Student birthdays in first grade are a pretty big deal! I love how excited my students get to come to school on their birthdays and I try to make it as special as possible! I wanted to share some of my favorite, simple ways to celebrate student birthdays in the classroom. (Without a ton of extra prep!)

Plus I have some birthday freebies for you!

 Here are some ideas:

Birthday in a Bag

When I first started teaching, my school had a policy against whole class birthday treats. We still wanted to make student birthdays special for our first graders, so we started using Birthday Bags!

At the beginning of each month, I give out bags and parent letters to every child who has a birthday that month. Parents will put items in the bag for their child to open and send it back to school on their child’s birthday. I always suggest things like a book, art supplies, small toys or trinkets (the Target Dollar Spot is perfect for this!), and a yummy treat for their child only.

During snack time, we sing Happy Birthday and the child gets to open his or her bag! They love it! Plus, no more sugary cupcakes to pass out to everyone or trying to cut a cookie cake into 30 equal pieces!

Important note on this- this won’t work for every school! I was lucky to work in a school with amazing parent involvement and I didn’t have any problems with bags not being sent in. However, I always kept a few bags on hand that I had filled just in case a parent forgot to return the bag! 

Birthday Book

Another way I celebrate student birthdays is with a Birthday Book! I always have students complete a birthday book for morning work on days when we have a classmate celebrating a birthday. The birthday boy or girl gets the cover to color, while the rest of the students write and illustrate their wish for the classmate on his or her special day! I then staple the pages into a book and send it home with the birthday boy or girl! This is a great keepsake for students!

Tip: I always make enough copies for this at the beginning of the year and keep them in a file folder. That way even if I forget about a birthday until the morning of, I have everything ready to go! 

You can grab this birthday book template along with a Birthday Display slide and certificate here for free!

Birthday Pencil 

I don’t think you can go wrong with giving students birthday pencils! I found a set of fun pencils with erasers at Michaels at the beginning of the year and my students loved picking one out on their birthday! 

 Usually, I let my students pick it out in the morning of their birthday, sharpen it using my special teacher sharpener (probably their favorite part!) and then use it throughout the day! 

Taping these fun balloons to the top of the pencil also adds excitement! 

Photo Display

Need an easy way to remember your students’ birthdays? A photo display is perfect. At the very beginning of school, I group my kids by their birthday months and take a picture of each group. They each hold a dry erase board with their birthday number written on it! I display the pictures on a door in my classroom! 

When I’m getting birthday bags together for the following month, all I have to do is check the door!

VIP Supplies

Along with using their special birthday pencils, I also have a special supply caddy in my classroom with colored pencils, Mr. Sketch Markers, a 64 pack of crayons, etc for students to use on their birthdays! They LOVE using these VIP supplies on their work all day long! 

Go Noodle Birthday Song 

Each day at the end of our Morning Meeting, we always start the day with a Go Noodle Brain Break. When we have a student birthday, we always do the Go Noodle Birthday Song! (Find the video here!) It’s a short one, so after we finish I let the birthday boy or girl choose a second Go Noodle video for us to do!

Summer Birthdays

I want to make sure all of my students have a day to be celebrated! (Even if their birthday is during the summer!) For my summer birthday friends, I always designate a day for them towards the end of the year! 

For everything you need to celebrate student birthdays in the primary classroom, check out my Birthday Kit! It includes birthday display, birthday crown, birthday pencil toppers, and MORE!