“Less Stress More Learning”: Views of Teachers and Parents on the Early Humor Education Program

Introduction

Children enjoy laughing, having fun and playing “joking” games. Laughing at the jokes made by others in the beginning turns into a pursuit of entertainment over time, they tend to use humor as a way of expressing themselves rather than participating in humor. Humor, which is one of the ways children express themselves, is one of the important indicators of language, mind, social and emotional development (Stenius et al, 2022). All children have a certain level of humor at birth, and over time they can add or reduce meaning depending on environmental effects (Keskin, 2020; Sanders, 2001; Tucker, 2016).

Humor is defined as the ability to notice, produce, and share funny situations with others (Morreal, 1997; Tanç, 2020). Freud (1990) considered humor as the highest defense mechanism and sees it as a tool to reach the pleasant mood in childhood. Studies conducted in recent years also draw attention to the healing properties of humor (McGhee, 2010; Müller & Ruch, 2011; Peterson & Seligman, 2004). Humor creates the most colorful and entertaining power of the personality, providing relaxation and protection (Müller & Ruch, 2011). For example, Salmela et al. (2010), when they examined the coping strategies of preschool children for their fears about the hospital, they revealed that one of the most used coping strategies by children is humor. Additionally, the effects of humor—such as initiating and maintaining positive interpersonal relationships, being tolerant and cheerful, providing fusion by softening the atmosphere, presenting individuals with a different perspective, developing a positive outlook, increasing attention by reinforcing focus, and ensuring permanent learning—reveal that children should be fed with humor (Edwards & Martin, 2014; Klein, 1999; Orhon, 2014).

Many humor activities such as stories, cartoons, imitations, humorous games, dramatization, rhymes, puppet shows, pantomime, mimics, shadow plays, riddles, word games, funny pictures and videos—can be included in the early childhood classroom (Balta, 2016; Işık & Kolçak, 1953; Koestler, 1964; Özünlü, 1999; Ramachandran & Blakesle, 2014). Teachers who want to turn children's playful and curious characteristics into learning opportunities can increase students’ cognitive development, language development, and creativity by adapting humor to education through planned activities suitable for children's humor characteristics (Işık & Kolçak, 1953; Morreall, 1997). The conscious and systematic use of humor will attract children's motivation, attention, and increase learning, minimize behavior disorders. Thus, making the learning environment and processes more enjoyable with humor also facilitates classroom management (Halimah et al, 2020; Rönkkö & Aerila, 2018; Şahin, 2018). Children should be supported with humor both at home and at school from the early years in terms of both relaxation, well-being and strengthening of learning. Parents and educators should support little humorists in displaying their humor skills in early childhood by providing a learning environment containing fun activities suitable for the development of their humor characteristics, developing educational programs, and giving children the opportunity to use materials that will enable them to reveal their humor characteristics (Bergen, 1992; Burt & Sugawara, 1988; Didin & Akyol, 2017).