Kids love celebrating their birthdays in class! Here are some of the things we do in my first grade class:
** 1/2 birthdays! I know lots of teachers that celebrate summer birthdays at the end of the year with one big party. I really like each student to have their own day. Last year I had twins and I let them decide if they wanted to celebrate on the same day or different days and they actually chose different days! It was fun! One of them brought in cupcakes and the other brought in cookies. As soon as I have birthdays, I google “find half birthday” and find a site that will let me enter a date and find the half birthday. EventCalc.com is a good one. I try to celebrate most birthdays on Friday. Last year, I just assigned the students to a Friday and informed the parents of the date at Orientation. I still had to remind most of them, but it worked out really well.
I created these forms to track birthdays. The first 2 forms are ones that I filled in and kept in my teacher binder for a quick reference. The 3rd page is the one I included in the Orientation package for the parents.
Here’s the link for these forms: Birthday Organizer:
** I let the students decorate their desk for the day! I have a birthday box with streamers and cut-outs. I also have a birthday bear they keep on their desk.
** Of course, they get a sticker to wear so others know we’re celebrating their birthday!
** They get to choose 4 items from the treasure box . I put these in a bag along with a birthday certificate.
** A party isn’t complete without the food! They bring in a treat (usually cupcakes) and we sing to them. I put a candle in the cupcake. So far, I’ve been able to get candles to stay in cookies or whatever treat they’ve brought. Our room gets completely dark when the lights are out (no windows), so I always make sure I have a little lamp on. Then we cut the lights and sing as only first graders can! It’s a fun time!
******How do you celebrate in your classroom?******
Heather's Heart says
This is a great post. Thanks for sharing. =)HeatherHeather's Heart