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5 Father’s Day Activities

by Karen Minette Weinstein

Father’s Day is a special time for preschoolers and their dads. Young children naturally want to connect with the dad figures in their lives and get so much satisfaction and learning out of simply spending time with them. Sometimes, just being with Dad, is a celebration! Here is a curated collection of activities for Father’s Day or any day!

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5 Father’s Day Activities

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Read with Me

Reading together is a proven way to encourage a love of reading in your preschooler. Did you know that there are many read-aloud videos of great books online that can put a new spin on reading? Dad and your young readers can listen to the story by the narrator first, then mute the audio and read the story together!

Here are a few sweet, silly, and inspiring books all about dads that are sure to make story time interactive and engaging.

Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry

The Night Before Father’s Day by Natasha Wing and Amy Wummer

My Dad My Hero by Ethan Long

With Daddy On the Beach (ebook to download for free.)

Children's drawing of a rainbow, blue sky with clouds, a sun, green grass, and colorful flowers with a butterfly. Handwritten text saying 'We love art' with a heart. A smiling red figure and a black and white cartoon mouse with pink tail, all drawn with colored markers.

Sing and Dance with Dad

If singing and dancing are a hit with your family, there are many fun activities online that will get Dad and your little ones up moving and crooning together. When preschoolers are moving to beats and singing rhyming words, it benefits their physical development, coordination and encourages creativity.

Here are some sweet songs that your young ones and their daddy can learn and perform together!

We Love Our Daddies

Daddy Is His Name-O

I Love You, Daddy

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Daddy’s Mini-Me!

Preschoolers are great observers of the big people around them and they love a game of dress-up! What’s Dad’s favorite outfit? Have your child “raid” Dad’s closet for his favorite tee-shirt, hat, shirt, or pants (or any combination of!) and greet him at the door as a Daddy Mini-me! Preschoolers love learning practical life skills, like folding and sorting, so after the dress-up game, they’ll be excited to help put the clothes away!

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May I Take Your Order, Please?

Whether you’re serving up a special Father’s Day dinner or just having a simple meal together on this special day, why not have your little one role-play as the waitstaff? All you need is a small pad of paper and a pen (little kids love being allowed to write with real pens!) and have them take Dad’s order? They can even announce the food being served for the evening! Preschoolers in the pre-writing stages will relish the chance to practice holding the pen and making marks on the paper, strengthening their fine motor skills in the process.

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I Just Called to Say “I Love You”

Technology can be a great way to bring people closer together, and preschoolers are very curious about our use of all our devices, especially our phones! Instead of sending just a Happy Father’s Day text, use the recording button on your cell phone to have your child create a personalized message or song that will bring a smile to dad’s when he hears his little one’s voice. Don’t worry, you can record several times, before sending it to get it just right!