Teacher's Birthday Party - Help please! (little OT)

[lg3]

As a new room mom to dd's PS class (3 & 4 yr olds) I am trying to think of some really great things to do for the teacher's birthday party. We are to have a party for Harvest (fall), Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, and the teacher's birthday. This is new to me, and I have no idea what to do. We do have a decent size buget left, and I was thinking of having a pizza party for the kids (would the teacher like that too?) with b'day cake of course, and a crown for the teacher, balloons, etc. What do people do during that type of party other than eat? It would be about an hour long party. I really want it to be great as her teacher is fantastic, and always goes out of her way to do special things for the kids. Any ideas?

 

[MSSANDRA]

That is so wonderful!! We sometimes have parents do something for the teacher's B-day but to have it in the class budget is great. Pizza would be nice. An hour is a long time to fill with small children so perhaps a craft would be good. Make something for the teacher. A few party games such as pin the tail on the donkey or Duck Duckk goose delight small children. The biggest thing is to not require the teacher to do MORE work because of the party. TAke care of clean up. Encourage her to sit with the children and enjoy herself. It will be appreciated!!

 

[reelmom]

How about Freeze Dancing. You play music for the kids to dance to, when the music stops, yell FREEZE and the kids are suppossed to freeze in whatever position they are in. My 3 and 4 year olds love it.

 

[katiesmom2]

What a nice idea! I've taught 1st grade and 5th grade and while my students would make cards and sometimes bring gifts for my birthday, we never had a celebration.

I agree with the previous poster who said to try to make it as easy on the teacher as possible. Try to recruit other parents to help you serve food and cleanup and run games/crafts so the teacher can sit back and enjoy.

You might want to have the children draw a picture of themselves with the teacher. Have other parents help you label the picture with some words from the students' hearts. Then, take them to Kinko's and have them spiral bound into a book. I have something similar from my students and I really cherish it.

 

[daisyduck123]

That sounds so nice.

Last year, my two room moms (along with my class) had a surprise birthday party for me! I walked in the room from recess duty & they there were...flowers, gifts, & all!! I can't remember if we had cake or anything, but knowing those 2 moms.....I'm sure we had some kind of treats!

 

[zoemurr]

It drives me nuts when parents plan all these things for the teacher and no one thinks to include the kids.. just my pet peeve.

So.. have all the kids make something.. I usually have my kids make a card, put their pic on it, and write (dictate) I like my teacher because.. my favorite part of school is.. *not snack!!* They could do it on flat paper and you can buy a scrap book album at the $ store with page protectors. Cheap, nice, and from the kids. You can send the pages home with instructions a week or so before.

For a craft you can have the kids make tissue paper flowers, so she has a bouquet to take home.

I'm not sure I'd deal with the mess of pizza... but if you're up for a mess maybe decorate your own cupcakes.. give each kid a drop of frosting and a popsicle stick and some small candies to put on top. The party sounds fun.. at our school it is now "illegal" to have treats at school for any reason.

I would also find out if there's anything she needs for the classroom to give her as a gift. (our teachers often ask for disposable cameras..) You could also make her a sweatshirt with the kids handprints in fabric paint, or have the kids plant her a flower, and decorate a large terra cotta pot for a project.

I'm assuming you have help? Do a project/game first, (while someone gets treats ready) and end with a story while someone cleans that up. DON'T leave with the kids all hyped up and the teacher left to deal with the fallout. Make sure you sing Happy Birthday. Have fun!