Thanks for being a "seasoned" Dad! Father's Day projects

Where I teach in Virginia, we are usually in school through the 2nd week of June.  That means that we finish right before Father's Day.  I do try to have my students create some sort of Father's Day project for the important men in their lives.  This year, I was wracking my brain for new ideas.  I feel like I haven't done anything crazy creative in the past.  I started thinking about the Dads in my life--my husband, my dad, my step dad, my father in law--and they all have one thing in common.  They like to grill. :) 

For Christmas, my mom had made us some hamburger seasoning, so I thought that might be a possibility.  I did a little research on some recipes and came up with something that I thought would work for me financially.  I made sure that I included spices that we like to eat at home for two reasons.  1. We would already have most of the ingredients.  2. If we didn't, we would use any of the extra leftover spices eventually.

So, here's what I did....I tested the recipe at home (yum!).  Then, I had to make a run to the dollar store for some seasonings and small containers to put it all in.  I found this PERFECT containers in the baby section.  They are supposed to be snack containers, but they were 5/$1, so that fit into my budget just fine!  I picked up a few extra spices and was able to get out of the store in under $10 for this whole project.

Once I got to school, I set everything up on a small table that I had.  I poured each spice into a small plastic container (from home) and then put a card next to each so that my students could read the measurements on the card AND know how much to put into their cups.  This was a great review of measurement and abbreviations, not to mention following directions!  After the assembly line was set up, the kids worked their way through each spice and created their own hamburger seasoning.  When they were done, I helped attach a ribbon and gift tag, then they took it home.  I'm not sure that they all made it home, but at least we tried!

Here are some pictures:

 Assembly line

 Up close of a spice labels with the measurement needed

 Measuring carefully!

 Aren't those blue cups the perfect size?

 Finished projects!

I had the kids write directions for use on the back, "Sprinkle on hamburgers before grilling." I was really happy with how the projects turned out!  I think the kids enjoyed it, too.   My team teachers also thought that my room smelled really good afterwards.  :)

One thing to remember...families each have special situations.  If you are planning to do some sort of project for Father's Day (or Mother's Day!), ask your students ahead of time if they have more than one special man(or woman) in their lives so that you can plan accordingly.

I threw together a quick little packet to put on TPT, just in case anyone else may want to try something different for Father's Day.  Included in the packet:
-Shopping List for 25 projects
-Directions for set up
-Recipe page for how to make the seasoning
-Handwriting page, if you would like the kids to copy the recipe
-Gift tags: options for Dad, Step Dad, Grandpa, Uncle, and a blank line
-Directions tags: "Sprinkle on hamburgers before grilling."
-Labels for the seasonings (as seen in the pictures in the assembly line)

I know that it is a little too late for this year, but keep this idea in your back pocket for next year! :)  Since I want to help you plan ahead (hey, it never hurts!), I have discounted my packet to $1 through Friday.  Let me know what you think and if there's anything else you'd like to see added. 

 Click {here} to go to the pack in my store!

Enjoy!