Actually, my birthday was a month ago. When I come back from our little mini-break between summer and fall programs though, I tend to do a birthday-themed story time. Why? Because I'm a summer baby and my birthday always falls in the right time to miss everything. We don't have programs the week of my birthday. I never had a cool birthday with all my friends from school when I was little because of when my birthday fell. So I do this for myself and all my summer babies who have missed out.
Whopper Cake by Karma Wilson. I talked about this with another post, so I'll keep this brief. This sweet old man sets out to make his wife the biggest and best cake for her birthday, and it turns out to be a doozy.
Moira's Birthday by Robert Munsch. This is about a girl who wants to invite grades 1,2,3,4,5,6 aaaaand kindergarten to her birthday party. Her parents refuse and say she can invite 6. By the end of the day however, she has invited everyone. The day of the party EVERYONE has shown up to the house and now they have to feed them. So Moira calls and orders 200 pizzas and 200 cakes. Each can only deliver 10 at the time. The kids devour them, and want more food. So they all leave, bring back more food, and devour that. Then in return for cleaning up, they all get to take home a present. At the end of the book, the other 190 pizzas and cakes get delivered. :)
Birthday Present by Catherine Stock. A simple, short book about a boy going to a birthday party. He wants to get the girl all these other toys, but the mom picks out a ball, and it turns out to be just what the girl wanted.
What's Cookin'? A Happy Birthday Counting Book by Nancy Coffelt. Short, cute rhymes, I love when I can incorporate a counting book into a program. This one is great because it has tips in the back for cooking with children, a page about math in the kitchen, AND it has a recipe for cake and frosting!
Birthday Customs Around the World by Sarah L. Schuette. Each page of this book has a short sentence about a custom from another country. There are about 7 or so countries covered. This is a good way to introduce a little non-fiction into the story time, and also start a (hopefully short) conversation about some special traditions people might have on their birthdays.
Other cute ones for this theme include:
Hello! Is This Grandma? by Ian Whybrow
Don't Spill the Beans by Ian Schoenherr
So other than singing Happy Birthday to everyone (unless someone's birthday is really close - or we just missed it), then the only other thing I do is the following:
Apples, peaches, pears, plums,
Tell me when your birthday comes!
We clap and go around the room chanting that and each child is supposed to tell me their birthday. Usually whatever parent is there with them is who ends up answering.
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