I’m lame. I’ll just admit it. I usually forget to plan something cool for April Fool’s. I’m the one looking for a last-minute joke to play so I don’t expose myself as a lame-wad. So here are some of my favorite last minute April Fool’s Day pranks for teachers to play on their students:

Last Minute Pranks (No prep required)

• Assign the kids new seats and then re-assign seats again many times throughout the day.
• Announce that the awesome field trip that was planned for today is cancelled because nobody brought in their permission slips on time.
• Tell your kids that because it’s a leap year, they have to stay in class an hour longer every day this month.
• Tell your students that lunch is cancelled because the cafeteria ran out of food but everyone else at the school got to eat.
• Ask everyone to turn in their homework that was due TODAY and is worth 90% of their grade for this quarter.
• A funny prank for little kids is to begin your lesson of the day with your mouth moving but no sound coming out. This REALLY freaks kids out.

Some prep required

• “Accidentally” show a list of silly files on your computer when you’re getting your projector hooked up. For example, name files “Teachers who might be vampires” or “Celebrity Visits at Our School”
• Send several kids to the principal’s office for no reason. (Be sure the office and your principal are ok with this.)

More prep required

• Rearrange all the desks or tables in the room. Maybe change them to all face a different side of the room, making a new front of the room.
• Switch out all the students’ chairs for smaller ones. When your kids comment, deny that there’s a difference.

Click here for more April Fool’s Day ideas.