Valentine greeting cards often use puns in their messages to elicit a smile from their recipients. For example, a card bearing a googly-eyed lion holding a big red heart might read, "I'm not lion -- I like you a lot!" Have children design pun-based valentines and send to another child or adult. Let the recipient act out the valentine in an impromptu skit, bringing in other actors as needed.
Show children how to create their own puns. Brainstorm to find a word or words with more than one meaning. Include words that sound similar to other words. Write funny puns and share with others. Include ideas such as patience/patients, lettuce/let us or night/knight. Share results: "A doctor does not want to lose his patients" or "Sir Lancelot had a knight mare about his horse."
Oftentimes children gain a better understanding of pun humor if they work with visual puns. Write the phrase, "Why is the North Star the smartest star?" on a poster or board. Let kids come up with possible answers. Next, add the answer, "Because it's the brightest one." Instruct children to illustrate the pun by drawing a picture that represents it. Play a game where each child becomes a star and shines in the brightest manner he is able. One child might sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Another might dance and shout, "I'm a star!" Have groups of kids form constellations with older kids coming up with even more puns such as "I'm the Big Dipper" while he pretends to take a dip in a swimming pool or pretends to dip a cup into water.
Gather a list of 25 puns you find in children's books, advertising and other places. Type out the list and cut into strips that bear one pun on each. Have children draw puns out of a bag and draw a picture representing the pun. Display finished pieces around the room. Play a guessing game where children attempt to figure out what pun the artist intended, or create new puns that grow out of the artwork.