Tribute to Dad

What You Need:

• Thesaurus
• Plain white paper
• Banner paper (available at office supply stores)
• Pencils
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Markers
• One discarded CD jewel case
• Extra CD (used just for sizing)
• Old photos of Dad
• Clear contact paper

What You Do:

1. Gently open the jewel case and remove any liners from it. Then prepare your cover decoration: place the case on a piece of plain white paper, trace around it twice -- once for the back and once for the front. Then take your ruler and mark an inner square, 1/3" smaller than the outer perimeter.Now fill the inner square with a collage of photos containing dad. Don't hesitate to be zany and overlap them; but do glue them securely onto that paper.
2. Across one collage, have your child write "Dad's Greatest Hits" in his best writing, along with the date of Father's Day this year. Now cut both collages along the inner perimeter line you have marked.
3. Lay out the clear contact paper, and trace around the jewel case again. Cut it out carefully. Glue the collage onto the center of the CD case, and then peel off the contact paper backing and lay the clear plastic over the CD collage on both the front and back.
4. To make a creative "CD" inside, pull out a real CD and use it as a measuring guide. Unroll a long swatch of the banner paper onto the floor or table. Fold the paper like an accordion to the same width as the CD.  Then place the CD on top of the stack and trace it onto the paper. This CD stack may have three or four folds depending on how many times you folded. More than seven folds probably won't fit in the CD case.
5. Holding the folded paper together with one hand, cut the CD shape from it with the other. But be careful: on the left and the right side, where the folds are, leave a 1" section of paper uncut so the whole thing is still one piece of paper.
6. The very top section will be your cover. Have your child write "Happy Father's Day" on it, along with signature and date. Then, on subsequent pages, have your child brainstorm one special adjective per page. Is dad "handsome," "generous," "kind"? Then look up the words in your thesaurus. How many more can you find? Psst--if your child starts to get stumped, try writing his name, one letter per page, and then use each letter as the starting letter of a different adjective about him!)
7. Have your child write the words with bright markers in his best handwriting on the folds. Beneath each word, have your child remember a time when Dad showed that great quality. And if you have any extra photographs, stick them on too, just like in a real purchased CD.

When you're done, wrap it up nicely and get ready: this Dad's day is sure to bring a smile...and wonderful memories for years to come, too.