Just about any guy can become a father, but it takes a special man to be a dad. A man with the best advice and the worst dance moves. A son’s first hero, a daughter’s first love, a no fee ATM, and one of the most important role models in a child’s life.
Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it can be a little harder coming up with student gift ideas for dads. There are so many cutesy crafts for moms and you just can’t be too cutesy when gift giving for men. Or can you? Yes. Yes you can.
I mentioned in my recent Mother’s Day post that nothing really beats having the kids write about their parent. There isn’t any homemade tie rack or coupon book that’s going to have the same value as the honest (and often hilarious) words that come from the heart at a young age. No matter how macho Pops is, he’s going to love reading what his kid has written about him. So add this activity to your spring lesson plans and help your students create a Father’s Day gift that won’t soon be forgotten.
If you’re familiar with my Mother’s Day booklets and crafts, then this is the counterpart for Father’s Day. Remember when I said you CAN be cutesy with Father’s Day gifts? Here’s the cute cover of the Father’s Day book that my kiddos made. The top photo is a printable one I have in color, but I had each of them color their own.
The pages inside provide a variety of prompts to get your kids writing and illustrating all about their dads.
Since we’ve been working on informative and opinion writing all year, I also had the kids write paragraphs about their dads. Always sneaking in those Common Core standards when they don’t even realize it.
Along with the book, the kids make this fun photo frame craft. Perfect for displaying proudly on Dad’s desk at work, on the fridge at home, etc.
If you want your kids to make these booklets and frames for their rock star dads, you can find them here in my shop or on Teachers Pay Teachers.
I also don’t ever want any students without a dad to feel left out, so I have identical books and photo frame signs for those special Stepdads, Grandpas, and Uncles. You can grab these separately or in a bundle.
And in case you might prefer some similar Father’s Day gift ideas with a sports theme, you can head over to this blog post for more details.
Do you have any favorite Father’s Day activities that you like to do in your classroom? I’d love to hear ’em! However you choose to celebrate, I hope that you and your students have a rockin’ Father’s Day this year!