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It is OK to Laugh!

One of my students came in wearing this shirt.  I had to take a picture!  The student was so proud to show all the teachers and I really laughed hard!  It totally made my day and it reminded me,that yes, it is ok to laugh!  Sometimes we forget to do that!
*The student’s mother said the shirt is a hand-me-down.  I Googled and it seems to be for sale on Ebay.

When I first posted the above freebie on TpT (click to download) years ago, I got the worst feedback from someone on how it was so inappropriate and how children would go into fits of hysterics at the mention of the word “poop.”  I responded:  “Poop happens and it doesn’t hurt to laugh with your students!”  The negative feedback was removed; it was a freebie after all and no one twisted the buyers arm to download it.  My students find it amusing and they love to give these little “Snowman Poop” bags to a grandfather, sibling, or dad.  They know it is all in good fun.

While we are on the laughing topic, here are my fav funny picture book recommendations:

The Scaredy series of books are the best!  Love that little guy. 

As you can see I love Mo Willems! I have never been disappointed by his books.

Clever Classroom has a whole Pinterest board of “Smile Breaks.”  Click here to check out her post and here to check out the Pinterest board.

I wanted to do this post because I know with all the testing, standards, APPR, and other acronyms we forget that we are working with little humans.   Little humans, who just want to play and smile and laugh.  So don’t forget, that it is OK to laugh with them.   They will respect you so much more if you do.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bren P.

    December 8, 2012 at 1:51 am

    Thanks for the snowmen poop :O labels! haha

    Have a great weekend, Erica! 🙂

    Bren P.
    The Teacher Diaries

  2. Primary Paradise

    December 8, 2012 at 2:07 am

    Thank you for this post. We were just talking about this today. With so much testing and data all our sweet little ones want to do is play and laugh. And they should because they are ittie bittie.
    Love the t-shirt.
    Tammy
    Primary Paradise

  3. Jen

    December 8, 2012 at 2:12 am

    Great post, Erica! I think we all need to be reminded that it's ok to laugh & be silly with our cuties! They are just kids after all!!

    ~Jen
    Jen's Kinder Kids

  4. Joell W.

    December 8, 2012 at 2:21 am

    I really needed that laugh. Thanks!
    Joell
    Totally Terrific Teaching

  5. Karen

    December 8, 2012 at 2:23 am

    You are so right! At the end of the day, if we can't find something to laugh at, then we are in the wrong profession! Thanks for sharing! Love the shirt, I need to get a class set!!!!!!

    Karen
    An Apple a Day in First Grade

  6. Jessica Fredrickson

    December 8, 2012 at 2:56 am

    Thanks for the laughs! 🙂

    ~Jessica
    Fun in PreK-1

  7. Tricia Anton

    December 8, 2012 at 5:13 am

    Love the shirt! Love your blog!
    Thanks for the fun at the end of a long week!

    Trica
    Mrs Antons Grade 1 Fun

  8. Mrs. McHaffie

    December 8, 2012 at 1:52 pm

    I love it when they were shirts like that one!!! Always makes me smile/giggle!
    'Tis the season!

    🙂
    Kelly
    Beg, Borrow, Steal

  9. Jodi

    December 8, 2012 at 2:54 pm

    Sooooooooooooo true!!!!!

  10. Chrissy

    December 8, 2012 at 3:30 pm

    That's absolutely hilarious!!!
    Chrissy
    First Grade Found Me

  11. Jennifer

    December 8, 2012 at 4:39 pm

    LOVE the shirt! That's the best! (One student in particular came to mind!)
    Rowdy in First Grade

  12. FirstGradeBlueSkies (Jennifer)

    December 8, 2012 at 5:17 pm

    Love the shirt!
    Jennifer
    First Grade Blue SKies

  13. Mrs. Lindsey

    December 8, 2012 at 9:05 pm

    Love the shirt!!

    Lindsey
    Lovin’ Kindergarten

  14. Anonymous

    December 8, 2012 at 9:35 pm

    I used to be able to find good information from your
    articles.
    Check out my web blog : amber leaf

  15. Jenn Bates

    December 9, 2012 at 1:22 am

    I LOVE that shirt! I think laughing with your students is really important.
    Jenn
    Finally in First

  16. Kristin Dammacco

    December 9, 2012 at 2:31 am

    That shirt is SO funny. I actually saw something like it at Walt Whitman mall the other day, but slightly different.

    Kristin
    Drowning in Paperclips

  17. Melissa Machan

    December 9, 2012 at 2:36 pm

    I bought your Common Core Gingerbread Unit and just blogged about it. I love it – thank you! Stop over to check out the post if you'd like 🙂

    http://first-grade-smiles.blogspot.com/2012/12/12-days-of-christmas-read-alouds_9.html

    Melissa
    First Grade Smiles

  18. Free Teacher Resources by Clever Classroom

    December 9, 2012 at 10:13 pm

    Erica, thanks for sharing on the smiles! I hope our students and staff have a few more smiles added to their busy days! Did you know that a baby smile 400 times a day and an adolescent smiles only 17 times a day?

    Emma 🙂

  19. Mrs. Dwyer

    December 11, 2012 at 2:12 am

    Hahahaaa! What a great reminder! Thanks, Erica! =)

    ~Tanya
    Mrs. Dwyer’s A+ Firsties

  20. Mercedes @ Surfing to Success

    December 11, 2012 at 6:29 am

    I love the snowman poop. Super cute. I just posted about Reindeer Poop today so it was especially topical for me. Gotta have a sense of humor.

    Mercedes
    Surfing to Success

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