you were in a state of constant bliss, always exploring the unknown without thinking of how it might affect your ego.
6. Reclaim your child-like creativity. If you learn how to be a kid again, your creativity will naturally explode. Let it out – WITH ABANDON!
And finally, because I wrote this book for this very reason and you wouldn’t still be reading if you didn’t agree:
7. Learn Jokes and LAUGH MORE!!!
(Oh crap, just noticed it's already noon, and I haven't laughed nearly enough yet. I've clearly got some serious laughing to do.) But if I look for an old George Carlin or Stephen Wright routine on YouTube, then I’m guilty of being that passive “YouTube” adult. Maybe I can crack myself up. Hey, Bryant, did I ever tell you about the priest, the rabbi and the…LOL
Animals Jokes
Let’s get
animal! One of the games I always played with students was making animal jokes.
I would ask any student to name an animal, and as long as it was a fairly
common one, and I would have a joke ready.
'll share many animal jokes in this chapter that are fun for BOTH kids and adults...some more for kids, some more for adults, but overall, certified funny. Animal jokes, unlike animal crackers, travel well!
'll share many animal jokes in this chapter that are fun for BOTH kids and adults...some more for kids, some more for adults, but overall, certified funny. Animal jokes, unlike animal crackers, travel well!
Take Someone Aside and Tickle them - Tickle Research
Scientific Research has shown that 35% of people have been tickled in the past week, 86% in the past year.
- Provine, R.R. (2000). Laughter: A Scientific Investigation. New York: Viking.
The best place to tickle is the armpit followed closely by the waist and then the ribs.
- Harris, C.R. (1999). "The mystery of ticklish laughter." American Scientist, 87, 344-351.
What does that have to do with animal jokes? I’m trying to be a kid again. Does everything have to flow logically or make sense? Oh wait, here’s the relevance…
- Provine, R.R. (2000). Laughter: A Scientific Investigation. New York: Viking.
The best place to tickle is the armpit followed closely by the waist and then the ribs.
- Harris, C.R. (1999). "The mystery of ticklish laughter." American Scientist, 87, 344-351.
What does that have to do with animal jokes? I’m trying to be a kid again. Does everything have to flow logically or make sense? Oh wait, here’s the relevance…
Do Animals Laugh?
Contrary
to popular belief, hyenas don't laugh. Yeah, I know, that’s messed up. Like we
made up the expression because it was cute, not scientifically provable! When they’re
excited, especially when being attacked by another hyena, some hyenas make a
giggling noise, but this is more like a bark than a laugh.
However, Darwin noticed that both chimpanzees and orangutans make a laugh-like sound when they’re tickled, and primate experts Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall have described how gorillas chuckle when they tickle one another. Other research has found that lightly stroking rats can cause them to emit ultrasonic vocalizations that may be the rat equivalent to a human laugh. So next time you see one and call the exterminator, think of the laughter you might be killing!
So while animals do not seem to understand jokes and funny situations, some animals do laugh when tickled.
- Panksepp, J. & Burgdorf, J. (1999). "Laughing Rats? Playful tickling arouses high frequency ultrasonic chirping in young rodents." In S. Hameroff, D. Chambers and A. Kaziak (Eds.), Toward a Science of Consciousness III. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
However, Darwin noticed that both chimpanzees and orangutans make a laugh-like sound when they’re tickled, and primate experts Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall have described how gorillas chuckle when they tickle one another. Other research has found that lightly stroking rats can cause them to emit ultrasonic vocalizations that may be the rat equivalent to a human laugh. So next time you see one and call the exterminator, think of the laughter you might be killing!
So while animals do not seem to understand jokes and funny situations, some animals do laugh when tickled.
- Panksepp, J. & Burgdorf, J. (1999). "Laughing Rats? Playful tickling arouses high frequency ultrasonic chirping in young rodents." In S. Hameroff, D. Chambers and A. Kaziak (Eds.), Toward a Science of Consciousness III. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Yes, I know, it’s disappointing to realize that animals can laugh but they aren’t wired to understand humor. Still, we need to thank them for helping us not only laugh and for making it easier to “get” our jokes and humor, but for kindly allowing us to use them to enhance our language with fascinating idiomatic expressions. These in turn help us understand not only the traits and characteristics of the animals, but the jokes we make about them. I think what makes animals funny is that we use them as stereotypes in a way that allows us to make fun of ourselves and the glorious silliness of the English language. It can also help us avoid going to a doctor with a bad reputation – after all, he or she may be a Quack, right? See, even their sounds can help us!
Remember when you were a kid and you learned the sounds animals made? I had one of those toys where an arrow spun around and landed on a specific animal and you heard the sound they make: “The cow says Moo!” “The pig says oink!” The horse says, “Naay.” Kids love that. When they get a bit older, kids learned how to understand and relate to animals because of those stereotypes that come built into our language. They’re everywhere - cartoons, movies, Disney shows and films, comic books, etc. They make for a great introduction to laughter and jokes for kids and they’re funny for adults, too.
So before I get to the animal jokes (I sure write long intros, don’t I?), let’s run down some of my favorite animals and the stereotypes we associate with them.
Remember when you were a kid and you learned the sounds animals made? I had one of those toys where an arrow spun around and landed on a specific animal and you heard the sound they make: “The cow says Moo!” “The pig says oink!” The horse says, “Naay.” Kids love that. When they get a bit older, kids learned how to understand and relate to animals because of those stereotypes that come built into our language. They’re everywhere - cartoons, movies, Disney shows and films, comic books, etc. They make for a great introduction to laughter and jokes for kids and they’re funny for adults, too.
So before I get to the animal jokes (I sure write long intros, don’t I?), let’s run down some of my favorite animals and the stereotypes we associate with them.
Stereotypes of Animals
Bat - Bloodthirsty bat/vampire, Blind as a bat
Bear – Cuddly, Ferocious
Beaver - Hard Working - Busy as a Beaver
Bees - Worker bees, busy as a bee
Bird - Eat like a bird
Bull/Cow/Cattle = vicious bull, something someone saw is Bull,
behave like a bull in a china shop, Bull Market (strong)
Cat - Cool cat, lazy cat, cute as a kitten
Chicken – Cowardly (ask Marty McFly!)
Dog - Loyal dog, cute puppy, work like a dog, ugly (as in, “That girl is a dog...woof!”)
Donkey - stubborn, stupid, lazy or slow ass
Doves - peace
Elephants - unforgetting
Fish - Drink like a fish (like they have a choice!)
Foxes - wily , cruel and cunning, sly, hot , attractive
Giraffe – Legs like a giraffe (tall, gangly person)
Goats - Eat anything, Got your Goat (got the best of you!)
Hippo - gluttonous hippo, Hungry Hungry hippos
Horses - Noble, Brave, Faithful
Hyenas - Laugh like a hyena (we messed that one up, remember!)
Kangaroos - Boxing and bouncing
Koala Bear - Cute , cuddly
Lemmings - suicidal lemmings, lazy followers
Lions - Proud, brave, noble, royal, Lions share, top of the food chain, MGM roaring lion, Detroit…Hey, I’m from Michigan!
Mice - Quiet as a mouse, mousy (drab and unattractive)
Pigs - obnoxious , filthy greedy , dirty, eat like a pig, fat
Rabbit - breed like rabbits, hyperactive - fast running (tortoise and the hare), scared as a rabbit
Raccoons - Bandit, mask over eyes, criminal
Rats - Dirty rat/crooked
Seals - Comical, playful bouncing ball on nose, Navy SEALS
Sharks - Evil or bloodthirsty, Preying on others (this one is perfect), unless you jump the shark!
Skunks – Smelly, low down and dirty
Snails… Slow (like snail-mail)
Snake - evil untrustworthy
Storks - deliver babies
Tigers - Vicious tigers, Detroit baseball (again!)
Turtle - Slow
Vulture - starving vulture preying on dying creatures
Weasels - sneaking, thieving, cunning
I’m sure there are more but my animal dictionary is an abridged version!
Bear – Cuddly, Ferocious
Beaver - Hard Working - Busy as a Beaver
Bees - Worker bees, busy as a bee
Bird - Eat like a bird
Bull/Cow/Cattle = vicious bull, something someone saw is Bull,
behave like a bull in a china shop, Bull Market (strong)
Cat - Cool cat, lazy cat, cute as a kitten
Chicken – Cowardly (ask Marty McFly!)
Dog - Loyal dog, cute puppy, work like a dog, ugly (as in, “That girl is a dog...woof!”)
Donkey - stubborn, stupid, lazy or slow ass
Doves - peace
Elephants - unforgetting
Fish - Drink like a fish (like they have a choice!)
Foxes - wily , cruel and cunning, sly, hot , attractive
Giraffe – Legs like a giraffe (tall, gangly person)
Goats - Eat anything, Got your Goat (got the best of you!)
Hippo - gluttonous hippo, Hungry Hungry hippos
Horses - Noble, Brave, Faithful
Hyenas - Laugh like a hyena (we messed that one up, remember!)
Kangaroos - Boxing and bouncing
Koala Bear - Cute , cuddly
Lemmings - suicidal lemmings, lazy followers
Lions - Proud, brave, noble, royal, Lions share, top of the food chain, MGM roaring lion, Detroit…Hey, I’m from Michigan!
Mice - Quiet as a mouse, mousy (drab and unattractive)
Pigs - obnoxious , filthy greedy , dirty, eat like a pig, fat
Rabbit - breed like rabbits, hyperactive - fast running (tortoise and the hare), scared as a rabbit
Raccoons - Bandit, mask over eyes, criminal
Rats - Dirty rat/crooked
Seals - Comical, playful bouncing ball on nose, Navy SEALS
Sharks - Evil or bloodthirsty, Preying on others (this one is perfect), unless you jump the shark!
Skunks – Smelly, low down and dirty
Snails… Slow (like snail-mail)
Snake - evil untrustworthy
Storks - deliver babies
Tigers - Vicious tigers, Detroit baseball (again!)
Turtle - Slow
Vulture - starving vulture preying on dying creatures
Weasels - sneaking, thieving, cunning
I’m sure there are more but my animal dictionary is an abridged version!
Animal Metaphors and Idioms Used
800-pound gorilla" is an American English expression for a person or organization so powerful that it can act without regard to the rights of others or the law. The phrase is rooted in a joke riddle:
"Where does an 800-lb. gorilla sit?"
The answer: "Anywhere it wants to."
The "birds and the bees talk" is generally the event in most children's lives that refers to courtship and sexual intercourse. It was also a one hit wonder in the mid 60s that started “Let me tell you about the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees…”
According to tradition, the birds and the bees is a metaphorical story sometimes told to children in an attempt to explain the mechanics and good consequences of sexual intercourse through reference to easily observed natural events. For instance, bees carry and deposit pollen into flowers, a visible and easy-to-explain parallel to male fertilization. Another example, birds lay eggs, a similarly visible and easy-to-explain parallel to female ovulation.
The Black Cat Analogy
Is an analogy, accounting for the differences, mainly between science and religion, but also between others, such as philosophy and metaphysics.
The analogy can be described like this:
Philosophy is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat.
Metaphysics is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isn't there.
Theology is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isn't there, and shouting "I found it!"
Science is like being in a dark room and looking for a switch. The light will reveal a cat... if there is one.
See how useful animals are for analogies and metaphors? Do you think they stereotype us like that when they “talk” to each other?
“Butterfly Effect” - In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions Lorenz himself said -- The flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.
“Cash Cow” is business jargon for a business venture that generates a steady return of profits that far exceed the outlay of cash required to acquire or start it. The term cash cow is a metaphor for a "dairy cow" used on farms to produce milk, offering a steady stream of income with little maintenance
“Cougar” is a slang term that refers to a woman who seeks sexual relations with considerably younger men. The origin of the word cougar as a slang term is debated, but it is thought to have originated in Western Canada and first appeared in print on the Canadian dating website Cougardate.com
A “Dark Horse” is a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed. The term began as horse racing parlance for a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting odds on.
“Monkey see, monkey do” is a Pidgin-style saying that appeared in American culture in the early 1920s. The saying refers to the learning of a process without an understanding of why it works. Another definition implies the act of mimicry, usually with limited knowledge and/or concern of the consequences.
The “Three Wise Monkeys” (Japanese origins) sometimes called the three mystic apes are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
The story of the hundredth monkey effect was published in Lyall Watson's foreword to Lawrence Blair's Rhythms of Vision in 1975, and spread with the appearance of Watson's 1979 book Lifetide. The account is that unidentified scientists were conducting a study of macaque monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima in 1952. These scientists observed that some of these monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, and gradually this new behavior spread through the younger generation of monkeys—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. Watson then concluded that the researchers observed that once a critical number of monkeys was reached, e.g., the hundredth monkey, this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands.
Kick the cat (or kick the dog) is a metaphor used to describe how a relatively high-ranking person in an organization or family displaces his or her frustrations by abusing a lower-ranking person, who may in turn take it out on his or her own subordinate.
“Letting the cat out of the bag” is a colloquialism meaning to reveal facts previously hidden - revealing a conspiracy (friendly or not) to its target. In a movie or play, it’s the revelation of a plot twist. Or it can mean letting an outsider into an inner circle of knowledge (e.g., explaining an in-joke).
Lipstick on a Pig - Pigs have long featured in proverbial expressions: a "pig's ear," a "pig in a poke," as well as the Biblical expressions "pearls before swine" and "ring of gold in a swine's snout." Indeed, whereas the phrase "lipstick on a pig" seems to have been coined in the 20th century, the concept of the phrase may not be particularly recent.
A “Lone wolf” is an animal or person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group. The term originates from wolf behavior. Normally a pack animal, wolves that have left, or been excluded from, their pack are described as lone wolves.
Lamb of God is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed (killed or discounted in some way) for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religions where a lamb is a highly valued possession.
Scapegoat – It has ancient origins but the word now refers to someone who is unfairly blamed by others for problems. In psychology and sociology, the practice of selecting someone as a scapegoat has led to the concept of “scapegoating.”
Sheeple (a portmanteau of "sheep" and "people") is a derogatory term that highlights the herd behavior of people by likening them to sheep, a herd animal. The term is used to describe those who voluntarily acquiesce to a suggestion without critical analysis or research.''
Black sheep is used to describe someone who has a bad reputation or who is not very popular among his peers or family because of his negative attitudes and behaviors. Wait for the corny pun…They’re BAAAAD!
Snake oil is an expression that originally referred to fraudulent health products or unproven medicine but has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is themselves a fraud, quack, charlatan, or the like.
The use of snake oil long predates the 19th century, and it was never confined to the Americas. In Europe, viper oil had been commonly recommended for many afflictions, including the ones for which rattlesnake oil was subsequently favored (e.g., rheumatism and skin diseases).
A spherical cow is a humorous metaphor for highly simplified scientific models of complex real life phenomena. The implication is that theoretical physicists will often reduce a problem to the simplest form they can imagine in order to make calculations more feasible, even though such simplification may hinder the model's application to reality. The concept is well enough known that it is sometimes referred to in scientific discourse without explanation
Q: How does a physicist milk a cow?
A: Well, first let us consider a spherical cow...
Milk production at a dairy farm was low, so the farmer wrote to the local university, asking for help from academia. A multidisciplinary team of professors was assembled, headed by a theoretical physicist, and two weeks of intensive on-site investigation took place. The scholars then returned to the university, notebooks crammed with data, where the task of writing the report was left to the team leader. Shortly thereafter the physicist returned to the farm, saying to the farmer, "I have the solution, but it only works in the case of spherical cows in a vacuum.”
"Turtles all the way down" is a jocular expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology posed by the "unmoved mover" paradox. The metaphor in the anecdote represents a popular notion of the theory that Earth is actually flat and is supported on the back of a World Turtle, which itself is propped up by a chain of larger and larger turtles. Questioning what the final turtle might be standing on, the anecdote humorously concludes that it is "turtles all the way down".
Zebra is the American medical slang for arriving at an exotic medical diagnosis when a more commonplace explanation is more likely. If you grew up in my generation you may have heard it in a derogatory way by George Jefferson on “The Jefferson” to refer to his mixed race neighbors.
"Where does an 800-lb. gorilla sit?"
The answer: "Anywhere it wants to."
The "birds and the bees talk" is generally the event in most children's lives that refers to courtship and sexual intercourse. It was also a one hit wonder in the mid 60s that started “Let me tell you about the birds and the bees, and the flowers and the trees…”
According to tradition, the birds and the bees is a metaphorical story sometimes told to children in an attempt to explain the mechanics and good consequences of sexual intercourse through reference to easily observed natural events. For instance, bees carry and deposit pollen into flowers, a visible and easy-to-explain parallel to male fertilization. Another example, birds lay eggs, a similarly visible and easy-to-explain parallel to female ovulation.
The Black Cat Analogy
Is an analogy, accounting for the differences, mainly between science and religion, but also between others, such as philosophy and metaphysics.
The analogy can be described like this:
Philosophy is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat.
Metaphysics is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isn't there.
Theology is like being in a dark room and looking for a black cat that isn't there, and shouting "I found it!"
Science is like being in a dark room and looking for a switch. The light will reveal a cat... if there is one.
See how useful animals are for analogies and metaphors? Do you think they stereotype us like that when they “talk” to each other?
“Butterfly Effect” - In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions Lorenz himself said -- The flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas.
“Cash Cow” is business jargon for a business venture that generates a steady return of profits that far exceed the outlay of cash required to acquire or start it. The term cash cow is a metaphor for a "dairy cow" used on farms to produce milk, offering a steady stream of income with little maintenance
“Cougar” is a slang term that refers to a woman who seeks sexual relations with considerably younger men. The origin of the word cougar as a slang term is debated, but it is thought to have originated in Western Canada and first appeared in print on the Canadian dating website Cougardate.com
A “Dark Horse” is a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed. The term began as horse racing parlance for a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting odds on.
“Monkey see, monkey do” is a Pidgin-style saying that appeared in American culture in the early 1920s. The saying refers to the learning of a process without an understanding of why it works. Another definition implies the act of mimicry, usually with limited knowledge and/or concern of the consequences.
The “Three Wise Monkeys” (Japanese origins) sometimes called the three mystic apes are a pictorial maxim. Together they embody the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
The story of the hundredth monkey effect was published in Lyall Watson's foreword to Lawrence Blair's Rhythms of Vision in 1975, and spread with the appearance of Watson's 1979 book Lifetide. The account is that unidentified scientists were conducting a study of macaque monkeys on the Japanese island of Koshima in 1952. These scientists observed that some of these monkeys learned to wash sweet potatoes, and gradually this new behavior spread through the younger generation of monkeys—in the usual fashion, through observation and repetition. Watson then concluded that the researchers observed that once a critical number of monkeys was reached, e.g., the hundredth monkey, this previously learned behavior instantly spread across the water to monkeys on nearby islands.
Kick the cat (or kick the dog) is a metaphor used to describe how a relatively high-ranking person in an organization or family displaces his or her frustrations by abusing a lower-ranking person, who may in turn take it out on his or her own subordinate.
“Letting the cat out of the bag” is a colloquialism meaning to reveal facts previously hidden - revealing a conspiracy (friendly or not) to its target. In a movie or play, it’s the revelation of a plot twist. Or it can mean letting an outsider into an inner circle of knowledge (e.g., explaining an in-joke).
Lipstick on a Pig - Pigs have long featured in proverbial expressions: a "pig's ear," a "pig in a poke," as well as the Biblical expressions "pearls before swine" and "ring of gold in a swine's snout." Indeed, whereas the phrase "lipstick on a pig" seems to have been coined in the 20th century, the concept of the phrase may not be particularly recent.
A “Lone wolf” is an animal or person that generally lives or spends time alone instead of with a group. The term originates from wolf behavior. Normally a pack animal, wolves that have left, or been excluded from, their pack are described as lone wolves.
Lamb of God is a title for Jesus that appears in the Gospel of John. A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed (killed or discounted in some way) for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religions where a lamb is a highly valued possession.
Scapegoat – It has ancient origins but the word now refers to someone who is unfairly blamed by others for problems. In psychology and sociology, the practice of selecting someone as a scapegoat has led to the concept of “scapegoating.”
Sheeple (a portmanteau of "sheep" and "people") is a derogatory term that highlights the herd behavior of people by likening them to sheep, a herd animal. The term is used to describe those who voluntarily acquiesce to a suggestion without critical analysis or research.''
Black sheep is used to describe someone who has a bad reputation or who is not very popular among his peers or family because of his negative attitudes and behaviors. Wait for the corny pun…They’re BAAAAD!
Snake oil is an expression that originally referred to fraudulent health products or unproven medicine but has come to refer to any product with questionable or unverifiable quality or benefit. By extension, a snake oil salesman is someone who knowingly sells fraudulent goods or who is themselves a fraud, quack, charlatan, or the like.
The use of snake oil long predates the 19th century, and it was never confined to the Americas. In Europe, viper oil had been commonly recommended for many afflictions, including the ones for which rattlesnake oil was subsequently favored (e.g., rheumatism and skin diseases).
A spherical cow is a humorous metaphor for highly simplified scientific models of complex real life phenomena. The implication is that theoretical physicists will often reduce a problem to the simplest form they can imagine in order to make calculations more feasible, even though such simplification may hinder the model's application to reality. The concept is well enough known that it is sometimes referred to in scientific discourse without explanation
Q: How does a physicist milk a cow?
A: Well, first let us consider a spherical cow...
Milk production at a dairy farm was low, so the farmer wrote to the local university, asking for help from academia. A multidisciplinary team of professors was assembled, headed by a theoretical physicist, and two weeks of intensive on-site investigation took place. The scholars then returned to the university, notebooks crammed with data, where the task of writing the report was left to the team leader. Shortly thereafter the physicist returned to the farm, saying to the farmer, "I have the solution, but it only works in the case of spherical cows in a vacuum.”
"Turtles all the way down" is a jocular expression of the infinite regress problem in cosmology posed by the "unmoved mover" paradox. The metaphor in the anecdote represents a popular notion of the theory that Earth is actually flat and is supported on the back of a World Turtle, which itself is propped up by a chain of larger and larger turtles. Questioning what the final turtle might be standing on, the anecdote humorously concludes that it is "turtles all the way down".
Zebra is the American medical slang for arriving at an exotic medical diagnosis when a more commonplace explanation is more likely. If you grew up in my generation you may have heard it in a derogatory way by George Jefferson on “The Jefferson” to refer to his mixed race neighbors.
What Does it All Mean?
We Love Our Animals and They Make for Really Funny Jokes (Their feelings are never hurt either).
What do all these cool expressions mean? Yes, we love our animals, and keep them in our thoughts and expressions all the time when we’re trying to make important points. I like to see these terms as part of the way we connect with them both in evolutionary and emotional terms. But I wonder if they know we do that to them? And would it bother them or would they see it as a compliment? These are the things that keep me up nights when I’m thinking of ways to stay forever young!
And would they like the animal jokes I am about to barrage you with? Well the kids in those classes I used to sub for LOVED them, and I think you will too…
So without further adieu, time to let the ponies, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, goats, lambs, sheep, dogs, cows and YES cats OUT OF THE BAG!!
And would they like the animal jokes I am about to barrage you with? Well the kids in those classes I used to sub for LOVED them, and I think you will too…
So without further adieu, time to let the ponies, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, hippos, monkeys, goats, lambs, sheep, dogs, cows and YES cats OUT OF THE BAG!!
