Amazing Birthday Celebration for the School Year

Birthday ideas for school Teach MagicallyBirthdays are so special to students! So celebrate in a fun way!

How to Start Birthday Celebrations

First, kiddos decorate a birthday crown. I have everyone do this at the beginning of the year. Then I put them in order by birthday so they are ready to go on the special day.

birthday celebration crown teach magically

Math Birthday Celebration Idea

After that, I create a birthday graph that I display for easy reference throughout the year. If you teach primary, you know how many times you are asked when a student has a birthday (usually on someone else’s birthday) because the kiddos don’t remember; this graph helps! After printing and laminating the graph, I place the initials of the kiddos and date in the correct column with a wipe off marker.
Teach Magically Blog Birthday Graph

On the Special Day

On the special day, the child wears the crown and reads the It’s Your Birthday book. We read it chorally as a class and/or partner read….then a black and white copy is taken home by the birthday child to keep. Be sure to copy all of the books and placed them with the crowns. Click  to grab the book.

Teach Magically Blog Birthday Ideas Crowns and Emergent Reader

Of course, I also give out a Birthday Certificate. ⬅Click to claim free certificates that I fill out at the beginning of the year, and I place the certificates with the birthday books and crowns. After that, I let the kiddos pick a prize from the prize box instead of providing a gift. Without a doubt, you could also attach a birthday pencil or mini bubbles if you don’t have a prize box.

Teach Magically Free Birthday Certificates
Free Birthday Certificates

Dancing Birthday Celebration

During the day, love to have the kiddos do a birthday dance to build gross motor skills. I use the “Birthday Hoorray” by Koo Koo

Before dancing review:

  • How old are you?
  • What’s your favorite reptile?
  • What’s your favorite food?
  • What’s your pet onion’s name? (This really makes them laugh!)

Birthday Echo Poem

Then we do a fun echo poem! Echo poems build short term memory and listening skills with the  intension of helping ADHD issues! Check out Brain Research to Help Learning for more ideas!

This is such a special, fun time in the classroom.  It also provides a great opportunity to observe the students that can repeat, count, and focus!

If you are interested in these resources, you can find them here:

Teach Magically Blog Birthday Ideas Graph Emergent Reader      

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Birthday-Display-Celebration-Bundle-with-Bar-Graph-and-Birthday-Crowns-3960266

You can save over 20% on the bundle: Birthday Bundle Get all these resources for one low price.

(more…)

0 Comments

10 Sensational Seesaw Ideas for Kindergarten

10 Sensational Seesaw Ideas for Kindergarten teach magically

By Debora Marines MEQ| Kindergarten Teacher | Updated 2026

What can you do with Seesaw? Why should you use this free app in your classroom? There are so many cool ways to use Seesaw, but I think providing a record of learning, reflection, and parent communication is the best reason to use Seesaw. Check out these 10 sensational Seesaw ideas for kindergarten that I use to develop a great home-to-school connection.

I always plan to start right away using the resource provided by Seesaw to introduce the app to the students! On “Back to School Night” I take a picture of the kiddos and their parents so I have an image to learn the kiddos names before the 1st day!

In class, this FREE Seesaw Student Challenge is fun! I bet your students will love it!

 📌THIS IMAGE FOR LATER

Sensational Seesaw Ideas for Kindergarten Pin Teach Magically

Sensational Seesaw Ideas for Kindergarten

Researching and recording:  After learning all about dinosaurs, we pretended to discover a dinosaur, created it with colored paper, and then wrote about it!  The students thought the best part was recording with Seesaw to share. Click to buy Dinosaur Stem Activity and Narrative Writing Resource.

 

Letter/Sound Learning: The students loved using BINGO dabbers to record learning on our Alphabet Assessment, but then placing it on Seesaw to share with others provided the most amazing self-discovery!

Alphabet Letter sound assessment Teach magically

 

Rereading: I also used it to have the students record a rereading!  This probably made the most impact on my reading group time. Students could work in pairs while I did a running record on another student. I could then listen to the rereading for strategies and fluency after school. It saved so much time; I was amazed! You can check out all my Emergent Readers Here.

 

Ideas for Kindergarten Reading teach magically

 

Games: Recording of games for parents to see the learning that was happening made the students so proud!  I heard from so many parents that they were so happy to share with the kids at home! Instead of hearing, “Nothing,” when the student came home, parents shared Seesaw and had many conversations! Students finished a game and then recorded what they did! This helps with accountability and engagement! They always wanted to finish a game to record. Click for Feed the Animals Game.

Seesaw Ideas Syllable Segmenting Teach Magically (more…)

0 Comments