Teacher Talk Tuesday

Little Known Facts About Birthday Treats

Birthdays are a huge deal and I can only imagine how hard it must be to send your little one to school on their birthdays only to have them spend 8 hours of their big day with someone other than you. It's only natural for you to want your child to bring a treat of choice to share with their classmates. Before you call the bakery or even more serious... set out on a baking mission of your own, allow me to share a few facts about what birthday treats are like in a classroom...

Did you know that cookie cakes do not come pre-sliced?

I  learned this when a mom brought a 24in x 12in cookie cake (yes... you read that right... that's like 214 lbs. of cookie cake) to our classroom for her sons birthday. After 45 minutes and tracking down a knife I finally had enough slices to serve to each of my very hungry students. This 45 minutes was our designated math time, so I was not able to teach math on this day.

Did you know that colorful icing turns kids lips the color of the icing?

I learned this after talking with a parent for 25 minutes after school about why their child came home with blue lips. This parent was very concerned that her child had stood outside in the cold too long after school.

Did you know about the new student in your child's class?

Always plan for at least one more treat than the # of kids in class. I learned this after realizing we were one treat short and had to run to a colleague to borrow treats from her treat jar.

Did you know peanuts and sometimes all treats may be banned from your child's classroom?

Now, I know this one sounds silly but it is true. Peanut allergies are through the roof and chances are, there is a kid with a peanut allergy in your child's classroom. This eliminates many popular birthday treats. As for the ban... schools across the nation have had to take extra precautions with the H1N1 outbreak. In my school, we spray students' desks 2 times a day with a hospital grade disinfectnant. This is great for keeping germs away, but can be harmful if ingested. We are, therefore, no longer able to have food in our classroom.

So what's a parent to do?!

Not to fret... I have some solutions!

Pre-packaged snacks are the way to go...

I'm telling you... your childs teacher will love you. You'll still have a ton of choices because so many companies make their yummy snacks in bags already. You also don't necessarily need to give out food. Party stores have lots of fun toys sold in bulk (just don't buy anything that makes noise... please... I beg you... no noise). I had a little girl pass out tiny notepads and pencils this year and my kids loved them!

Save the classic birthday goodies for home... when you have the camera ready to capture all that yumminess!