Our school district doesn't allow birthday treats in classrooms. To help kids feel special, a few years ago we started giving every child a cupcake for their birthday. All the birthdays for that month eat lunch at a special table with the principal, have balloons, and get their cupcake when they are finished. We thought everything was great until I was talking to the principal today. He told me that while he's knows the kids like getting the cupcakes, it's a nightmare with kids constantly walking up to the table asking if they can have one, too.
I know that every child gets one at some point (summer birthdays are combined with March, April, and May) so it isn't as if they aren't getting one at all. But it doesn't seem very fun to have other kids constantly asking for one.
Here's the question: what are some alternatives we can do as a PTO to make kids still feel special for their birthdays since the district won't allow treats in the classroom? They already get a pencil from the school. We have lots of low income families so fund raising is always an issue making it difficult to do something that would be more than $1 per student (we have about 300 students). Any alternatives ideas out there?
