On May 6, the Illinois State University Child Care Center held an UnBirthday Party for the children and their parents, their grandparents, and other family members. The party was a culminating event of a semester spent learning about birthday parties and the traditions they hold.
To prepare for the party, the children formed committees to learn the various responsibilities of hosting a party. Children could choose to be responsible for games, decorations, invitations, setup and cleanup, or food and drinks.
During the party, children and their families could partake in many different activities. There was a “pin the beak” on the Reggie game, a Reggie pinata, a painting mural, and refreshments. A Head Blessing Ceremony, an Indian tradition, was incorporated into the party to teach children about other birthday traditions. Each child also had the opportunity to choose an UnBirthday book and read it with their guest, which was an adaptation of the Child Care Center’s tradition of giving each child a book on their birthday. Reggie came to the party and played with the children.
The guests of the party all bought canned food items that were donated to a local food bank. This was an adaptation of the Thai tradition of giving a food offering to the monks on the morning of one’s birthday. After you give the offering, you would receive a blessing.
Through this activity, the children learned a lot. “My child learned that there is no one way that is ‘correct’ to celebrate a birthday,” said Jonathan Haws, a parent of a child who attends the Child Care Center. “This helped him learn the importance of ‘going with the flow’ and that you can use different avenues to achieve the same result. We can use this birthday example at home to demonstrate that there are also many ways to complete a bedtime routine.”
Brandon Leach’s daughter also attends the Child Care Center: “She wanted to talk about her past birthday, and is excited about her next birthday. I was able to explain to her that her birthday wasn’t for a while. This gave us an opportunity to go through the days and the months together, which was a learning experience.”
The birthday project had other benefits for the children, too. “He has also increased his vocabulary as a result of this project,” said Haws. “I cannot imagine many 3-year-olds coming home saying that they are serving on two committees.”
The Child Care Center is currently enrolling for the fall semester. Enrollment entails an interested parent/family filling out an interest survey first. The survey can be found on the Child Care Center’s website under the enrollment tab. Questions? Contact Carrie Carlson at ccarlson@IllinoisState.edu or (309) 438.5026.
