Laughter-Carriers
World Laughter Day is on 5 May 2024
by Janice Ross
Suitable for Whole School (Pri)
Aims
To consider the benefits of laughter and the importance of spreading it.
Preparation and materials
- You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Laughter-Carriers) and the means to display them.
Assembly
- Ask the children, ‘What things make us laugh?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Suggestions may include jokes, something unusual happening, somebody else laughing, animals doing funny things and so on. - Tell the children that World Laughter Day is celebrated on 5 May this year.
Ask the children, ‘Do you think that the world needs a Laughter Day?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Explain that it has been proved that laughing is good for us. It can reduce feelings of stress and put us in a more positive, happier frame of mind.
Ask the children to listen to a poem that you think shows this. - Show Slides 1 and 2.
Read the poem to the children. - Ask the children, ‘Which words near the beginning of the poem tell us that the mood wasn’t a very happy one?’
Listen to a range of responses.
Suggestions may include grumbled, grey, nothing to do and dismal.
Point out that these are negative words that tell us that the day was a boring one. However, the whole mood of the day changed when Daddy fell in the pond!
Ask the children, ‘What effect did this event have on the children, the ducks and the gardener?’
Listen to a range of responses. - Show Slide 3.
Explain that laughter can vary in its intensity. The words on the slide describe different types of laughter.
Ask the children to discuss with a partner or in a small group in which order they would place the words, starting with the smallest kind of laugh and moving to the biggest.
Listen to a range of responses.
Time for reflection
Point out that people prefer to spend time with others who are cheerful.
The poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox wrote, ‘Laugh, and the world laughs with you; weep, and you weep alone.’
The Bible puts it this way: ‘A merry heart does us good like a medicine.’
Show Slide 4.
Invite the children to unscramble the letters to make a word that describes a feature of laughter. If necessary, give clues such as ‘The first letter is c’. The word is ‘contagious’.
Explain that contagious describes something that spreads quickly among people. Laughter is like that.
Encourage the children to think about how they might cheer someone up today. What can we do to help people feel happier?
Remind the children that there are times in our lives when we feel sad. During those times, it is important to talk to someone about our feelings. Often, other people can help and make us feel happier again.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for laughter.
Thank you for all the things that make us smile, laugh and feel good inside.
Help us to be laughter-carriers today so that our cheerfulness might spread to others.
Amen.
