I love making things that are actually useful in my classroom. Thursdays are the day I will share step-by-step directions that will help you make PRACTICAL resources for your classroom. Our first Make It Thursday project is one I made last year (and the year before, and the year before...)! It sounds like MADNESS, but Birthday Cups are a consumable item. I need new ones every year!
Disclaimer: There are some affiliate links in this post. Clicking on them will cost you nothing but will earn me a small fee.
What are birthday cups?
Birthday cups are a cute gift you can make for your students that show you care without breaking the bank! They look like Vanilla milkshakes. Inside, I stuff them with white decorative filler, crayons, pencil sharpeners, erasers, and top with a cherry sucker. Making them over the summer definitely saves the scramble of making them the day of a birthday.
Where to find the materials?
Crayons - Walmart (I always stock up when they are 25-50 cents each.)
Decorative Filler, Suckers, Pencil Sharpeners and Erasers - Dollar Store for Multi-packs
Cups - While the most pricey part of this purchase, one set for less than $20 can last me 3-4 years when purchased from Amazon. Click the pic below to get the exact ones I did from Amazon.
Simple cup but does the job!
Now What?
Now that you have made the cups, think about other ways you can celebrate a child's birthday. Below is part of an old blog post I wrote that has some suggestions for you. (Refresher if you have already read it.)
Remembering Student Birthdays:
When I get a former student that comes back to give me a cupcake on their birthday, I pull out my birthday box (from the dollar store) and give them a bookmark or pencil (both pretty reasonable from Amazon).
I always put a birthday cup on the birthday student's desk before school begins, so they have something to look forward to when they get there. (This past school year, I finally was able to remember the dates easier, because on the school calendar in the front of our classroom, I put all the birthdays up each month.)
When I get a former student that comes back to give me a cupcake on their birthday, I pull out my birthday box (from the dollar store) and give them a bookmark or pencil (both pretty reasonable from Amazon).
(I don't have the finances to give everyone a Birthday Cup!)
This is the birthday box I use.
Read Alouds:
This tradition has been a fun one. For this, I filled a dollar store (notice a theme) gift bag up with birthday books. Students got to pick out the one that they wanted us to read during our read aloud times. (Please note: the students only pick a book for you to read, they do not keep them.) This was so popular that the students asked me to add them to our classroom library, so now I also have a birthday bin of books for them to check out.
Extras:
I have created a fun pack of birthday activities that I just put on TPT. It contains labels for the birthday cups, a spot to record all your students' birthdays, certificates, sheets to create a class book and a few other goodies that I use in my classrom. Click the pic below to check it out.
What things would you like to make on Thursdays with me?
I have created a fun pack of birthday activities that I just put on TPT. It contains labels for the birthday cups, a spot to record all your students' birthdays, certificates, sheets to create a class book and a few other goodies that I use in my classrom. Click the pic below to check it out.
What things would you like to make on Thursdays with me?
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