Eric Griffin, Springfield father of two kindergarteners and two fifth graders, knows what being a busy father looks like. He works hard as an accountant to provide for his family, but it’s rare for him to see his children until late into the evening after work.
“Most days I get up and I’m at work before they’re even awake,” he admitted.
But with a before-school program like Good Dads Strong Schools, Eric now has the opportunity to bond with his two older sons, Isaac and Owen, over a low-tech, fun activity that focuses on an important character-building trait like listening, honesty, teamwork or creativity.
Eric describes Strong Schools as “an opportunity to take all four of my kids to school, have breakfast with them, and be able to spend a little more time with them.”
As far as first impressions go, Eric described it as a little chaotic. The Griffins joined the hustle-bustle, sitting at a lunch table at the Weller North Elementary School, in close proximity to other dads and students.
Eric said that, at a Strong Schools event, there’s ample opportunity to not only spend time with your kids, but to meet and talk with other dads. He said kids are happy about having their dad at school, and dads are happy to be there.
“You get to see a lot of joy from kids that probably either don’t get to eat breakfast a lot of times with their dad in the morning, or definitely don’t get to do it at school,” he said.
The favorite Strong Schools activity among the Griffin family involves building a paper bridge for stacking books. Eric said he enjoyed seeing what ideas Owen and Isaac came up with when building the bridge. The exercise isn’t just about seeing whose bridge can hold the most books: it’s about kids having the chance to bond with their dads through exercises in teamwork.
Another Strong Schools activity is a learning opportunity for dads and their kids to get to know each other more. In this activity, dads and students collaborate to fill out a 20-questions style worksheet that includes topics like favorite color, favorite movie and favorite animal. The boys admitted that these were questions they never really thought to ask their father before.
Because of these moments shared together, the boys have said they know more about their dad and what he does and are able to work together more efficiently.
Both boys, and especially Owen, love the part at the end of Strong Schools events where Captains do raffles for prizes. Tickets are saved until the end of the school year for a chance to win a larger prize—so the more events you attend, the stronger your chances of winning.
As dads and students are finishing their breakfast and activities, the captain will call out numbers for the prize drawing. During the school year, the boys have won a toy fishing rod and a Good Dads hat. Other potential prizes participants can earn include gift cards to Andy’s Frozen Custard and foam footballs. No matter the prize, they provide bonding opportunities for dads and kids.
Owen and Isaac love the fact that their father enjoys having fun with them, like playing card games and sports.
“He likes to do anything we want to do,” Isaac said. “He works hard so that we can do fun things.”
Eric is proud of his kids: how hard they work to do well in school, their desire to learn and their love of reading. The biggest priority for Eric is spending time with his children, and Strong Schools is a perfect opportunity to do just that.
“It’s where I get the most joy,” he said, “watching them grow, seeing the things they can do. Being there for them and being available is the biggest thing.”
Help us create more success stories like the Griffins! Donate today to bring Strong Schools to an elementary school in your area. When you help fund bonding opportunities for fathers and their children, you’re not just making opportunities for young learners in your community to make memories with their fathers and father-figures. Beyond that, you’re creating a new kind of culture: where dad’s presence and participation in his students’ education is valued, celebrated and expected.
