Father’s Day Activities For The Preschool Classroom
Posted: Friday, May 23, 2008
by Stephany Springer
Father's Day is fast approaching. With the busyness of the summer months, it can be easy to overlook the day in the classroom. Fathers are often overlooked at schools because they spend a lot of time working. It generally is the mother who does drop off and pick up so the dads miss out on a lot of the child's school life.
Doughnuts with Dad
There is nothing more exciting to a preschooler than doughnuts. Add a dad into the picture and they are jumping for joy. Fathers who can't spend the entire day will most likely be able to at least enjoy breakfast with their child. Be sure and take a picture of the two of them together. For an added touch, allow the kids to sing for their dad as part of a short program. Here are a few song ideas:
Daddy, Daddy, I love you
(to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star")
Daddy, Daddy, I love you
And all of the things we do
You will always play with me
You make me laugh so easily
Daddy, Daddy, I love you
And all of the things we do!
Sung To The Tune Of Mary Had A Little Lamb.
Daddy loves me
Yes he does.
Yes he does.
Yes he does.
Daddy loves me
Yes he does.
He loves me every day.
He gives me hugs and kisses,
kisses, kisses.
He gives me hugs and kisses.
To tell me he loves me.
I love my daddy,
daddy, daddy.
I love my daddy and he loves me too.
Crafts/Gifts
There are countless gift ideas out on the web. My most favorite gift has to do with footprints. My kids have always loved dipping their feet in paint. They giggle and wiggle their feet so it is such a joy of a project to begin with. Making a special gift for dad is an added bonus. I make footprints on the long construction paper with washable paint. I then place the following poem.
"Walk a little slower daddy," said a child so small. "I'm following in your footsteps and I don't want to fall. Sometimes your steps are very fast, Sometimes they're hard to see; So walk a little slower, Daddy, For you are leading me. Someday when I'm all grown up, You're what I want to be; Then I will have a little child Who'll want to follow me. And I would want to lead just right, And know that I was true; So walk a little slower, Daddy, For I must follow you."
I then include the picture of each dad with their child. Then laminate the construction paper to make a timeless treasure. You can also do the footprint and add "I am following in your footsteps Dad."
We have all seen the handprint shirts. Get a plain white t-shirt for each dad. Have the children place handprints pointing down. On the back of the shirt, stencil: "My dad is the best-Hands Down!"
Finally, another cute idea is to have the children tear off a piece of duck tape, put it sideways on a 5x7 piece of construction paper. Write "Duck tape and my Dad hold this family together". You could even put a small wallet size picture of the child on it. Buy inexpensive frames from the dollar store or die cut a frame and frame them.
Lunch
Dogs with Dads is sure to be fun. Have a hot dog lunch outside with the dads and the children. Make sure to have some fun games set up such as a bean bag toss, beach ball throw, piggyback ride races, etc. You can even let the kids and dads decorate foam visors. Have bubbles and outside chalk handy to make a fun day with dads outside.
These are just a few suggestions to spark your teacher creativity. Feel free to leave more in the comments.
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