Today, I started what I hoped will be a new habit with my daughter: teaching her a joke.
My reasons:
- She’s been telling the same stale jokes from one episode of PBS kids show she watched two weeks ago, and I’ve about had it!
- Most jokes are short, and she can memorize them easily.
- Jokes provide a nice performance element for grandparents and other relatives.
- She really likes telling them.
Today’s joke?
“Why did the teddy bear refuse dessert?”
“He was stuffed!”
Our daughter has two beloved teddy bears, so she readily adapted the joke (i.e. “Why did Almondine refuse dessert?”). More than that, we talked about what made the joke funny (or clever or amusing or simply cute): the dual meaning of “stuffed.” We also talked about why the joke wouldn’t work if you said “Why did my stuffed bunny refuse…?” That’s because “teddy bear” lets you know the animal is stuffed without having to use the word “stuffed.”
She’s only told it once so far. We’re off to a good (and groan-worthy) start. Let the puns begin!
Learning Together 