Sunday is Father’s Day, so this week we spent two days working on cards for our fathers, or someone else special in our lives. Yesterday we made cards with Milky Way in our combined art class, and today shooting star made their own with just me.
Although though the holiday is meant to celebrate fathers, not everyone is part of a conventional family, and I wanted the kids in both classes to know that there is nothing wrong with that. Not every family has a mother and a father, and families are often separated for numerous reasons. I didn’t want anyone to feel left out or excluded from participating, so I helped everyone create a card that was right for their family.
As simple as this type of activity seems to you and I, I was really impressed with how well the kids did. Not even six months ago my old partner and I did an activity with the same group of children that required them to write “Hinamatsuri.” It was the first time we had really done a craft that required writing and the kids struggled so much and their letters were all over the page.
Today all the kids in Shooting Star were able to do the craft on their own without my assistance, and they helped me spell out the words as I wrote them on the board. I could tell by the finished cards that they all put a lot of love and effort into the cards for their dads/ families.
For me, the best part of the activity was sitting down with each child individually and talking to them about their dad. I asked them why they love their dad, what they like to do with their dad, and what makes their dad nice? It's always really special for me to be able to have a conversation with the kids, especially when they share about something in their lives that is important to them. They were so excited to talk to me about their dads that it made me realize how much I miss my own family, and how I wish this Father's Day i could be giving my dad his card with a big hug.
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