Father’s Day

            Happy Father’s Day to all of our dads!  This year, we wanted to take a moment to talk about where Father’s Day comes from and show what our students think about their dads.

            Father’s Day dates back to 1910, and the idea can be credited to an Arkansas woman named Sonora Smart Dodd.  Dodd was raised alongside five siblings by her widowed father, and credited him with keeping her family together through difficult times.  She listened to a sermon on Mother’s Day, a new mother herself, and thought that there should be a holiday like it for fathers as well.  She discussed it with her pastor, and the third Sunday in June was henceforth celebrated as Father’s Day, with the first celebration taking place on June 19, 1910 (Schmidt, 1995).

            While the holiday was initially dedicated largely to sermons targeted at fathers, today it has morphed into a somewhat different celebration.  Father’s Day is a day of tie gifts, giving Dad a day off, and maybe even creating a hand-made gift.  In honor of this holiday, we wanted to share a brief compilation of what some of our students think about their dads, ranging from hand-drawn pictures from little ones to heartfelt sentiments from older students.

              Whatever you do for Father’s Day this year, make sure you take a moment to give your dad a hug and thank him for helping to make you into the person you are today.  We certainly don’t always make it easy!  What are your plans this year?

Victoria James, Writer and Teacher at MathWizard, Inc.