With the number of children in a day nursery, it is hard to remember each and every birthday. This birthday bulletin board is simple and can be a fun activity for the children. The board can be labelled “Our Birthday Chart” and can be changed according to the seasons or theme of the nursery.
Celebrating birthdays is a big part of a child’s life and should receive special attention in day care or preschool. Creating a birthday bulletin board for children is one way this may be accomplished.
Involving the children in creating the display can lead to all kinds of conversations - for example, parties. Of course you can change the depth of the conversation according to the age of the children. For babies and toddlers, the activity can be centered around the more sensory aspects of the activity - by using paints, glue, crepe paper and so on.
How to Make a Birthday Bulletin Board
Making the chart depends on which theme you choose. In my classroom, I typically use the seasons, and start with my favorite one - Spring.
First you need a large piece of backing paper, and a template of a flower. There are two ways of doing this; either one flower for each month and the names of the children inside the flower or a flower for each child.
Having done both of these, I prefer the second option simply because you can find the child’s name more easily and you don’t need to remember which month to look in.
The flower may be decorated in various ways;
- painting, finger or paint brush
- decorate with crepe or tissue paper
- decorate with different color felt
- another idea is to use real flowers and dry them
The children’s names and dates can written on the face of the flower by the older children or by yourself.
Language and Vocabulary Learning
This birthday chart can be used to learn new vocabulary and to talk about different subjects. Birthdays are a big source of fun and can be explored widely while making this display.
Talk about birthday parties, presents and any special moments the children remember.
I like the idea of changing the chart for every season. This way, you can talk about the weather, what the children like to do in each season and learn about any festivals that occur during each season.
How do you celebrate birthdays in your class?
