Father's Day Fashion - Kinder Style!

Are these the cutest Father's Day cards, or what??! Kindergarten projects often include a bit of prep and this one is no exception, but it's pretty quick and totally worth it!! These ties are done in watercolor and the effects are fabulous.... any one of these designs would make a great tie for real! Only the "knot" of the tie is glued down, so when you lift the tie, it says, "Happy Father's Day! Love, (child's name)".

Start with a piece of 9x12 construction paper in the color of your choice.... we used gray since it makes a nice background for most any color tie. Cut a slit across the top, 1-1/4" down and 2-1/4" in on both sides. Then fold these two flaps in toward the center and down at a slight angle so the corners meet to form the "collar". The "shirt" is done!

Now give each student a piece of white construction paper with the tie outline traced or photocopied onto it. (To make your tie symmetrical, you can make a template by folding a piece of 9x12 paper in half. Then use a ruler to draw your diagonal lines, and cut the tie shape on the fold.)

This is a great opportunity to demo some watercolor techniques for your kinders.... painting lines for stripes, making dots, swirls, and flowers and some wet on wet painting for soft, fuzzy edges. Then let them create!

When the ties are dry, let them practice using their scissors to cut them out (resist the urge to do this for them!) and glue the knot only under the collar, leaving the rest of the tie unglued. Now fold the tie up at the base of the knot and have students write "Happy Father's Day! Love, (their name)". Finally, use some white glue and a Q-tip or cheap paint brush to glue some buttons on the collar and under the tie.

I was so excited about how wonderful these ties looked that I didn't even notice as half of the students wrote, "Happy Father's Dad!" (See picture below!) Part of the charm of kids' artwork is in the authenticity of it, so resist the urge to "fix things" and just let it be fully their work!!