Fathers and grandfathers

AREA SETUP
(Open thematic poster-Fathers and grandfathers) Print, laminate, and display all kinds of posters.

Educa-decorate-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open educa-decorate-Fathers and grandfathers) Print, cut out, and laminate. Use the items to decorate the walls of your daycare and set the mood for the theme.

Father and grandfather tree
Select a shape that you particularly like (star, heart, moon, animal, etc.) and print several copies. Cut out the shapes. On each one, stick a picture of a child's father or grandfather. Use ribbon or string to hang the shapes from a clothing hanger or a branch.

Educa-theme-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open educa-theme-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the items that represent the theme. Use them to introduce your group (and parents) to your theme while decorating a corner of your daycare.

Mail for fathers and grandfathers
Encourage each child to draw one or several picture(s) for his/her father or grandfather. When they are done, they can insert their drawings in a special Father's Day mailbox you created along with the children in your group. At the end of the day, ask fathers to check if they have mail. This activity can last as long as you wish, a day or throughout the theme.

CIRCLE TIME

Animated discussion-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open picture game-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the pictures in the format you prefer. Use them to spark a conversation with your group or to ask children questions.

Time flies
Invite children to bring pictures of themselves at different ages to daycare. Use the pictures to create a ladder that shows how they have grown. Help them notice how quickly they are growing. Show them black and white pictures and explain how, when their grandfathers were young, pictures did not have any colors.

Questions to spark a conversation:

How many grandfathers do you have?
Do you know their names?
Do you have special nicknames for them?
Do they live close to you or far away?
Which activities do you like to do with your grandfathers?
Do you have great-grandfathers?
What is your father's favorite color?
Can you describe your father?
What do fathers do during the day?
What do you love most about your father?
What is your father's name? What is your grandfather's name?
What does your father love? What is his favourite meal? What is his favourite drink?
What is your father's job?
Do you have a special name for your father?
Tell me about a fond memory involving you and your father.
Which sports does your father enjoy?
Which tasks does your father perform around the house (washing dishes, mow the lawn, etc.)?
Which games do you play with your father?
Which tools does your father use?
Describe your father's car.

Collective story
During circle time, invite children to invent a story about fathers. Encourage them to share their ideas. Write down everything they say. Read the story to them afterwards and let them draw pictures to illustrate it. Display their story on a wall for everyone to see.

PICTURE GAME

(Open picture game-Fathers and grandfathers) Use the pictures to decorate your daycare or to spark a conversation with your group. Print, laminate, and store the pictures in a Ziploc bag or in your thematic bin.

ACTIVITY SHEETS
(Open activity sheets-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and follow instructions.

WRITING ACTIVITIES
(Open writing activities-G like grandfather) Print for each child or laminate for use with a dry-erase marker.

Stationery-Father's Day
(Open stationery-Father's Day) Print. Use the stationery to communicate with parents, in your writing corner, or to identify your thematic bins.

Educa-nuudles-Fathers and grandfathers

(Open educa-nuudles-Fathers and grandfathers) Print for each child. Have children color the sheet. Once they are done, they may use Magic Nuudles to turn the coloring pages into three dimensional works of art. Variation: If you do not have Magic Nuudles, ask children to fill the spaces designed for the Magic Nuudles with bingo markers or stickers. To order Magic Nuudle

Educa-shape tracing-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open educa-shape tracing-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must trace the various shapes with a dry-erase marker.

Trace the words-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) (Open giant word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print several word flashcards, glue them on a sheet of paper and laminate them. Arrange the sheets in a binder. Show children how they can use a dry-erase marker to trace the words. If you wish, leave room beneath each word so older children can try to write the words independently.

VARIOUS WORKSHOPS-FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS

Construction/building blocks:

• Blocks of all kinds to encourage children to represent different places they like to visit with their father.
• Figurines of all kinds to represent families.
• Figurines which represent various careers and professions, children will make associations with their father's job.

Arts & crafts:

• Children can make a card for their father or grandfather using pictures and various recycled items. If you wish, pick a theme such as golf or fishing.
• A wide range of material that can be used to create the perfect Father's Day gift. You will find many suggestions within the general theme.
• A canvas board and paint for each child so they can paint their father's portrait.
• A nature collage to represent hunting and/or fishing.
• Pictures of fathers (men) cut out of catalogues and magazines that can be used for collages. Ask children to identify the picture that looks most like their father.
• Empty tissue boxes that can be used to represent their father's car.
• Cut pictures of various food items out of grocery store flyers and have children glue their father's favorite foods on a paper plate.

Drawing:

• Coloring pages which represent family members and activities enjoyed by families.
• Creative coloring.
• Encourage children to draw a "letter" for their father and mail it to him.

Role play:

• Workbench/tools: This theme is perfect for exploring your toy workbench and tools. Add pieces of wood, safety glasses, dust masks, etc. Children will enjoy pretending to fix your daycare toys and furniture.
• BBQ: Fathers are often BBQ specialists. Set up a toy BBQ and add a variety of accessories such as basting brushes, tongs, spatulas, plates, a tablecloth, empty ketchup and mustard bottles, etc.
• Hunting and fishing: Offer plastic fish with fishing rods as well as plastic animals. You can build a boat out of a large cardboard box or simply use chairs to represent a fishing boat. Add a tent, plastic food items, camouflage clothing items, etc.

Manipulation:

• Memory game using educatall.com picture games.
• Real tools that children can manipulate and compare (size, weight, etc.).
• Modeling dough and screwdrivers, pliers, a hammer, screws, and nuts and bolts children can press in the dough.
• A cardboard tie for lacing.
• Family-themed association game.
• Puzzles representing various professions.
• Golf tees, foam blocks, and hammers.
• Various items related to different sports (baseball mitt, hockey puck, golf club, etc.).

Pre-reading/relaxation:

• Books about families.
• Books children enjoy reading with their father. Invite them to share their favourites with you!
• Listen to lullabies with headphones.

Pre-writing:

• Hunt and seek games.
• Various activity sheets related to the theme.
• Games with educatall.com word flashcards.
• Tracing and maze activities.
• Encourage children to practice writing "Dad" or their father's name.
• Explore the letter "D" like "Dad" or the letter "F" like "father".

Motor skills:

• Use ties as rhythmic gymnastics ribbons.
• Discuss and explore different sports: golf, hockey, baseball, etc.
• Play "Daddy says...".
• Act out various actions fathers perform daily and encourage children to identify them.
• Organize a "bike wash".

Sensory bins:

• Water table: wash your toy cars.
• Fill a bin with all kinds of rocks and pebbles.
• Fill a large container with items typically associated with fathers.

Early science:

• Use magnifying glasses to observe wood chips, parts of a small motor, sawdust, etc.

Kitchen:

• Bake a special treat for fathers.
• Prepare and decorate gingerbread dads.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES

Word flashcards

Use the flashcards to spark a conversation with your group, in your reading and writing corner, or to identify your thematic bins. (Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) (Open giant word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print. Great-grandfather, grandfather, father, grass, garage, to shave, family, golf, to play, crafts, to laugh, tools.

Let's chat
(Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the word flashcards. Have each child pick a word flashcard. They can take turns presenting the corresponding word/item to the group. Let children share what they know about each item. Ask them questions to spark a conversation.

Reinvented scrabble
(Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) (Open giant word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print several word flashcards. Encourage children to use Scrabble tiles to reproduce the words. Manipulating the small tiles is a great fine motor skills challenge for little ones. What's more, they will gradually begin to notice the letters that make up the different words.

Word race
(Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) (Open giant word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print several word flashcards and hide them throughout your daycare or yard. Divide your group into two teams. When you give them the signal, children must rush to collect as many words as possible in a predetermined period of time, for example 3 minutes. Afterwards, invite children to join you. To earn a point for their team, children must be able to "read" the words on the flashcards they collected. If they do not succeed, the other team can earn the point if they identify the correct word.

ROUTINES AND TRANSITIONS

Fathers and grandfathers at the table
(Open picture game-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the pictures in the format you prefer. Stick one picture on each chair, making sure you keep a copy of each one. At lunch or snack time, let children pick a picture to determine where they will sit. Each child must sit on the chair with the corresponding picture.

Story time
Invite fathers and/or grandfathers to join you for story time. Let them simply talk to your group about their life or encourage them to read a book to the group.

To the sound of music
Take advantage of transition periods to sing Father's Day songs with your group or to play different types of music...from old songs to today's hits.

ACTIVITIES FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS

Special picture book
Collect several pictures of adults of different ages. Arrange them in a photo album or laminate them and use a ring to create a picture book. Use your picture book to spark conversations with your group and encourage children to flip through the pictures as often as they wish.

Fathers and grandfathers
Ask parents to provide pictures of each child's father and grandathers. Use adhesive paper to display the pictures on a wall, at children's level. Encourage them to look at the pictures and help them recognize their family members.

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND MOTOR SKILLS

My grandfather is special
Have children sit in a circle on the floor. Name a child as you roll a ball towards him/her. When the child receives the ball, he/she must say, "My grandfather is special because..." Of course, the child must complete the sentence by naming a characteristic he/she particularly appreciates.

I am growing
Touch a child with a magic wand to transform him/her. Have fun transforming children so they can pretend to be a baby, a child, a father, or a grandfather, depending on the role you give them.

I am like my father/grandfather
Select a child who will be the leader of the game. He/she must perform various actions normally associated with fathers or grandfathers. The other children must imitate the leader.

Button necklace
Explain to your group how, when their grandfathers were young, there weren't as many toys to play with and children therefore played with everyday items available in their home, such as buttons. Provide a large bag filled with colourful buttons and invite children to thread them on pretty ribbon or string to make necklaces.

Grandfather says...
Have children stand on a line in front of you. Dress up like a grandfather and ask them to perform various actions. As in "Simon says...", children must perform the actions only if you say, "Grandfather says..." first. Otherwise, they must remain perfectly still.

Daddy may I?
Children take turns approaching you to ask you if they may execute various actions associated with different types of animals. For example, a child may say, "Daddy may I hop like a frog?" If you accept, the child will hop around the daycare until you invite him/her to approach you again. You may also decide to have a child perform actions associated with a different animal, for example by saying, "No you may not, you belong to the dog family!" Of course, the child would then crawl around the daycare and bark. Examples of actions: cluck like a chicken, hop around like a kangaroo, slither like a snake, etc.

COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES

Educ-same and different-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open educ-same and different-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate for durable, eco-friendly use. Children must circle the illustration that is different in each row.

Educ-big and small-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open educ-big and small-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the game. Children must place corresponding cards in the squares in the correct order, from smallest to biggest. Stick Velcro or adhesive putty behind each card.

Roll and color-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open roll and color-Fathers and grandfathers) Print for each child. This game can be used individually or with a group of children. Children take turns rolling a die. Help them count the dots and then invite them to color the corresponding part on the sheet.

Memory game
(Open picture game-My father's profession) Print the pictures twice and use them as a memory game.

Association game-Family
(Open association game-Family) Print, laminate, and cut out the cards. Ask children to associate each item with the correct family member.

Story and memory game-Family
(Open story and memory game-Family) Print, laminate, and cut out the illustrations. Place the cards face down on the floor or table. Children take turns picking three cards and inventing a story in relation with the illustrations.

Hunt and seek-Family
(Open hunt and seek-Family) Print and laminate. Children pick a card and search for the illustrated item in the scene.

MORAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

My treasure chest
Fill a chest with clothing items, shoes, hats, scarves, etc. Let children use the contents of the treasure chest to dress up like a father or grandfather as often as they wish during the theme.

Collective story
Following a discussion period, invite each child to share a story related to the theme with your group. Encourage them to share their ideas. Write down everything they say. Once they have all had a turn, read their collective story. Children can illustrate it together. Display their story on a wall within your daycare.

Photo booth-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open photo booth-Fathers and grandfathers) Print the models and accessories. Cut them out and glue a dark-coloured drinking straw behind each one. Purchase hats, headbands, scarves and eyeglasses in a big-box store to add to your collection. Set up a corner of your daycare to represent a photo booth. Simply hang a long curtain or create a unique décor. Have fun taking pictures of the children in your group. Invite them to choose the accessories they prefer and let them have fun being silly! You may even choose to invite fathers and grandfathers to participate. Photograph children individually or with their father/grandfathers. The pictures will make great souvenirs. Print them and use them to decorate the walls of your daycare or a hallway.

Act it out
(Open word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) (Open giant word flashcards-Fathers and grandfathers) Print and laminate the word flashcards. Cut them out and deposit them in an opaque bag. Use them for a simple mime game. Children can take turns picking a flashcard and using gestures to help their friends guess the corresponding word. For example, if a child picks the word flashcard "to shave", he/she can pretend to shave a beard with a razor. The child who identifies the word first can be the next one to pick a word flashcard out of your bag.

ARTS & CRAFTS

Love-filled heart
Cut hearts out of colourful construction paper and ask children to decorate them as they wish with ribbons, glitter, etc. Once the hearts are dry, write "I love you" on each one or simply write each child's name behind his/her heart. Glue a clothespin behind each heart along with a magnet. Fathers and/or grandfathers will be happy to display their special heart on their refrigerator.

Fathers and grandfathers
(Open models-Fathers and grandfathers) Print several copies. Ask children to use the models to represent their father or grandfather. They may also use wiggly eyes, crayons, yarn (hair), etc.

My picture
(Open picture frame-Fathers and grandfathers) Print a frame for each child. Let them decorate it as they wish. Photograph each child. Print the pictures and help children insert their picture in their frame for the perfect gift for their father or grandfather.

My father's and my grandfather's treasures
You will need a shoebox for each child. Have children paint the inside of their box with the color of their choice. Once the paint is dry, encourage them to decorate the outside of their box with glitter, gems, and various arts & crafts accessories. Ask parents to provide pictures of their child with either his/her father or one of his/her grandfathers. Children can deposit them in their box and look at the pictures during transition periods throughout the day (snack time, naptime, waiting periods, etc.).

In black and white
Explain to your group how, in the good old days, televisions only showed black and white images and pictures could only be printed in black and white too. Give each child a piece of black paper and a piece of white paper. Encourage them to use white chalk to draw on the black paper and charcoal (or simply a black marker) to draw on the white paper.

Puppets-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open puppets-Fathers and grandfathers) Print the puppet models on heavy cardboard. Invite children to cut them out and decorate them with various materials. Attach a Popsicle stick to the back of each model to create a puppet.

Scrapbook-Fathers and grandfathers
(Open scrapbook-Fathers and grandfathers) Print for each child. Let children complete the page and add it to their scrapbook. Encourage them to draw a fond memory they have of their father or grandfather. If a child does not already have a scrapbook, visit the "Scrapbook" section of the educatall club.

COLORING PAGES

(Open coloring pages theme-Fathers and grandfathers) Print for each child.

Identical drawings-Fathers and grandfathers
Print the same coloring page for each child and an extra copy for yourself. On your copy, color only certain parts of the drawing. Present your model to your group and invite them to reproduce your drawing by coloring the same parts using the same colors.

Coloring binder-Fathers and grandfathers
Laminate several coloring pages related to your theme and arrange them in a binder. Children can color them with dry-erase markers. Leave your coloring binder and the dry-erase markers in your drawing area so children can use them whenever they wish.

Musical coloring-Fathers and grandfathers
Play musical coloring with your group. Give each child a coloring page. Invite children to sit in a circle. When the music plays, they must pass the coloring pages around the circle. When the music stops, children color part of the drawing they are holding. As soon as the music starts up again, children resume passing the coloring pages around the circle.

Homemade puzzles-Fathers and grandfathers
Give each child a coloring page. Once they have all finished coloring their page, cut the pictures into pieces to create simple puzzles.

SONGS & RHYMES

(Open songs & rhymes-Fathers and grandfathers)

You are my father

Sung to: You are my sunshine By: Patricia Morrison

You are my father
You are my hero
You make me happy
Every single day
You can't imagine
How much I love you
Oh and of course, I admire you

You have so many
Things to teach me
When I grow up, I want to be like you
Smart and strong, Dad
I will become
Because you'll guide me
As I grow

SPECIAL DAY-FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS

Perpetual calendar-Special Day-Dads at daycare
(Open perpetual calendar-Special Day-Dads at daycare) Print and display.

Schedule
(Open schedule-Special Day-Dads at daycare) Print, complete the schedule and display it to inform parents of the activities you will be offering.

Invitations
(Open invitations-Special Day-Dads at daycare) Print an invitation for each child. Encourage children to color their invitation and give it to their father. Note that a color version is also available.

Greeting
As each child's father arrives, they can hand them a bouquet of paper flowers.

Area setup
(Open banner-Special Day-Dads at daycare) Print and laminate. Use the banner to decorate your daycare.

Surprise activity
Children pay special tribute to their father in front of the entire group.

Snacks/lunch
Children prepare treats for fathers.

Souvenir photo-Special Day-Dads at daycare
(Open picture frame-Special Day-Dads at daycare) Print for each child. Use the frames to display pictures of your special day within your daycare. They can also represent a great souvenir that children will be happy to bring home.

Lunch with fathers and grandfathers
(Open perpetual calendar-Fathers and grandfathers at daycare) Print and display. Organize a special lunch and invite fathers and grandfathers to join you. They will be happy to spend time with their child or grandchild. Photograph each child with his/her father and/or grandfather(s). Print the pictures and use them to make thank you cards.

Surprise visit
If there is a seniors' centre close to your daycare, visit it with your group.

Have fun

The Educatal team