I learned years ago that I should stop advertising that there are a certain number of ideas in my blog posts. For example, this post (currently) boasts 3 Father’s Day activities for kids. This is true as I’m writing this (May 2022). However, knowing myself, I’ll come up with more ideas, and I’ll want to share them with you, and I’ll add to this post. So, how about we just leave the “official” title as “Father’s Day Activities for Kids,” and then we’ll go from there! 😉

In this post, I won’t send you on a wild goose chase pointing to projects on other people’s blogs that are sometimes poorly explained, untested, or that may not even exist anymore.

Instead, I, personally, will explain each project to you and point you to where you will be able to find it. Most importantly, teachers and students have tried and tested all my lessons many, many times (including myself, of course!). I have included some free stuff, and I have included time-saving Father’s Day activities for kids that embody my efforts to bring quality art integration projects to you—as classroom teachers or parents.

Thank you, as always, for supporting my efforts. I hope your students or children at home have a wonderful time with these Father’s Day activities for kids.

#1: Sunshine 3D Project

Fathers bring so much sunshine to our lives. This year, your students (or children at home) can do something for their fathers that brings sunshine to them! This Father’s Day activity for kids is about sharing some “sunshine” with important people. It’s the perfect Father’s Day activity.

This is a free resource that I give away in my Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT) store. I created this resource in collaboration with Brain Waves Instruction (she’s amazing). I’ll explain how it works, and then you can download it from TPT to use with your students.

Let’s get started.

You will need the following materials…

Materials:

• • • Handouts (included)
    • Copy paper
    • Instructions (included)
    • Glue
    • Scissors
    • Pencils/erasers
    • Something to color with (crayons, colored pencils, and/or markers)
    • Yellow copy paper (optional)

How it works:

Children will create a fun 3D sunshine project filled with memories, lessons learned, and sweet sentiments about an important person in their lives. The finished sunshine page makes the perfect gift for someone special.

Once students have glued the pieces of their sun together, they’ll attach it to a page under the heading, “You brighten my days in so many ways!”

This project combines reflecting, writing, drawing, and creating.

• • • • First, children will select an important person in their life.
      • Then, they’ll write responses to questions as they highlight ways that this person has positively impacted their life.
      • Finally, they’ll turn their ideas into a 3D sunshine coloring page. Children will creatively write and draw their responses on circle shapes that they will glue together to make the center of a sun.

Students will love turning their words into a happy gift…and the recipient will treasure their 3D sunshine for a lifetime!

Ideas:

While this project was designed as a Father’s Day activity for kids, it was also designed to be versatile. You can bring this activity into the classroom on ANY DAY to celebrate ANYONE. Here are some ideas:

Use to create gifts for holidays like…

• • • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Teacher Appreciation Day

Use to build community in your classroom and school…

• • • Have students create sunshine pages for each other.
    • Let students create a sunshine page for classroom volunteers.
    • Honor bus drivers, cafeteria employees, and other essential staff with a sunshine page.

Download my 3D Sunshine Project HERE

#2: Pop Art Cards

Father’s Day Pop Art Cards are easy (no prep) for teachers, fun for kids, and make a unique and colorful card for dad this Father’s Day.  I have even included a version for grandfathers. My set of Pop Art cards includes over ten designs. It introduces students to famous artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud, Robert Indiana, Romero Britto, and Keith Haring.  There are several options for using these cards, and I have tried to include as many designs as possible to accommodate as many age groups as possible. Hopefully, the most challenging part of this lesson for the kids will be deciding what design to use!

Option #1: You can use the cards to print, copy, and then give them to the kids exactly as they are. This option would be best used with card stock if you have it, but copy paper works fine, too! The students will color the outside and write their notes to Dad on the inside.

Option #2: The second option would be to have the kids cut out the front colored design and glue it to a piece of construction paper. They could use the image as the finished design or as part of a new design. This option lends itself to a lot of creativity for your students.

Option #3: The third option (for older kids) would be to use the designs as a practice and then have your children draw a design themselves on thicker (construction) paper and color their drawings. I could see middle school kids making beautiful watercolor paintings for their cards. You could even take it a step further and see if kids can create their own Pop Art designs after being exposed to my designs.

Father’s Day Pop Art Cards HERE

#3: Agamographs For Dad!

My agamographs are a fun and unique way to integrate art into your classroom, and that will make an excellent gift for Father’s Day.

What’s an Agamograph? A picture that morphs into another when you look at it from a different angle. It’s hard to say but easy to do. Once completed, students can walk from one side of the image to the other and watch it change! There is a lot of “wow factor” in this activity—the students love the surprise. And best of all, they did it themselves!!

Art teachers have been making agamographs with their students, from scratch, for a long time. However, years ago, I set out to create a way that agamographs could be accessible to more teachers—in the classroom. I was the first to develop this way of making agamographs for teachers and shared it online years ago, first for Earth Day and now for many other times of the year.

Father’s Day Agamographs HERE

Thanks for reading!

Jenny K.