Birthday Displays. Why?

It has been a long-held tradition for early childhood staff to create elaborate displays for children’s birthdays. Early on in my early childhood teaching days, I did it too.  But why?

The National Quality Framework asks educators to closely examine all aspects of practice and our intentional pedagogical decisions. Therefore, we should think intentionally about the environment and the information we are communicating with families.  I will be bold and controversial and declare that birthday displays are a big waste of wall space that I would instead use to communicate with families about children and their learning.

Look at the photos below.

Photo 1 is a traditional birthday chart.

Photo 2 is an innovative alternative using a picture frame, string and pegs.

Photo 1.                                             Photo 2.

In photo 2, we see a series of pegs with children’s names.  On one side, the children’s names are written; on the flip side are the children’s birthdates.

Photo 2 is an aesthetic way of displaying and communicating this information without taking up valuable display space.

Educators might also consider a documentation panel with photos of children celebrating their birthdays at the centre. 

Kerrie O’Neill

August 2023.