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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152 Responses to “What About Student Birthdays?”
More Comments Pages: « 13 … 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [11] Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: « 13 … 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 [11] Show All Comments
the birthday student receives a birthday crown or a set of paper glasses..they choose. i have also done the certificate as these are really cheap at the beginning of school. i try to make it so the student’s snack day is assigned on his/her birthday, so if the parent wants to bring in cupcakes, etc they can. summer birthdays are usually forgotten…oops! maybe i can remember them this year!!
I’m a pre-k teacher. Birthdays are a big deal. We give the birthday child a signed certificate to commemorate the day as well as a big sticker to wear that lets everyone know that the student is now “the big #5.”
A majority of the parents want to bring food — pizza, cupcakes, etc. I leave it up to the parents if they want to celebrate their child’s summer birthday before school ends for the year. Of course, most of them do.
At the beginning of the school year I have students complete a questionnaire. On it I ask students when their birthday is as well as their favourite donut/muffin. On the day of their birthday I buy them their favourite donut or muffin, place a candle on it, everyone sings “Happy Birthday,” and students blow out their candle. With regards to summer birthdays, I celebrate students’ half-birthdays and everyone sings “Happy Half-Birthday.” This way everyone has a special day!
I use birthday certificates from the store. As I recieve new children, I fill one out for them. At the beginning of the year, I fill these certificates out so that they are ready to use. I tape a pencil to them and put one on the students desk before school on his/her birthday. A couple of years ago, I made a chair cover from cotton duck fabric. I used fabric markers and drew balloons on it. I wrote Happy Birthday on it. I did this on both sides of the chair cover. I put this cover on the child’s chair and they get to use it all day. During circle time, we sing “Happy Birthday”. For summer birthdays, I use the chair cover on a different child’s chair every day on the last week of school until all summer birthdays are covered. Same goes for the certificates and pencils.
We celebrate every birthday, even the summer ones. The children bring in a special snack. The month of May is usually cup cakes ALL month!!
I have done many different things, a birthday crown and certificate, a treat bag with trinkets in it, a birthday box filled with birthday themed books and fun sheets that they take home and bring back, a birthday book in which each child writes a page about the birthday child and I put it all together into a book. However, this year I am doing a birthday lunch. I will bring in a special table cloth and celebrate all birthdays of the month. They will simply bring their normal lunch into the classroom on a designated day and each lunch with me. Crazy as it sounds, they LOVE eating in the classroom with the teacher! My school is big into healthiness so I will not add a cupcake but probably would have otherwise! I take a picture of each birthday child and put it up on my birthday board for the year. We celebrate summer half birthdays at our school.
Birthdays are a difficult thing to deal with. I try to recognize the day and keep it low key at school. There are several families in our school that do not celebrate birthdays as a special day. If the child’s birthday is during the school year, I always plan for the child to be the V.I.P. that day and bring the snack (we have a snack everyday since the Kindergarteners are at school a full day). This allows the parents to do what they would like to celebrate. I always have a large birthday sticker for the students.
We celebrate birthdays as close to the actual date as possible. The dates are assigned to work around special school events. Summer birthdays are celebrated on the child’s half-birthday. Half-birthdays are MUCH more exciting than picking a random day close to the end of the year to celebrate! Each family is encouraged to send in healthy treats and treats are optional. The children may also bring in pictures to share and a special toy/item to show-and-tell. The entire celebration lasts about 15-20 minutes. Upon arrival in the morning, the birthday child is given time to decorate their own birthday crown with stickers, markers, crayons, etc. This is their favorite part of their birthday day!