Eric Poulin

This is guaranteed to be a fun activity for a family with children under 10.

I just did it this past Monday evening around the dinner table (during dinner in fact).

First, write a short silly story and label some of the parts of speech which will be replaced such as:

Once upon a time there was an old(adjective 1) farmer(noun 2) who owned some land(noun 3). One day he found a cow(noun 4). It was the healthiest(adjective 5) cow(noun 4) he had ever seen. He made a lot of money by selling(verb ending in “ing” 6) the cow(noun 4). The farmer(noun 2) then spend the rest of his life relaxing(verb ending in “ing” 7) in Hawaii (place 8).

Then have everyone in the family take a blank piece of paper and write down numbers 1-8 along the side. Do not read them the story ahead of time. Start with #1 and have them write down an adjective – any adjective (you’ll probably need to describe what an adjective is). Continue with the rest of the numbers. Then collect the sheets and read each persons’ “story” by substituting the numbers in the story.

You’ll end up with some really funny stories. It doesn’t always work, but often its hilarious. Our kids have been asking to do it again every night and have been quoting parts of the funny stories to each other in giggle bursts since.

One Response to “Family Home Evening idea: Hilarious English 101”