The History of Father's Day: A Lesson, Review and Activity Ideas
A Father's Day History Lesson, Review and Activity Ideas for Second Graders
Father's Day was an idea suggested in 1910 by a woman named Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, WI. She had heard about the new holiday of Mother's Day in a church sermon in 1909, and decided that dads should have their own day, too. Her own dad, William Smart, was a Civil War veteran who raised his six children alone after his wife died giving birth to their youngest child.
Sonora proposed the holiday to her church, and wanted it to be on June 5, 1910 (her own father's birthday. The church leaders asked to celebrate on the 19th instead so they would have some time to get ready. On June 19, the first Father's Day was celebrated. Young members of the local YMCA helped spread the word by wearing roses to church, pinned to their jackets: red ones to honor living fathers, and white ones for those whose dads had died. Sonora Smart Dodd rode through the city and brought presents to fathers who were stuck at home because of old age or sickness.
No one took Father's Day seriously, though! People joked about it, or said that it was just a way to fill up the calendar with dumb, useless holidays. President Woodrow Wilson tried to make it official in 1916, but it didn't work. President Calvin Coolidge tried again in 1924. Congress said no. In 1957, Margaret Chase Smith, a senator from Maine, complained that everyone had been ignoring dads for 40 years and it wasn't fair. Father's Day still wasn't made into a national holiday.
It wasn't until 1966 that President Lyndon B. Johnson put out a national proclamation honoring fathers on the third Sunday in June. Then, in 1972, President Richard Nixon made Father's Day an official holiday. That was about 62 years after poor Sonora Smart Dodd had her great idea!
Review Questions
1. 1. _______________________________ is the day we honor our dads.
2. 2. Father's Day is celebrated on the ______________________ Sunday in June.
3. 3. Father's Day was suggested by _________________________ of Spokane, Washington in 1910.
4. 4. Young YMCA members helped spread the word by wearing ___________roses to honor living fathers, and __________ roses to honor fathers that were deceased.
5. 5. Father's Day wasn't made an official holiday until the year ____________, 62 years after Sonora Smart Dodd had her great idea.
Learning Activities
Show your dad you take his holiday seriously by choosing one of the following ways to celebrate Father's Day. Or, come up with your own idea!
- Make a card for your dad.
- Make your dad his favorite breakfast, and serve it to him in bed.
- Make this creative notepad: http://familyfun.go.com/fathers-day/fathers-day-crafts/fathers-day-gifts/a-pad-for-dad-675458/.
- Make a "chore card," with redeemable chore coupons: http://familyfun.go.com/fathers-day/fathers-day-crafts/fathers-day-gifts/a-pad-for-dad-675458/.
- Make this clever twig easel or picture frame: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/fathersday/.
Sources:
www.wikipedia.org
www.familyfun.com
www.enchantedlearning.com
Published by Kristen Brockmeyer
Kristen Brockmeyer lives with her husband, two kids, two cats, one dog and fifteen chickens on a small farm in Michigan. She writes about any topic that catches her interest, but her favorite subjects are ki... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentCaught this one later than expected, but you did a great job.
Interesting!
As a Christian, I am in favor of both days because the Bible says we should honor our parents. In these savage times when so many people are teaching that there is no absolute truth, there is no right and wrong and that people are just animals, this is a way to affirm positive Christian and civilized values. I deeply resent being told that parents have done nothing by raising a family of children who turned out to be decent human beings.
great writing! Fun to do nice things for others:)
thanks, and well done...
I'd give anything to have my dad here for Father's Day:)
good job
Excellent article! Unfortunately my dad lives 3,000 miles away, and serving him breakfast in bed would be a bit difficult. However, we are bringing his family to him through photos. We are gathering family members for pics, and we are going to send him a whole pile of pics for his special day. He requested it, and he shall receive what he asked for.