A Birthday Freebie

     My twin sister and I are celebrating our birthday (birthdays?) today so I want to send some happy wishes her way - Happy Birthday, Danni!  I just finished wrapping her presents to bring to our b-day cookout at Mom and Dad's tomorrow and then I watched the fireworks from the screen porch. If you've been a follower since last year, you might remember the story that at as a child, we would always have our family birthday party on the same day that my town had the fireworks.  We grew up a block from the beach, so after a day long cookout, the entire family, all 40 of us, would walk down to the beach to watch the fireworks.  Being the self-absorbed child that I apparently was, I thought the fireworks were for us. I actually thought the whole town was there to celebrate my birthday!  So now, when ever I watch the fireworks, especially when they're held on July 3rd, I always chuckle a little about how pretentious I was.
     Now that you know the story, you can understand that birthdays are pretty important to me. When we celebrate a birthday in my classroom, I try to pass along that same feeling of "Today is all about me!" that I still used to have. One thing that I always make is some kind of crown, hat or badge for the birthday boy/girl to wear.  Because the beginning of the year, "Class of..." badges and the end of the year, "Movin' on..." badges were such a hit with the kids, this year I'm going to make birthday badges. When one of the kiddos is celebrating their birthday, they can decide if they want to make it into a crown, a necklace, a backpack tag or simply wear it as a badge.  You can grab a set down below if you'd like.  I left them in a Word document so you can play with the sizing if you want to.  I'd love to read how you make your kids feel special on their birthdays, so leave a comment if you have an idea to share.

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I hope that they help make your kiddos feel as special as I do whenever I see fireworks...

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