Writing - 2nd Grade Style

My daughter's 2nd grade class had a writing party for the parents today. It was meant to show us all the growth the children had made in their writing skills since the beginning of the year. The kids' journals, several stories they wrote, and their spelling sentences notebooks were all out for us to peruse and comment on. There were snacks and beverages, too.

About half an hour into the party, the parents were asked to sit at their child's desk. The kids got out a pencil for their parents and a paper was handed out to each student. At the top of the paper was a writing prompt that our kids picked out specifically for us. Some were "What is your favorite color? And Why?" or "What is your favorite animal? And Why?" or even "What is your favorite Bible story." Emma's assignment for me was "The best joke is . . . " I immediately got nervous. Couldn't think of any jokes. Not one.

Then the students were asked to walk away from their parents to give them some room to write. I thought for a few moments and then the words began to flow. This is what I came up with (and later had to read to the entire class filled with parents and students!):

In my life I have heard many jokes that make me laugh. My kids try to tell me jokes all the time, just to see if they can make me giggle. And while I love all kinds of jokes, my favorite one came from a popsicle stick.

Every summer my kids devour boxes and boxes of popsicles. And every time they eat one, they (or I) read the joke out loud. The summer of 2004 we came across a simple joke that to this day still tickles my funny bone.

Here it is:
What did the girl melon say to the boy melon when he asked her to marry him?
We're too young. We cantaloupe.

I had forgotten how much fun it can be to write from a prompt. As an adult, I rarely take the time to explore some free expression through writing (other than this blog, of course). I think I would enjoy it again.