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April Fools' Day is observed throughout the Western world.
Practices include sending someone on a "fool's errand," looking for things that don't exist; playing pranks; and trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.
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FUNNY ANIMALS
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| Cut animal pictures out of magazines and then cut them in-half. |
 | Glue each animal half to a separate sheet of construction paper. |
| Give each of your children one of the papers and have them use crayons or markers to complete their animals. |
| Encourage children to use their imaginations to make their animals as funny as possible. |
| When they are finished, let children name their animals. |
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MYSTERY PICTURES
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| Give each of your children a sheet of white construction paper and a white crayon. |
 | Have the children draw designs or pictures on their papers, pressing down hard with their crayons. |
| Set out a paint wash (1 part tempera paint to 3 parts water) and paintbrushes. |
| Let your children brush the paint wash over their papers to reveal their mystery pictures. |
Variation: Have children switch pictures before painting on wash.
Variation: For very young children, draw the white pictures for your child to paint.
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APRIL FOOLS’ DAY PAINT
 | Secretly color vanilla pudding red (or any bright color) by stirring in drops of food coloring. |
| Tell your children that you have some new finger paint for her to try. |
| Have her wash her hands, then place a spoonful of the red pudding on a large piece of white paper. |
| Invite your child to finger-paint designs with the paint. |
| When she discovers that the paint is really pudding, enjoy the rest of the sweet April Fools' Day joke together
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SILLY PICTURES
 | Invite your child to cut several pictures of people and other things out of magazines or catalogs. |
| Encourage him to cut up the pictures and arrange the pieces on paper in silly ways, such as shoes on top of a person’s head or flowers growing out of a TV. |
| When he is satisfied with his arrangement, have him glue the pieces in place to create a silly picture for April Fools’ Day. |
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WHAT’S DIFFERENT
 | The night before April Fool’s Day, rearrange your room. |
| Make some changes very noticeable, like a table in a different place, mixing up name cards, or moving the dramatic play area to a different corner. |
| Make other less noticeable changes as well, such as switching the crayons and the markers, putting the books on a different shelf, or putting the wrong pieces in a puzzle box.
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| Let your children help you make a list of all the things that are different. |
| Have children help you add to the list as they notice more things all through the day.
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UPSIDE DOWN AND TURNED AROUND
Plan simple games such as these for your child to enjoy.
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| Turn a few objects up-side-down, such as an empty wastebasket, a plastic cup and a small stool. Ask your child to search for the objects and turn them right side up. |
 | Arrange several objects backward, such as a TV with its face to a wall, a chair with its back to a table, and books with spines facing the back of a bookshelf. Can your children find the backward objects? |
| Play turn-around tricks, such as making a bed with the pillows at the foot instead of the head, or changing the usual seating arrangement around your dining table. |
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APRIL FOOLS’ DAY DRESS-UP
Celebrate the day with your child by trying one or more of these ideas.
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| Wear an item of clothing backwards. |
 | Put on socks or shoes that don’t match. |
| Using baby clothes, dress a doll or stuffed animal in silly ways.
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WHAT’S FUNNY
 | Use this day to talk about what is funny and what’s hurtful. |
| Brainstorm funny tricks your children could play on their family, such as (with mom or dad help) adding a few drops of food coloring to milk, or sprinkling a few cereal pieces in between the sheets or a crunchy nighttime surprise. |
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TRUE OR FALSE STORIES
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| Make up short stories to tell your children. |
 | Have children tell you if they think the story is true or false. |
| Eventually have your children take turns telling their own stories.
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JOKE TIME
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| Share some funny stories with your children. |
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For inspiration, look for kids’ joke books or use some of the following:
Q: What do you call a dog with no tail?
A: A hot dog!
Q: Where do sheep get their hair cut?
A: At the baa-baa shop!
Q: Why is six afraid of seven?
A: Because seven ate nine!
Q: Why did the elephant sit on a marshmellow?
A: To keep from falling into the hot chocolate!
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Take turns with your child making up silly sentences like these. Don’t forget to say “April Fool!” after each one.
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| I saw a fish swimming in a tree. |
 | Summer is fun because we can make lots of snowballs. |
| Dad likes to wash his pickup in the bathtub. |
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APRIL FOOLS’ DAY
Sing the following song with your children. Let them make up additional verses about the strange things that can happen on April Fools’ Day.
Tune: “The Farmer In the Dell”
Raindrops in my bed.
Mittens on my head.
These are strange things I must say –
It’s April Fools’ today!
A sock upon one hand.
A tiger in a band.
These are strange things I must say –
It’s April Fools’ today!
Gayle Bittinger
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APRIL FOOLS’ DAY ANIMAL SONG
Tune: “Old MacDonald Had a Farm”
Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O.
And on his farm he had a cow. E-I-E-I-O.
With an oink, oink her, and an oink, oink there,
Here an oink, there an oink,
Everywhere an oink, oink.
Old MacDonald had a farm. E-I-E-I-O.
Adapted Traditional
Continue singing about other April Fools’ Day animals, such as a sheep that moos, a pig that neighs, a horse that quacks, and a duck that baas.
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Tune: “Jingle Bells”
April fool, April fool,
April fool today.
You fool me and I fool you,
Then we laugh and say –
April fool, April fool!
It’s so fun to play.
You fool me and I fool you.
That’s how we play today.
Elizabeth Scofield
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DIRT SNACK
- Place some graham crackers or chocolate wafers in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them.
- Pour some “dirt” in a small bowl or cup.
- Next, place a few gummy worms on top.
- Then cover the “worms” with more “dirt”
- Serve with a small spoon for snack time.
Variation: Make chocolate pudding and place “worms” inside, like above.
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BACKWARDS MEALS
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| Let your children help you plan a meal for the day. |
| For example, they could plan to have veggies for an appetizer, sandwiches for the main course and cookies for dessert. |
| To turn it into an April Fools’ meal, just serve the foods backwards, starting with cookies first. |
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| Serve hamburgers for breakfast and cereal for dinner. |
| Put a piece of bread between two slices of cheese for a sandwich. |
| Pour orange juice on your cereal, or colored milk. |
See more at: http://preschoolexpress.com/celebration-station10/
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