Class Birthdays

Good Morning!  If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you know that one of my "summer projects" each year is to assemble my soon to be first graders' birthday bags.  If you're new to the blog, birthday bags are little trinket bags that I assemble for my students each summer.  I keep them in a basket (unlabeled) and pass one out to each child on their birthday.  It has saved me so much time and energy throughout the school year!  No more scrambling around to pull a pencil or certificate out.  I tell the kids they can't open their bags until they get home, and they love the element of surprise!  It's a win-win situation, because I don't want to see those trinkets in my classroom!

I keep a display of the birthdays near the bags so my students (they let me know when someone has a birthday coming up!!) and I can keep track of upcoming days.   Below are some pictures from years past.   *You can get the birthday board printables FREE by clicking HERE.  There are several options to choose from.  The one shown is from my circus theme classroom a few years back.  This year, I decided to make a new birthday board.  I got the idea from Jennifer over at Kinder and First Grade Blue Skies.  *She is so crafty!*  I purchased an old picture from Goodwill and popped the back and glass out.  I had my hubby spray paint the frame black.  I purchased some Jute, the wooden cupcake, and small clips from Michael's.  I found Scrabble tiles on Amazon.  I'll add some fun ribbon to hang the frame with when I get into my classroom.  For the birthdays, I'll write on the papers (I laminated them) with either a Sharpie or EXPO.  Sidebar: Did you know that you can erase Sharpie on laminated paper by coloring over it with an EXPO and wiping it with a tissue?  I learned this trick my first year of teaching from a veteran co-worker!  *This pack is editable, so you could type in the names and dates.  My school is very transient, so I will just write on the cards.  If you like the birthday board, you can grab the printables from Jennifer's TpT shop HERE.  

The types of items I include in the bags vary from year to year...sometimes I put bubbles, stickers, a little toy, a bouncy ball, etc...This year, I partnered with Oriental Trading Co. to assemble my bags! This year's bags are by far the BEST the kids have ever received!  Below is what I included.

1.  Fidget Spinners---I KNOW, I KNOW!  Why would I do that?  Well because all kids seem to love them and if they are at home, I'm cool with it!

2.  Stress Ball Emoji Cats---Stress balls are great no matter what, and the emoji cat added an extra element of FUN!

3.  Emoji Pencils---It seems like my kids are always saying they don't have a pencil at home to do their homework with, so I tried to be intentional with this.

4.  Lego Pencil Sharpeners--See rational for #3.

5.  Bouncy Balls---No matter what year it is or how old the kids are, bouncy balls NEVER go out of trend!

6.  Emoji Notepads---Kids are always writing little notes to each other, so I knew these would be a hit!

7.  Giant Sticky Hands--Just like bouncy balls, sticky hands are a favored toy!  Add the "giant" element to it, and these are sure to be a hit!

8.  Balloons---A fun thing to get on your birthday!

I placed all the goodies in these fun cupcake bags and sealed them with a birthday sticker.  Although my kids' birthday bags are very full this year, you can still do this project on a budget!  Oriental Trading Co. offers large trinket assortment kits that you can split up.  If you decide not to make bags, you could always do just one trinket and make little tags to go with it.  Whatever you choose, I recommend doing it NOW, in the summer, when you have some extra time.

xo
Megan

*This post was sponsered by Oriental Trading Co.  I was compensated for the items in this post, but I picked them out myself and the opinions in this post are my own.