What About Student Birthdays?
Posted by Diane Badden on 23 Jun 2010 | Posted in: Drawings and Giveaways, Holiday and Seasonal
“How do I celebrate student birthdays? And what about students with summer birthdays? I want to be fair. I want to be fun. This is going to cost money, isn’t it?”
On Saturday afternoon, the enthusiasm and concerns of a first-time teacher had me grinning from ear to ear. We were celebrating her uncle’s birthday. It was the first time I’d met Keily and we instantly connected, as teachers usually do. Keily is one of the lucky few who have landed a first-year teaching position for the fall. As we munched on our burgers, Keily sweetly peppered me with new-teacher wonders. Her questions were thoughtful and her demeanor confident—until the moment her aunt emerged with a brilliantly lit birthday cake. “Birthdays!” she sputtered. “I forgot all about birthdays! How do I do that?” I just had to giggle.
How do you celebrate student birthdays in your classroom? What are your biggest birthday-related challenges and how to you solve them? What about those summer birthdays?
One more thing! Since a birthday often means a present of some sort, all readers who comment on this post (until midnight EDT on June 30) will be entered in a drawing for a “birthday present” from The Mailbox.
Smiles,
Diane
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151 Responses to “What About Student Birthdays?”
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More Comments Pages: [-1] 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 1 » Show All Comments
A school birthday celebration is NOT a legal indicator of the person’s birthday. I’m not an attorney, but I provide this statement to take the birthday of ANY member into account. I think a combined celebration for the summer birthdays cheapens those birthdays. Please provide INDIVIDUAL acknowledgement for a summer birthday, just as if it fell during the school year. Half-birthday for a person in that situation is a good idea, but remember that a birthday or half-birthday falling near Christmas may need other time adjustments so it it isn’t overshadowed. (Of course, you could also have a birthday which is on a weekend that year, or a Feb. 29 birthday when the current year is not a leap year.)
I am a grownup (and not an educator). Birthday; August 2. I was criticized when I was younger for not having enough activities with people my age, and it wasn’t helping matters when I had an out-of-season birthday.
My first graders and I celebrate the birthday child with a musical serenade! The birthday child sits in a chair and we stand in a circle around them. Then we sing and sign “On the Day You were Born” by Red Grammar.
I do every child in my K4 class the same. At our first group meeting they get a morning message written about them on the board, then they are giving a big Happy Birthday Sticker.. which my group LIVE for stickers!! The special birthday person automaticaly becomes the teacher’s helper and gets to be the line leader. I arrange ahead of time for the parent to bring in a special snack for snack time. If a parent is unable for whatever reason to bring in something then I will provide something so no one is ever left out of a in class birthday party. We sing “Happy Birthday” get a birthday crown and certificate. I have made it a rule (though not told to the kids or parents) that I will not attend parties outside of the classroom. TO make it fair.. I cant attend all them and do not want to show favortism or anything. We have a special day in class that is enough… the rest is for close family and friends.
To begin the day, the “birthday” student comes into the classroom and sees “Happy Birthday to ——-” on the board. We sing Happy Birthday and a pre-made kid-friendly birthday card is passed around for classmates to sign. During the summer I look for inexpensive gifts to give as birthday gifts (pencils, bracelets, etc.) Summer birthdays are celebrated during the last week of school. *A birthday chart remains posted throughout the year and new students are added to the poster as they arrive in our classroom. Students who had a birthday during the summer and were not previously at our school, are celebrated during the first week of school.
For the many years, I have students with summer birthdays celebrate on their 1/2 year birthday. Also at the beginning of the year each child makes a card and signs his name on the back of the card he/she made. When it is someone’s birthday, I pick one of the cards and everyone signs inside and then the student who made the card presents it to the birthday child.
Thank your for the great ideas for birthdays, I have found that children in my class like to make cards and pictures for their friends, so making a keepsake book is part of the party day celebration, along with a group project of making the cake/or cupcakes. We like to decorate the cake/cupcakes as part of celebration of eating the tasty treats. I use use muffin mixes, or from scratch to keep the sugar low. In our classroom, I try to schedule the child’s birthday around his/her turn, as “student of the week” so their birthday is special all week long giving us time to make the cards/pictures for the special keepsake book that parents love to look back upon.
For me, school starts in August. I split up the July birthdays during August and the June birthdays during May (which is our last month of school). What I do is give every student a birthday crown (made of a large cupcake diecut which has “Happy Birthday ____” and their birth month and date [not the year] written on it and then stapled to border trim - which is leftover that I haven’t used in years … or that can be bought at DollarTree.), I also give them a pencil that says Happy Birthday on it (also bought at the dollar store - in a box of 12), and a badge shaped sticker that says Happy Birthday (also bought at the dollar store).
It’s cost effective for me, the students LOVE it, and each child is recognized for their birthday. It’s also not that much effort on my part.
I put up the months of the year horizontally across the wall for my preschoolers - high enough to be out of reach, yet low enough to see each day. Each month I create themed birthday markers that I put under each month in order by date. We have fun seeing who has a birthday this month, next month, etc. We create a picture booklet for the birthday boy or girl - each child colors a picture card for this. And, I include a pencil and eraser for the birthday child, inexpensive, but they like it!
I celebrate each birthday in my class with a crown, a few special privileges,a small treat bag (pencil, eraser, birthday bookmark, stickers,party favors or anything small I can get plenty of, and a trip to the treasure box. If the family wishes, they may provide a special snack that day. (If not, I’ll bring popsicles or cookies)
For the summer birthdays, I have an “unbirthday” week when we celebrate all those, (including mine ;)who have a summer birthday.
My biggest challenge is when we occasionally have a student that doesn’t celebrate birthdays. I have to find a way for them to have a “special” day without it being a birthday!
In my first grade classroom we create a poster for the birthday student. The students sit on the floor with the birthday student sitting in a special chair in front of them, and start by singing “Happy Birthday”. Then, on the poster I write “Happy Birthday, ___” using his/her favorite color. We then think of ways the birthday student is unique and special. He/she calls on classmates and I write what they say on the poster using different colors. Once everyone has shared an idea, we all sign the poster for the student to take home. We spend just as much time on the poster as we would eating cookies or cupcakes. I think highlighting each student is a much better way to celebrate, and we practice using describing words! I love hearing students tell me where they’ve hung their posters at home. For summer birthdays, I celebrate the child’s 1/2 birthday since it’s during the school year.
We get to celebrate birthdays in my classroom. Parents send cupcakes or come in and help us celebrate. I have a birthday bag with goodies.
I have my children draw/write a birthday wish for the birthday child. The page says”Happy Birthday from your friend _____________.” My wish for you is _________.
The birthday child colors the cover of the book and it says: Today I am 6!
After each child draws and writes I bind all the pages together with the birthday child’s colored cover on the front. The birthday child takes home the special birthday wish book from their friends! It doesn’t cost anything and families treasure these special books!