Daddy's Little Girl : Part 3

The Dads & Daughters Togetherness Guide: 54 Fun Activities to Help Build a Great Relationship
by Joe Kelly

(Page 3 of 3)

Tag-Team Telling

This is basically a written variation of the Talking Story Riff. Instead of creating the story out loud, take turns advancing the plot on paper.

Let your daughter start writing down the story and, depending on her age, have her pass it over to you after she's completed a paragraph or a page. Then you take it for a paragraph or a page. Be sure you are completing entries of about the same length as hers, so that you don't start dominating the story.

Tag-Team Telling is often more flexible than making up a story out loud. For example, live-away dads can Tag-Team a story with their daughters through e-mail, snail mail, or during the times they spend together in person.

Even when you live with your daughter or stepdaughter, you can have one or more Tag-Team Telling stories under way for days, weeks, months - or even years. Just be sure that the paper (or computer document) is where you and she can both access it readily - in case either one or both of you come up with an inspiration in the middle of the night or middle of the day.

Picture Books

Readers of just about every age like illustrations in their storybooks. Go ahead and draw pictures or take photographs to accompany the tale you and she are creating together. Her drawings can be wonderful and fun, and also give you insight into her images of the characters, environment, and story line.

You can even tag-team illustrations! For example, here's a wild way to draw a character:

• Fold a piece of paper in thirds.
• Have her draw the character's head on one third, while you look away (no peeking). When she's done, she folds that third of the paper over so you can't see the details.
• You then draw the character's torso and arms on the middle third of the paper (no peeking by your daughter), then fold it over so she can't see your contribution.
• Then, she takes back the paper and draws the legs and feet on its final third. When she's done, unfold the paper and see what wacky and creative images you have drawn together!

You can also share illustration duties in a slightly less chaotic manner. For example, you can alternate drawings to accompany your joint story, or else each of you can take photographs to use in illustration.

The possibilities are endless, as long as you stay in touch with your three I's: Invention, Inspiration, Imagination.

5. Your Own Private Camp

Four to Ten / Solo

My wife once said, "A good test of how good a friend you are with someone is whether you can still stand each other after going camping together." Yes, like most things that change the pace of our daily routine, camping can bring out the best in us, or something else.

However, one of the best things about camping is that you can do it almost anywhere - including your own backyard. Plus, it doesn't have to be complicated or cost a fortune.

The essentials for backyard camping are:

• Tent or screen-house to keep out the rain and bugs
• Sleeping bags, whether store-bought or create-your-own
• Flashlight (to find your way back to the house)
• Snacks

See how short that list is? You can use an old tent from the garage, or borrow one from a friend. You can use any sleeping bag (even the one from back when you were a Boy Scout), or else make your own by folding up a couple of blankets, wrapping them in a sheet, and then layering other blankets on top for a cozy place to sleep.

The most important elements of backyard camping are the rituals you develop together. Make sure the two of you work together to put up the tent, arrange the sleeping bags, pick out the snacks, and so on. It probably won't qualify as "roughing it" (after all, a fully plumbed bathroom is only steps away), but that's not the point. The idea is to break up your usual routine, do something out of the ordinary together, and see what develops.

If it's safe, build a small campfire and roast marshmallows while you sit around it and talk. You can even just fire up a charcoal grill to serve the same function.

To make the traditional camp snack "s'mores," roast a marshmallow until its center begins to liquefy. Then quickly insert it between two graham crackers along with a thin piece of chocolate candy bar. The chocolate starts to melt as you pop the whole sweet, messy delicacy in your mouth. Mmmmm!

Make sure to do other traditional camp things like singing songs, telling tall tales, and sharing "scary" stories. Sit or lie on the grass and look at the moon and stars. Stay up late and just chat with each other.

Odds are that the memories you both create in your own backyard will outlast any that come from going away to camp.

Tip: You can easily create a camplike experience indoors by pinning and draping blankets over pieces of furniture, then snuggling underneath for the night. Such homemade "forts" make great places to play no matter what time of day or season.

Copyright © 2007 by Joe Kelly.

About the Author

Former journalist Joe Kelly is the executive director of Dads and Daughters and father of twin adult daughters. His work has been extensively featured in the media, including NPR, CBS, ABC, People, USA Today, and the New York Times. He was awarded the 1995 Parenting Achievement Award from Parenting magazine and helped his wife, Nancy Gruver, launch New Moon, the award-winning international magazine edited by girls. He lives in Duluth, Minnesota.