April Fools!

Hello and welcome to the first Saturday of April here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is April Fools’ Day – and that’s no joke!

April Fools’ Day is my kids’ favorite non-candy holiday. The day is filled with jokes, gags, and pranks, with the punchline: “April Fools!” Kids especially love it when April Fools’ Day falls on a school day. There’s just so much material. The possibilities are endless.

“Mom! I woke up and my sister wasn’t in her bed! I couldn’t find her anywhere! She’s missing! Really! I mean it!” This followed by a glint in his eye. “April Fools!”

 “Mom! There’s a huge Lego Minecraft Alex playing with Legos in my room! She wants you to give her a bag - no wait...a TRUCKLOAD FULL - of candy!”

“Mom! I missed the bus!”

April Fools!

The last example is their favorite trick because sometimes they do miss the bus. A trick that appears to be real is the best trick of all because it could be true. That's something else they like to say: "It could be true! No, really!"

There are tricks on the bus: “An octopus was driving the bus!”

There are tricks at school: “The cat ate my homework!” “I lost my library book!”

And, of course, there are tricks at home: “Mom! I’ve got a bloody nose! Mom! The cat had kittens!”

The Second Grader’s got some prank suggestions: Put a white egg somewhere that is white so someone will sit on it. Put cooking oil and vinegar on my mom’s toothbrush. Put water on the steps and it will turn to ice.

At this point, I point out that pranks should be harmless, not harmful.

The cutest pranks came from the kids when they were toddlers. The younger ones would hear the older ones shout, “April Fools!” so the littles would punctuate any comment with “April Fools!”

“I’m hungry. April Fools!”

“The sky is blue. April Fools!”

“There’s snow on the ground.”

The giggles are the best part of this kind of April Fools.

While driving somewhere on an April Fools' one year, we told the WAKWIR that we bought him from Amazon. Another year, we told him he was a frog that magically turned into a boy. The kids had a good laugh, but later, the WAKWIR asked me, “Mom, did you really buy me from Amazon? Was I really a frog?”

The last time April Fool’s Day fell on a Saturday was in 2017 before the WA blog existed. The kids are sleeping in and I’m tempted to say, “Kids! Get up! The bus is coming!”

“April Fools!”