By Megan Lardie
They say that laughter is the best medicine. Did you know the first Sunday in May is World Laughter Day? It is a day dedicated to people getting together to laugh and have fun.
The idea is to spread happiness and joy through laughter. Laughter is good for our health and makes us feel happy. The Irish are well known for their humor!
World Laughter Day was started by Dr. Madan Kataria in 1998. He wanted to show that laughter can bring people together and create a peaceful world (and we could really use that right now).
Today, many countries celebrate this day with big events and gatherings. It is a great day to remind everyone to laugh more and spread joy everywhere they go.
Good for Your Health
There are many benefits to laughter. Sharing fun times and laughs with friends and family can lower your stress level.
Laughing can bring extra oxygen into your body, which helps decrease your heart rate and helps your nervous system. It is also so good for your heart.
Laughing can increase blood flow throughout your body. It also lessens stress hormones, which cause blood vessels to constrict (get smaller). Laughter can also reduce your risk of a heart attack.
Fun Things to Do
Here are fun activities you could try on World Laughter Day: Check out Laughter Yoga, this is where you can practice laughing exercises combined with breathing techniques; Host a joke sharing day, gather friends or family and share favorite jokes.
You could make it a contest and see who can make everyone laugh the most. Play fun games like charades.
You could even have a themed party, where everyone dresses up in funny costumes, like a silly hat party or a pajama party! Whatever you do, always remember, “A day without laughter is a day wasted.” (Charlie Chaplin)
Literature Corner
Middle School, The Worst Years of My Life
By James Patterson and Chris Tebbetts
Middle school is hard, and Rafe feels that his first year of middle school is shaping up to be the worst year of his life. He has enough problems at home without the horrors of middle school, but he has a plan to make it the best year ever.
Rafe is on a mission to break every rule in the Code of Conduct and his best friend is going to award him points. But not everyone thinks his plan is a good one.
Find out if things go from magic to tragic in this hilarious bestseller. For ages 9-12, 336 pages.
No One Likes a Fart
by Zoe Foster Blake
Fart is desperate to make friends and have fun. But no one likes a fart, not even a fart with a heart.
This book has plenty of laughs and even more heart, and shows that even the smelliest among us can find a friend in this world. Ages 3-7, 32 pages
Kid’s in the Kitchen: French Toast Breakfast Board
Ingredients:
1 loaf French Bread, Challah or thick white bread
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
4-6 Tbsp. Butter
Breakfast Board Ideas
Berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries) Syrup Jams or jellies, butter, bacon, sausage, eggs, chocolate chips, powdered sugar, cinnamon and sugar, whipped cream.
- Directions:
- Cut bread of choice into thick slices. Bread needs to be dry so either leave the bread overnight uncovered on a baking sheet or preheat oven to 250°F and toast for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Then whisk in the milk, vanilla extract, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined and no streaks of egg remain.
- Drop a piece of the thickly sliced bread into the custard and let sit for 20-30 seconds on each side. Repeat with remaining bread slices.
- Melt 2 tbsp. butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the soaked pieces of bread to the pan and cook 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. Don’t overcrowd the pan. You will need to work in batches, adding more butter to pan as needed.
- Place the French Toast onto a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven at 250°F while you cook the remaining French Toast.
- For the Breakfast Board
- Select the board you want to build on: this can be a large wood cutting board, a rectangular slate board or a large marble board.
Assemble the board.
Remove the French Toast from the oven and arrange down the middle of the board.
Place bacon, fruits, syrups, etc. all around the French Toast.
It’s a blank canvas, let your creativity flow!- Serve immediately and replenish the board as necessary.
Lardie’s Laughs
Q. Why don’t the circus lions eat the clowns?
A. Because they taste funny!
Q. Why do teenagers travel in groups of threes and fives?
A. Because they can’t even!
Gab in Gaelic
Happy Mother’s Day = Lá na Máithreacha Sona Duit
(pron: Law nah maw-her-aka sun-a ditch)
