7 Fun Ways To Celebrate Birthdays In Your Classroom

If you have an elementary school classroom, then you likely have twenty-or-so birthdays coming up this school year — and each of them represents a great motive for having some fun with your students. Let’s look at some fun ways to celebrate birthdays in your classroom this year.

1. Crowning the birthday boy or birthday girl. Purchase a small crown that is designated as the birthday crown, and a banner that reads «birthday girl» or «birthday boy» for the child to wear for the entire day. You can also create a birthday king or queen chair cover and allow the child to have privileges associated with his title, like leading the classroom to lunch and recess.

2. Treats for the class. Provide a small treat for the entire class, along with a beverage like a juice box.

3. Journal assignment. On each child’s birthday, have all of his or her classmates write about the things (minimum of three) that they like about the child who is having a birthday. Combine the lists to create a web on the board, and leave the web their all day so that the child will know how valued they are.

4. Provide a free homework pass. This is a great gift for the birthday child. Create an official homework pass that they can use throughout the week on the subject of their choice.

5. Birthday keepsakes. Have each classmate make a birthday card, birthday book, or birthday poster that is chock-full of positive thoughts, pictures, and etc., about the birthday child. Simple supplies like stickers, glitter and colored markers are all that you will need for this fun classroom project to celebrate birthdays.

6. Donate a favorite book. Before school begins each year, purchase some inexpensive children’s books and keep them in a special box. When the birthday arrives, allow the birthday child to select one book to donate either to the classroom library or school library — complete with a bookplate announcing the donation. Have the child explain to the class why he or she chose the book, and allow them to be the first one to read it, of course.

7. Birthday singing telegram. Work with several students in secret to create a birthday singing telegram for the birthday child to be delivered at a specific time during the day, optimally when the child least expects it.

These are just a few suggestions for making each of your students birthdays a bit more memorable. You can come up with other creative birthday celebration ideas on your own that are age appropriate for your classroom.

Celebrating Summer Birthdays

Many kids don’t have their birthdays fall within the school calendar year, so a summer birthday party held just a few weeks after school goes back into session is a great icebreaker activity. Find out which children had birthdays over the summer and plan a massive birthday party just for those children, complete with treats and games.

Celebrating Dr. Seuss’ Birthday

A very fun activity that can also promote your student’s love of reading is to celebrate Dr. Seuss’ birthday, which falls on March 2nd. Schools across the country often plan activities to honor the birth of this beloved children’s author, and if your school has nothing planned — then you can start the tradition yourself. Some activities to consider:

— A ‘Green Eggs and Ham’ breakfast. A bit of green food coloring can turn this breakfast into a Seuss-style buffet that you can serve right in the classroom; be sure to read the famous book by the same title while the kids munch away.

— ‘One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish’ fishing tournament. Laminate fish that have the numbers one and two on them, and also some red fish and blue fish. Attach magnets to the back. Fashion fishing rods from pencils and string with a magnet attached at the end. Place the fish in a small plastic swimming pool and go fish!

— ‘Cat in the Hat’ hat decorating contest. Run off some copies of the Cat in the Hat’s hat — which is very easy to draw. Provide «google» eyes, glitter, macaroni, cotton balls, markers, crayons, and more for the kids to decorate their hats. Have another teacher judge the entries — and give the winner a copy of the ‘Cat in the Hat’.