My kids go to a school where they celebrate birthdays in a very unique way. When each kid celebrates a birthday, they have a “birthday walk” during the class circle time. It is a meaningful way to teach the passage of time and introduce the concept of days and months as well as how the earth revolves around the sun.
Yet, the focus of this birthday walk to show how the birthday boy or girl have grown and changed since they were born, to help them understand why they have turned a year older. There is a battery operated (safety first!) candle in the middle of the floor (the sun) and the birthday boy or girl holds a globe. Around the candle/sun, the teacher has placed the months of the year (starting with the birthday month of the celebrating boy or girl.) Before the birthday boy or girl walks around the circle, a teacher or parent shares a special memory from that year about the child, a picture or a special book the child loved to read at that age, etc. Then the child walks by each month as they walk around the sun. It is repeated for each year up to the year they are celebrating.
After their birthday walk, the birthday boy or girl gets to be the classroom leader and bring in snack for share. Back in the day, we used to bring in cupcakes or candy for special birthday or class celebrations, but due to allergies, you can’t bake anything anymore and things have to be pre-packaged. Most kids want a special something for their birthday though, and the typical class snack of goldfish crackers and bananas (as fabulous as they are) aren’t very exciting. However, the administration at our school have approved only two special ‘treats’ for birthday days – Jello and Hoodsie® ice cream cups (by the Hood brand).
Hoodsie Cups for Birthdays are on the list because they are pre-packaged, in portion controlled cups, and are nut-free and gluten-free. Thus, it is on the approved school list, not only in our school, but in various schools across the country. Who knew that the little, itty bitty cup that we scarfed down (and took for granted) as a kid (since 1947), has such staying power; not only as a novelty ice cream, but now as a classroom classic as well.
So for each of my kids’ birthdays at school, I’ve been sending in Hoodsies Ice Cream Cups for the class. For my daughter’s birthday that falls in late spring, we also serve them in addition to cupcakes (yum!) or in lieu of cupcakes at her home birthday party celebration to give parents options to meet the needs of their child. Plus, it is a lot less messy than scooping ice-cream! And kids and adults love the treat. The price is right too. You can get 10 cups in a bag for about $4, making the cost a treat too.
Make sure to pick up some wooden spoons! They make it more fun like the good ol’ days when we enjoyed them!
The next time you celebrate a birthday, considering serving some Hoodsie cups. Or this summer, at a BBQ, pull out some of these little treats and watch the young AND the old enjoy this classic and iconic treat.
To give you some ideas, here is one of my many birthday themed boards on Pinterest. This one is all about ice cream! So start the party planning!
This post contains sponsored content from Hood. However, the words, story and decision to write is entirely my own.
