Birthdays are everything to a kid, especially those in kindergarten and 1st grade. I wanted to find fun ways to celebrate birthdays in the classroom without involving food. Food allergies are something that I have become very mindful of over the years, so I try to stay away from food.

Crowns

The beauty of young kids is the simple ways to make their day. One of those ways is with a paper birthday crown. I pick up a pack from our local teacher store, but you can also find some here. I write a little note on it from me. I have it sitting on their desk so when they have it ready to go first thing in the morning.

Seat Cover

Another fun way to celebrate birthdays in the classroom is to have a fun seat cover for the birthday student. When the come into class, their chair will have the special cover for the day. I bought two, just in case I have two birthdays on the same day. It’s simple, but a fun gesture.

Birthday Books

Another fun thing we do to celebrate birthdays in the classroom is something called birthday books. Instead of treats, I have my students bring in a birthday book into the classroom. I share this idea with parents at back to school night, and they love it! This is a book that they bring from home to donate to our class library. It can be a book that they are no longer reading at home, or a new book.

Here is how it works. They bring the book in to the classroom (preferably wrapped like a birthday gift) the morning of their birthday. When the time comes to celebrate their birthday, we sing happy birthday. Next, the student opens the wrapped book. The class squeals with excitement! We read it. Last, we place a special donation sticker on the inside cover and then add it to our library.

You can grab a copy of these birthday labels here.