At the beginning of the summer this year, we went on a quick trip to celebrate the season and while on said getaway, we happened to eat at a restaurant. While I can’t remember which restaurant it was, I do remember the children’s place mat/menu, which had various activities to keep the kiddos busy while we waited for our food.
On this menu was one of our favorite things we’ve ever seen on a busy mat—a MAD LIB!! It was fun to play the word game and I thoroughly enjoyed observing my children finding the hilarity of it all, but as I sat there, I realized what an amazing teaching tool the Mad Lib was.
So, I headed over to Amazon (yes, I love Amazon!) later that evening, found a book that was on sale and we’ve been enjoying them ever since! You can find Goofy Mad Libs here, but look around HERE for others that are on sale.
Not only are they fun to do as a family, but we’ve enjoyed them with friends, singly, and with our extended family. Hours were spent on these when some of our friends came to see us this summer, and this one was done by all of our children, without our supervision. They laughed SO HARD! My favorite: Cats with Mustaches! What were they thinking???
It is often forgotten that whether writing for elementary, high school, college, journaling, letter-writing or business proposals, all forms can and likely should be composed creatively, with the most polished language we can summon. Helping our children to write imaginatively now will develop into a skill to be used in whatever capacity they find useful and necessary as the years go by.
Why Mad Libs? Firstly, they require the players to know or learn grammatical terms (an up side for the parent/teacher). While they are genuinely hilarious for the players (an up side for the child/student), the students don’t even know they are learning, which is another up side for everyone!
Secondly, for a Mad Lib to be over-the-top funny, you must really think about your word choices. When we first got our book, my kids kept trying to use the same nouns/verbs, etc., and I finally had to guide them a little bit, giving them license and a push to be silly. Maybe they took it too far . . .
While the books are great, you can find some Free Printables Here or you can find some Online Form Mad Libs Here that create your story after you fill in some blanks. If you love apps, the official Mad Libs has one of those that you can learn about Here.
They would also be perfect for a long road trip! Some of my beautiful sisters-in-law get creative with keeping their kiddos busy while driving long distances–usually, they have a little surprise for each hour of driving. Pulling out a Mad Lib book or printable would be a perfect treat.
Whether you are working on your writing as an adult or teaching grammar terms to children this year, I highly recommend Mad Libs—it’s easy and entertaining at the same time!
*All links in this post are non-affiliated!