Mad Libs.

Since we finished our last read-aloud book, we haven't had time to go back to the library, so we've been doing Mad Libs at night instead of reading. If you aren't familiar with these you should be, they are a lot of fun. The kids take turns giving me adjectives, nouns, verbs, adverbs, etc. and I fill in the blanks in a story. The words don't really fit in the story, so it's funny when you read it back.

Here are some of our favorite phrases from the Mad Libs we've done, including the favorite one from vacation, which the youngest thinks is especially hilarious and keeps making me read over and over again.

Excerpt from Ghost Story
"Once there was a little kid who went on a snarky hike through a purple forest in the middle of the moon. At first, he had fun watching the cute little giraffes go farting through the trees and talking to the chairs that dodged between the bushes. Then, it got lovely."

Excerpt from a Vacation Packing Quiz.
"Are you taking your pet battle ox and have you packed plenty of battle ox chow for him? Did you remember to take all of your toilet articles such as your front tooth brush, your ring toe paste and your universal lotion?"

Excerpt from A Letter of Recommendation.
"I would like to recommend my cousin Devin for the job of assistant tank in your big camp. He has just graduated from 3-D Academy and has a degree in clicking. He has had experience teaching towels to play video games. He is ambitious and round. He will make a very explosive camp counselor because he will work like a giraffe and is as smart as a platypus. He is also as honest as an x-ray gun is long."

These are especially funny if it is midnight and you are exhausted or if you are on a really long car trip. :-) Plus, they teach the parts of speech.