Birthday Activities for Preschool

It’s a big week for us, my daughter’s birthday is this week! We decided to make this the theme for this week because you only get a birthday once a year, we might as well make the most of it. Here are some of the activities that we’ve leaning into in order to explore birthdays and build an understanding of all the different ways that these can be celebrated.

Looking at photos from previous birthdays – This would be an excellent activity to do with the whole class. Encouraging children to bring in photos from last year’s celebration, or going back even farther to see images of them as babies is a perfect illustration of how we grow over time. Give each child the chance to share with the class and be the expert about their own family’s birthday celebrations

Birthday Cake playdough – This recipe from Parenting Chaos is sure to be a hit. I can imagine all of the wonderful pretend play that this would encourage, especially if you add some cupcake pans or wrappers, birthday candles, and party plates.

Birthday vocabulary – I’ll take any excuse to build vocabulary, and the vocab cards available in my TPT store are definitely my favorite resource. The Birthday Set includes the words balloons, candle, cupcake, banner, cake, party hat, confetti, presents, ice cream. This set also includes a set of cards that has pictures and spaces for children to practice spelling the vocabulary words with letter tiles. You could also use the second set to have each child write in the words themselves to create their own vocabulary card set.

Making birthday cards – This 3D cupcake card is easy enough for little hands to manage and cute enough to give to anyone who might have an upcoming birthday. The idea is from Chalk Academy, and could also be used to celebrate the ages of each child in the class – just write their age in the candle flame.

Balloon play – My favorite indoor movement activity is putting on some music while we hit balloons around. You can add a little challenge by writing letters or numbers on the balloons and asking children to identify the letter or number on each balloon that they pick up.

Bake a cake – The cake is definitely the centerpiece of any birthday celebration, and baking your own is a true learning experience! Children can explore ingredients, learn about chemical reactions, practice measuring, and use fine motor skills. If you’re working with a large group then you can make cupcakes and each child can decorate their own.

Check back on Friday to see the books that we’re using to explore Birthdays!