If the Carson City work force seemed a little light Thursday, it was because the dads were at school .
Hundreds of fathers showed up at some point during the day in honor of Bring Your Dad to School Day and some stayed the entire day.
Tom Connell took the day off of work to spend it with his two children at Mark Twain Elementary School.
"I always come on dad's day," he said. "It's a good chance for me to get into the classroom and see what's going on. I think they're glad to see us here, too."
A group of dads sat around the reading circle in Paula Baum's kindergarten class at Mark Twain, reading aloud and helping the children when necessary.
"The dads get to know more of what's going on," said Heather Milburn, an instructional aide in the class. "The kids really like the one-on-one with their dads."
She said one dad realized for the first time his son could sound out words on his own.
Jim Groth went to school with his 10-year-old daughter Mackenzie at Fritsch Elementary. He was reminded of his own school days when he went to her band class.
"I wanted to be with my daughter," he said. "We made pumpkin candles and that was interesting. Listening to the band reminded me of when I was in school."
Mackenzie had fun, too.
"We went to recess and did an art project together," she said.
Baum said the day is beneficial to both dads and their children.
"It's great for the dads to see what their children's daily life is like," she said. "The kids realize that they're important enough for dad to take time out of his day."
It also gives fathers a glimpse of classroom life.
"The teachers here are fantastic," said Jeff Peebles, who came to spend time with his 5-year-old son Sean. "I'm really interested in his education and I like to spend time with him."
Bob Eichenberger took his son Daine, 10, to lunch before heading back to work.
"This is the first time he took me to lunch," Daine said.
Some of the schools held special breakfasts for the fathers before school and others treated the dads to a school lunch.
