With Fathers’ Day coming up shortly, I was thinking of different ideas that I could incorporate into my daughter’s play that would relay “daddy” to her. With an older child, there are a lot of ideas and activities to prepare for such a day. Not to say that this idea couldn’t be used for older kids too, but it should be a quick association to dad even with little ones.
So the idea?
A sensory bin with all things that are dad’s and his interests. Plain and simple. It’s fun because it’s new and because they are things that your child has seen him use, wear, or enjoy… and now they get to handle it as well. I let my husband pick a few things out that he felt “represented” him. So even if you child has no idea what it is, it’s still a fun way to commemorate the day!
What I personally included:
- Painting pan as the actual bin
- A small level – she thought the bubble in it was exciting
- A regular size Tape Measure – We played with this for awhile. We showed her how it worked and watched her amusement and intrigued when it would quickly wind back up.
- One of her dad’s hats
- Some contracting supplies (A stencil for drawing plans, a ruler, etc.) because he works on our house and rental houses on the side.
- A remote that we don’t use – no batteries in it and minimal contact with it. It was just special because she does not get to handle any remotes. But, this was brief and a special occasion.
- A Clamp because he likes to do lots of work outside.
- His outdoor work glasses – these were her favorite. She sees him in them all the time while he is doing yard work, plus they are yellow.
- His Travel wallet – it has velcro, can hold stuff inside of it, and wallets definitely say “dad”.
You might include things like ties, tools, etc. or if they are a little older, some of the smaller accessories like cuff links or tools like small nuts and bolts could be fun too.
For another fun Fathers’ Day activity for your little ones to do, check out our art piece and short poem for dad here.
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 5 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
Dyan
What a great idea! I love it.
Alice Emma Thompson
What a lovely idea!
I would love for you to link up at the Mommy Archive – we’re focusing on father’s day this week, Alice x