Father’s Day – Poems, Songs, Gifts to Make and Books to Read

Here are some poems, songs, and home-made gifts to present to Dad this Father’s Day!

FATHER’S DAY POEMS:
(Great on hand made cards!)

Daddy Handprint Poem

Here are my handprints
So tiny and small
The ones that clasped your hands Daddy
The ones on the wall.

Press them in your memories Daddy,
Press them in your heart
Never let go of me Daddy,
Never let us part.

Right now they’re good for touching
And crawling on the floors
Hold them tightly in your hands Daddy
They fit so perfectly in yours.

Soon I’ll be big like you,
Our hands will be the same
But you will always be my Daddy,
And I will always proudly carry your name.

Fingerprint Poem

Sometimes you get discouraged
Because I am so small
And always get my fingerprints
On furniture and walls.

But every day I’m growing up
And soon I’ll be so tall
That all those little handprints
Will be very hard to recall.

So here are two final handprints
Just in your mind will stay
Exactly how my fingers looked
This year, on Father’s Day.

I Remember When

When you get bigger, it’s hard to recall
Everything you did when you were small
But if days get forgotten, in time to come
May this photo give you a feeling of fun
Echoes of poems or games or songs,
Memories of rights and notions of wrongs,
The joy of dressing up to pretend-
I hope this will help with
“I remember when……”

Walk a little slower, Daddy

“Walk a little slower, Daddy,”
Said a little child so small.
“I’m following in your footsteps,
And I don’t want to fall.

Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they’re hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For, you are leading me.

Someday when I’m all grown up,
You’re what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who’ll want to follow me.

And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you.”

A Day with Dad

My dad works in an office downtown,
And when he’s home, he works all around.
He cleans up dishes and that job’s hard;
Then he rakes up leaves and mows the front yard.
But Dad always finds some time for me,
And that’s what makes a family.

FATHER’S DAY SONGS
(Sing to Dad as you present his gift!)

My Daddy Helps Me (Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)

My Daddy helps me when I’m sick.
My Daddy helps me when I’m blue.
My Daddy helps me when I’m sad.
Thanks, Dad, for all that you do!
You help, you help,
You help me feel so much better.
You help, you help,
You help me feel so much better.

My Special Friend (Tune: Bingo)

I have a very special friend
And Daddy is his name-o.
D-A-D-D-Y, D-A-D-D-Y, D-A-D-D-Y,
And Daddy is his name-o.

I Love Father (Tune: Frere Jacques)

I love Father; I love Father.
Yes I do, yes, I do.
All I want to say is
Happy Father’s Day!
I love you; I love you!

Fathers Day (Tune: This Old Man)

This is Dad;
He works hard.
Making money every day,
He’s a neat, peat, rickety reat,
Helpful, caring, man.
He plays with me when he can.

Oh My Daddy (Tune: Oh, My Darling Clementine)

Oh, my daddy; oh, my daddy,
Oh, my very special dad,
I want to thank you very much
For being my special dad

Happy Fathers Day To You
Happy Fathers Day to you
Day to you, day to you
Happy Fathers Day to you
I Love You!!

Hugs and Kisses just for you
Just for you, just for you
Hugs and Kisses just for you
I Love You!!

My Special Friend (Tune: Yankee Doodle)

Daddy is my special friend,
The two of us are buddies.
I always like the things we do,
I’m thankful for my daddy.

Thank You, Dad (Tune: Jingle Bells)

Thank you, Dad
Thank you, Dad
Thanks for loving me.
Hugs and kisses, hugs and kisses,
Comes to you from me.

Thank you, Dad
Thank you, Dad
You are such a friend.
On this day I’d like to say,
On you I can depend.

FATHER’s DAY GIFT IDEAS

Bricks
Take a brick and paint it any color with Tempera paint. Paint the bottom of the child’s foot with a different color and print it onto the brick. Paint or write with marker the child’s name and year on the end of the brick. Seal the whole thing with clear spray paint sealer. These can be used as paperweights, doorstops, yard decorations or just as a knickknack!

Dad Photo
Dress your child up in Dad’s clothes – sport coat, shirt, tie, hat, etc. Pose them somewhere like by the front door or desk, etc. or seat them at the kitchen table with some breakfast and a coffee cup and the newspaper, as if they were reading it. Take a picture and frame it! You can write a little note that says, “When I grow up, I want to be just like you!” Or glue the photo to a wooden block and write
“Chip off the old block!”

Fishing Photo
Similar to the Dad Photo, dress the kids up in Dad’s fishing gear – vest, tackle box, hat, rod and reel. At the end of the fishing line make a paper fish that says, “Dad, you’re a great catch!” You can make a card that says “Fishing You A Happy Father’s Day!”

Buggy Candle
Have the child decorate a small flowerpot with red finger prints. Decorate the fingerprints to look like ladybugs. Get a citronella candle and put it in the flowerpot, and write on the pot with black sharpie: I’ll try not to bug you…today!

Trash Bag
Let kids decorate a gall sized Ziplock bag for Dad to use as a trash bag in the car. Cut a hole at the top so he can hang it on the stereo knob or somewhere else in the car.

Peanuts
Fill a brown paper lunch bag with whole peanuts (in the shell). Fold over the top and make a little peanut shaped card out of brown paper. On the card glue a peanut shell and write, “We’re Nuts About You!” on the inside. Tie with ribbon or raffia inserted in hole-punched holes at the top of the bag.

Tool Frame
Make a popsicle stick frame and have the kids glue various things like nuts and bolts, nails and screws, all around the frame. Use Tacky glue or you can help with hot glue.

Stress Ball
Use a funnel to fill a small balloon with flour and tie shut. Attach this poem:
This little balloon of flour
Has amazing Daddy power.
When you’re not feeling your best,
Squeeze it to relieve your stress!

Art Magnet
Take your child’s artwork and either scan or color copy it, but first reducing its size to about 2 or 3 inches. Print on heavy cardstock. Laminate or cover with clear contact paper or brush with modge podge and attach a magnet to the back.

Dad Hand
Have kids fill a surgical glove with sand and tie a knot. With colored permanent markers, write different things on the hand like To the best Dad, Hands Down! and Happy Father’s Day! I love you! etc. If you fill it very full, they can put these on their desks in different poses, to hold coins, cards, or use as a stress reliever.

Dad Shirt
Take a plain men’s t-shirt and with fabric paint, have kids print their handprints on the back of the shirt. Then write “This Dad
Deserves a Pat on the Back!”

Stepping Stone
This is a twist on the poured cement stepping-stone. Take a pre-formed stepping stone and decorate it with broken tiles of various colors or the decorative shaped mosaic tiles or letters, gluing them to the stone with glass glue like K6000. The just fill in the gaps with regular grout! You can write the child’s name and year with a permanent marker on one of the tiles as well.

CHILDREN’S BOOKS ABOUT DADS:

A Cloak for the Dreamer by Aileen Friedman

A Perfect Father’s Day by Eve Bunting

Animal Dads by Steve Jenkins

Butterfly Kisses: A Narrative Poem Celebrating the Love between
Fathers and Daughters by Bob Carlisle, Brooke Carlisle

Dad’s Dinosaur Day by Diane Dawson Hearn

Daddies Are for Catching Fireflies by Harriet Ziefert

Daddy and Me by Karen Katz

Daddy Day, Daughter Day by Larry King

Daddy’s Lullaby by Tony Bradman

Emily and Her Daddy by Claire Masurel

Father Bear’s Special Day by Else Holmelund Minarik

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney

Hop on Pop-up!: How to Raise a Happy Father with a Little Help from
the Good Doctor by Dr Seuss

I Love My Daddy by Sebastien Braun

I Love My Daddy Because… by Laurel Porter-Gaylord

I Shop With My Daddy (Hello Reader. Level 1) by Grace MacCarone

In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers
by Javaka Steptoe

Just Like Daddy by Frank Asch

Just Me and My Dad by Mercer Mayer

Just the Two of Us by Will Smith

Me and My Dad by Stuart E. Hample

My Dad Can Do Anything by Stephen Krensky

My Dad is Awesome by Nick Butterworth

My Grandpa is Amazing by Nick Butterworth

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary

Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary

Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine by Evaline Ness

The Berenstain Bears and the Papa’s Day Surprise by Stan and Jan Berenstain

The Sick Day by Patricia MacLachlan

The Daddy Book by Todd Parr

The Day I Saw My Father Cry by Bill Cosby

The Ten Best Things About My Dad by Christine Loomis,

What Dads Can’t Do by Douglas Wood

What Makes My Daddy Best by Burton Albert

What Daddies Do Best by Laura Joffe Numeroff