This past week, two of my colleagues here at The Mailbox became dads! Congrats to Gary on the arrival of his baby girl and to Randy on the arrival of his baby boy! Since the two babies were born just days apart, those of us here at the office have already imagined the two little ones going to their senior prom together!
Please share my “Happy Father’s Day!” shout-out with your dad or a dad you know. I have to admit that as a classroom teacher I rarely planned a Father’s Day event. School was out by then, and, though I had every intention of squeezing in a Father’s Day project before the end of school, it usually didn’t happen. I did occasionally have a father who volunteered in the classroom, and that was always a huge hit with the students. How about you? How do you encourage dads to participate in classroom activities?
Love you, Daddy!
Diane
PS: Remember, June 20 is the last day for you to get your name in our drawing for a new book from The Mailbox Books! Leave a comment!
On year I had all the dads come to my class to help their son or daughter make a Mother’s Day gift. It was an awesome turnout. I don’t know who enjoyed themselves more the kids or the dads. The project involved painting and gluing of craftsticks. I asked the art teacher if we could use her artroom to conduct the event. It was a day I will never forget. I have found that dads love to pitch in and the kids really enjoy seeing their dads at school. I have also had dads come to class to be guest readers. There is just something special about seeing a dad at school. Its like their inner childs come out and the kids respond so well to it.
This year I tried something new. The week before school got out we had a father’s day celebration. Students made their dad/grandad/uncle or even for their mom if dad was not in the picture a card. We sent out invitations. Before having the cook-out(dads cooked) we sang a song and gave out the card.
I have always had Dads and Grandpa’s in my classroom and I love it and so do they. Due to the economy here in Michigan this year I did something different instead of a Mom’s Day tea I did a family tea. It went great and I felt I had celebrated all the wonderful Dad’s and Grandopa’s out there as well as the Mom’s, and the Grandma’s that came. It went very well and I am planning to do it every year from now on.
For each of my field trips I send out letters for volunteers, especially male volunteers, having them along brings me a level of peace should bathroom issues with the boys arise. I have found as long as I give lots of notice, a lot of dad’s are able to attend and the students love it!
A couple of years ago, I had a dad who would volunteer at least three times a week! It was wonderful-it was like I had my own parapro!! I have also had dads as mentors to some of my students whose fathers aren’t present in their lives. Those boys need a male figure in their lives; it has made a difference. We have also had a cookout where the dads cook. :0)
My best dad volunteer I’ve ever had was my very own husband! He would come in an build things out of wood with the kids. The class loved seeing him walk through the door because they knew that a hands on fun project was the lesson of the hour.
I love it when I have dads volunteer in the classroom. A lot of the dads in our area work construction or other “fair weather” jobs, so they are without work in the Winter. I don’t really have a secret to getting them to volunteer. I have found that just asking them personally if they would like to come in and spend some time with their child at school seems to do the trick. The kids love it and I get an extra set of hands to help out throughout the day. I’ve had great volunteers, but some of the best have been the dads because they seem to share the excitement of new and fun activities happening in our classroom each day.
This past year was the best. I had dads everywhere. At every even the dads came out to support their child a lot of the time mom did not make it. During the week when we explored the letter Rr the homework was to build a robot. The moms commented on how excited the dads were about the project and the end results were amazing. I hope this next year is as dad filled as last, these kids need it. The best gift we ever made for our dads were baseball caps. The kids stamp painted them and the dads ate them up, my own dad got one and wears it still to go fishing.
I would like to hear more about the details of the cookout. I also like the idea of dads helping with Mother’s Day gifts. I had an adopted child from China this year who only has a mother. Not sure how I would handle that. Our first grade does Donuts for Dads with donuts, juice, and coffee before the school day starts since most have to get to work early and those who don’t have fathers aren’t there since school hasn’t started yet. We did something special for dads on Valentine’s Day sort of like a Mother’s Day tea but with donuts and coffee in the morning. I took pics of the kids with their dads, used on a bulletin board and sent them home in a frame they made together that morning. I have found dads love to read to kids so they sign up to be guest readers and do a wonderful job!
My kids in summer school loved making cards for their dads and grandpas! It was fun to see all of the neat notes they wrote. 🙂
I have had several dads volunteer in my classroom. You are so right when you said that dads are a huge hit in the classroom, my students loved reading with any dad that was willing to volunteer his time!
I teach elementary Spanish to individuals or small groups, primarily in their homes. In this setting, many times Moms, or Dads stay to participate and have fun with the lesson. For Father’s Day, I made Sombrero cookies with two sisters, ages 6, and 3. We had just fiinished the Hungry Caterpillar story and had talked about healthy vs. non-healthy foods. They already knew the words for cookies and candy, so the project was as natural. The girls followed instructions to cut apart dough, bake, and decorate cookies (mom helped) for both Dad and Grandpa. , It was so much fun and reinforced vocabulary and constructions we had been working with.