Ideas for an At-school Birthday Party or Activity for My Son (In Kindergarten)

Hi K.,
My son is in Kindergarten and I asked about bringing birthday cupcakes (store bought for safety)but his teacher would not allow it. She did however have a celebration for him in the class and he had a party hat and they sang Happy birthday to him. I reccomend you ask the teacher if they allow it first.
Good luck

One year for my daughter we did a craft porject. She and her class made those foam picture frames, you can get them at any craft store for about $1.00 a piece. Then have the kids decorate them with stickers, little ones love stickers! Then we took a picture of the birthday girl and each classmate and printed them out and placed the pic in the frame that the class mate made. It was alot of fun! We did not do any cupcakes, what teacher wants a bunch of kids on sugar?

If you aren't shy, you could do a similar theme to the "Mad Scientist" or clown and just do it yourself. There are a lot of easy and fun science games out there and of course if you know how to make balloon animals you are set to be a clown. We also had a mom whose husband was a firefighter. She arranged with the fire department to have the whole class come out and learn about fire safety, they even got to climb on the fire truck and some slide down the pole. Even if your husband isn't a firefighter, you can usually arrange a similar thing with your fire department. If you want to hand out some not too expensive momentos of the experience, log onto www.orientaltrading.com and they have plastic firemen helmets that you could hand out. Then have cake in the shape of a fire truck (or a fire if you have a harder time with the truck) or decorate the icing to show a firefighting scene. You'll have to prepare this enough in advance that you can book the date with the fire department and get permission for a field trip from the school (they might have to get permission slips from the parents, etc).
If that won't work, talk to your local library about other options that might work. I know, your library? But they usually have great contacts with people who might be able to offer some pretty fun activities (our does anyway). Good luck.

I would ask the teacher if the school even allows that. At my school it is ok for the kids to bring a healthy treat as a birthday snack and we sing Happy Birthday but really that is it. Many schools now a days do not allow "parties". If you can do something you should do something academic like the mad scientist idea. Also make sure all of the kindergartners are involved, their feeling get hurt very easily if left out. That sounds like a lot of fun:)

Hello Kelly,
I am a mom of two, a 2nd grader and 4th grader. Room Mom every year. My advice is to ask the teacher if you can bring in a craft project. Look for some ideas on Family Fun.com. Also, kindergarteners don't eat the large cupcakes. buy the mini ones or better yet, have them make dirt worm cups.

recipe: pre-made chocolate pudding cups, crushed oreos and gummy worms on top.
Don't forget spoons. It's a great boy birthday treat!! And girls tend to love the worms too!

Have fun and try not to over do it. Parents feel pressure to compete with grand events.

We are actually having a mad scientist party for my son this weekend. I googled "mad scientist party" on the internet and found so many easy things to do at home with everyday ingredients. Remember the volcanos with baking soda and vinegar? We are making flubber (borax, glue and water) and pud (cornstarch and water). Instant snow can be purchased at school supply stores. Photo paper is scientific and fun.Don't gorget about magnets. Homemade lava lamps (oil and water). Homemade bubbles (glycerin, dish soap and water).
For goodie bags, I bought glow sticks, pop rocks candy, science stickers (I'm looking for magnifying glasses and tweezers too) and then they will also take home their creations.
Food-the kids will make their own molecular sturctures out of pretzel sticks and Dots candy. A melon baller for fruit to be "atoms." i also found an idea to make jello in petri dishes and add little candies for the "bacteria."

Be sure to check with your sons teacher though about she herself feels about classroom parties. She may prefer to keep it very simple. Often, teachers get stuck being the party host at school parties when it not their responsibility. If you really want a big celebration with his classmates, it may be better to wait until next year when you have the time and money.

have fun!

Ask his teacher first. Perhaps, if doing a "party" in school....you want to make sure it does not interrupt the school schedule and learning periods. Mostly, parents give food or cupcakes or goody bags to the class. Unless, at your son's school the "tradition" is for parents to host a party in class?

Hope you find great ideas here,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

I brought carrot cake muffins decorated with just a little frosting (made smiley faces), mango juice from Trader Joe's and small red gala apples (the really small ones). The kids LOVED it ALL!! Keep it simple! Half the time, you have kids that can't have certain things due to allergies, so I always try to keep it simple and have something that everyone can enjoy. Also, I showed up during their afternoon snack time so rather than snack on what the school usually gives them, they got what I brought.

Another fun idea might be to read them a book then supply a snack that pertains to the book. For example, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie - you could provide those little Organic chocolate milks from Costco and chocolate chip cookies.

Also, my son's birthday was recently and we spend a lot of time at his sister's school so I brought treats for his birthday too. I brought watermelon. Who would have thought the kids would have been so excited! I brought enough for the teachers in all the classes but these kids ate it all and they still talk about it.

Enjoy!
M.

Dear K.,

Keep it simple. First, whatever you do in his classroom you aren't going to be able to take over the day, unless it is something that every kids gets to do for his birthday, don't go over the top. Kids are happy to decorate a cupcake or a cookie. They would be happy to play a game or have a contest or race. Kindergarten aged children are free spirits and will enjoy whatever you do, and it will seem like a big deal to them. You could have a health snack with a story for example, the kids could create the ants on a log treat, raisins, peanut butter, celery, and you could be telling them a story or reading one about an ant.... you get my point? Once in first grade I had the kids take two cookies and cut one in halves, put them together on a paper plate to look like a bunny, they got to cover them with frosting and decorate them how they wanted with the bowls of donated goodies the students had brought in, and I told them a story that I made up on the spot, about this amazing Easter bunny named Fred. They loved it and I even had a former student who now has his own first grader run into me and that was the only thing he really remembered from class that year. It isn't hard to get them engaged and entertained... but keep it simple, don't set the bar so high that no other kid has a good birthday at school because they compared it to your child's. If you get his teacher to give you an exact time frame, you may find that you have less time to do what you would like than you realized.... better safe than sorry.

At 5 they are satisfied with very simple fun stuff, and especially if its at school, keep it simple.
The hats and songs and a healthy treat is probably enough.
While I understand your joy for your son's birthday and how you would like s fancy celebration the Mad Scientist is better for older kids who have more experience of whats what in life. At 5, there is nature and science and technology all around to enjoy.
Also simple things can pass as 'magic'

Hi K.,
Great idea "Mad Scientist theme"!!!
Instead of paying one, why don't you and your son be the mad scientists?
There are lots of fairly easy science "experiments" for 5-6 year olds. They usually like sticky gooey color changing bubbly stuff! Anything that pops or oozes out of something or is squishy is perfect for this crowd!
You could end your little "demo" by making edible playdough.
There are a few recipes around for jello playdough, peanut butter playdough (be careful of peanut allergies here) and if you go on a search on-line for edible playdough recipes, you will probably get some cool ideas.
If not, e-mail me and I can get you some.
I was a preschool teacher of pre-K kids and trust me..I have connections for this kind of fun party!
____@____.com
You and your son could wear silly glasses and some little white lab coats.....
You could pull it off, I bet!
Be sure to mix stuff in see through bowls because most likely they will be sitting and you will want the dramatic effects to be visible!

Good luck~
C.