Humor & Fun in Team Building and the Classroom

It is my belief that people learn best when having fun. Laughter opens up groups to their creative nature and keeps them involved and engaged.

I think as Team Building Success Coaches and Teachers, we have the license to be oddballs and to do things that get students loosened up, lightened up, out of their routine, and into their soulful potential as infinitely creative and inspired beings. Whoops! You mean Teachers can be funny? And still have respect?

We can inject an element of fun into all of the day's activities, no matter how serious the work before us. We can use appropriate humor in the classroom and even draw on students that tend to be naturally good at it.

We can also use toys and props to get people doing something and keep the mood from getting too serious. Toys tend to put students at ease, increase their creative thinking abilities, increase their sense of cooperation, thus improving their productivity. Here are some fun props I have used:

- Koosh balls--rubber-like balls about the size of a baseball that are soft and fluffy.
- Liquid-filled snow globes --you turn them over and the "snow" falls.
- "Magic wands" filled with liquid and glittery starts.
- Small wire sculptures that you change into different shapes.
- Plastic, bendable animal figures, or small statues of cartoon figures.
- Balloons. How can one not enjoy a balloon?

Having a sense of humor is the key --- especially during those unexpected, ad lib moments in the classroom. And there are many of those. That might mean laughing at ourselves. YIKES.

Extraordinary things happen when people are smiling and having fun.