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Yankel the Class Clown

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

Yankel is the funniest boy in the third grade, and he knows it.

He can make a face that looks like a fish. He can balance a pencil on his nose. He can talk in the voice of a squeaky mouse, and it makes the whole class laugh until their sides hurt.

"Yankel, you crack me up," says his friend Moishy.

"I'm a natural," says Yankel, bowing.

Morah Brocha likes his jokes, too, most of the time. But on Tuesday morning, something changes.

The class is working quietly on a math sheet. It is very still. Yankel looks around. Everyone is bent over their papers. It is so serious.

He has an idea. He grabs a rubber band, stretches it, and aims it at the pencil box on Moishy's desk. Ping! The pencil box jumps and lands on the floor with a crash.

The class bursts out laughing.

"Yankel!" says Morah Brocha.

"Sorry," says Yankel, grinning. "It slipped."

She gives him a look, but she doesn't say more. The class goes back to work.

At lunch, he makes a fish face at the girl at the next table. She giggles. At recess, he does his mouse voice, and four boys fall on the grass laughing.

It feels good to be funny. It feels like everyone likes him.

On Wednesday, the class has a spelling test. The room is silent. Yankel looks at the page. He doesn't know how to spell "necessary." His stomach gives a flip. He doesn't like that feeling.

So he makes a joke. "Hey, Morah, how do you spell 'I give up'?"

A few kids snicker. Morah Brocha smiles. "Very funny, Yankel. Please focus."

But he keeps joking. He makes a loud whisper. He crosses his eyes. Nobody can concentrate, and the test takes twice as long.

After the bell, Morah Brocha asks him to stay.

"Yankel," she says gently. "I love your sense of humor. You make people laugh, and that's a gift. But I noticed something today."

"What?"

"Sometimes you joke when you're feeling nervous. Is that right?"

Yankel blinks. He hasn't thought about it. "Maybe."

"And sometimes your jokes make it hard for others to learn."

His face goes warm. He remembers Moishy's pencil box, and the girl at the next table who can't finish her sentence.

"I didn't mean to bother anyone."

"I know. But humor has a time. There are times for jokes, like at recess or Shabbos meals. And there are times when kindness means being quiet."

Yankel scuffs his shoe on the floor. "How do I know the difference?"

"Ask yourself: Will this help people feel good? Or will it make it hard for someone?"

He thinks about that. "And what if I'm nervous?"

"Then take a breath and tell me. I'll help."

The next day, when the spelling test comes back, Yankel raises his hand. "Morah, I don't know how to spell necessary. Can you help?"

"Of course," says Morah Brocha, kneeling beside him. She shows him a trick: one collar, two sleeves.

"One c, two s's," says Yankel.

"Exactly."

At recess, he does the mouse voice. The kids love it. But in class, he saves his jokes for later.

On Friday, Morah Brocha says, "Yankel, I have an idea. Would you like to be in charge of our Friday joke of the week, ten minutes before dismissal?"

His face lights up. "Yes!"

The class cheers. The joke of the week becomes the favorite part of every Friday.