Most people have heard of “Bring your child to work day,” but probably few are familiar with “Bring your dad to preschool day.” The families that are part of CCNS (Crescenta-Canada Cooperative Nursery School) look forward to this event every year. As part of a cooperative preschool, usually one parent participates in school activities on a regular basis while the other parent is working to support the household. So in January, CCNS welcomed the working parent to participate in a normal school day . . . on a Saturday!

“I love hosting a school day on a Saturday! Sometimes it is the only time dads can see their child on what would be a normal school day,” said school teacher and director Nita Imm.

Arriving at school were dads with their Busy Bear (4-year-old) or Darling Duck (3-year- old), both beaming with pride and anticipation of the fun ahead. For many dads with busy schedules, it was nice to disconnect from everything and spend a full morning putting themselves in the shoes of their preschooler.

Dads could be found playing blocks on the floor, singing songs, doing crafts led by their child, eating snacks with everyone smiling from ear to ear. The dads in the Busy Bear  class had their feet painted by their child and made a keepsake that said “I’ll Follow You Anywhere.” In the Darling Duckling class, preschoolers were helping their dads get their hands messy with ink to make handprints. Their project had the hands of both the dad and child overlapped and read, “Anyone could be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”

To further ensure that the memory of the day would last, everyone received a printed photo to take home.