I love birthdays! It’s the perfect time to set aside time to celebrate a person who is close to you, to celebrate who they are and what they mean to you.
Celebrating a student’s birthday is no different.
You’re with these little people for an entire school year of their life! It’s also a fantastic way to build classroom community and practice writing skills!
Here are some ideas on how to celebrate student birthdays and incorporating academic standards.
“Birthday Spotlight“
This is a great way to make the birthday student feel special! Here’s what you do- let the birthday student sit in your teacher chair.
The other students ask the birthday student any appropriate question (What’s your favorite color? What dessert is your favorite? What’s your favorite outdoor activity?).
The birthday student can call on the number of students that match their new age. So if the student is turning 8 then they can call on 8 different students to ask them a get-to-know you question.
They love this! And they can work on listening skills for the next part…
Birthday Book
In my family, we have a birthday card tradition. We write a card that highlights a character trait we have seen in the past year. This is so encouraging!
You can do this with your students.
Talk about positive character traits that they can look for in their classmates.
I have students write a letter to the birthday student describing why they are special. (Bonus: you’re incorporating writing standards- woo!) Hopefully the other students were good listeners during the Birthday Spotlight and are able to write about what the birthday student likes.
Then I take all those pages and make a birthday book. Once everyone is done, I read the birthday book to the whole class. This is also a good time to eat the birthday treat!
Birthday Gift and Certificate
Of course no birthday is complete without a gift! I give my students a plastic silly straw with a paper balloon taped on it that says “happy birthday.”
You, of course, can choose any gift that is allowed by your school. I like the straw gift because I can store them for years (extra bonus!) and prep them ahead of time. Also, if your school has a strict food list or you have students with severe allergies then you might not want to risk an edible gift.
You can also give the birthday student a certificate that makes them feel extra special!
How do you celebrate birthdays in your class?
I would encourage you to try a birthday book! I get so many parent emails saying how special their child felt because of it!
