Today’s Friday Funny is actually a fun activity I use in my communication studies to drive home the point that you cannot talk and listen at the same time.   Most of the kids in my classes have so much fun with this one but they are so busy laughing, they don’t notice they are learning!  Here’s how it works:

Have one of your children sing Yankee Doodle while the other recites the Pledge of Allegiance.  See how long you can go without messing up…or …cracking up!   Really try to listen to the other person as you  recite your part.  Get’s kind of difficult now doesn’t it?  lol

If your child knows the song too well, here is a more advanced version:

Have one of your children read from a book that your children are not very familiar with.  A newspaper will do just as well.  Have the other child read from another.  See how long you can go as you try to listen to what the other is saying.  After about a minute or two, tell the other what you heard them say.  See how much detail you caught.

Illustrates the saying: “God gave us two ears and only one mouth that we might listen twice as much as we speak.”

Active listening is a vital part of communication.  Most people are too busy thinking about what they want to say next to really hear what the other is saying.

This is one of the activities in Say What You Mean for Kids (and also Say What You Mean for Teens).  For more engaging communication activities, please check out the Say What You Mean series of communication studies from Art of Eloquence.

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