On Thursday, July 15, I headed up to school again for Noah’s birthday celebration. It was a bit more elaborate than handing out snacks at recess. They do it up right in Kindergarten. 🙂 I walked in to see Noah sitting on the birthday throne, wearing his special birthday shirt, hand painted by his teacher.
All the kids were gathered in a circle, waiting for me, I think. Alexandra and I came in, and sat down in our chair of honor right next to the birthday boy. The table was decorated so pretty, and in the center was a large bowl full of tea lights, unlighted, resting in sand. Frau Buchmann came walking over with a box of matches in her hand, and she helped Noah light all the candles. There were six, naturally, since he was turning six years old. When all the candles were burning brightly, she turned off the lights and the kids all sang several birthday songs to Noah.
Then it was time to take the party outside. Frau Buchmann wheeled out a large wooden wagon, filled with comfortable pillows, a cd player, and an umbrella. Noah got to climb into the wagon, sit on the pillows, and hold the umbrella over his head, as it was drizzling slightly. Then she brought out a basket full of rocks, and each child picked one out.
She placed the now empty basket in the wagon with Noah, and told him he could start. Obviously, having seen this happen with other birthday kids, he knew what to do. I had no clue what was going to happen, and was just hoping they didn’t all start chucking rocks at him in some bizarre twisted tradition. 🙂 No, no, no! Noah chose one child at a time to come place their rock in the basket, and tell him what their birthday wish for him was. I think the best part for him was having THE POWER! He loved all the kids clamoring for attention, arms waving wildly in the air, so they could be chosen next.
I do my best to give him one on one time, but it’s true that he doesn’t get nearly enough as he wants. So this was heaven for him.
When all the wish rocks had been placed in the basket, it was time to go on the birthday stroll. Again, he was given the power to choose who would pull the wagon, and who would help push it from behind. Also, he was able to choose two children whose job it was to blow bubbles over the birthday boy while we walked. Oh, and the cd player? Yeah, it was so we could walk to a continuous loop of a jazzed up rendition of “Happy Birthday”. Do they know how to make a kid feel special, or what? Noah was kind enough to allow Alexandra to climb up into the wagon with him, but after a while, she decided she would rather walk with me, and let him have all the glory. Plus, it was kind of cramped. 🙂
We went on the loop behind the school, down through town a bit, and then back up past the public playground towards school. Halfway through, right by a bunch of houses, we stopped so the kids could sing the Swiss birthday song to Noah.
The best part was when Noah got to scream at the top of his lungs, “I ha Geburtstag huet!” (It’s my birthday today!) His teacher told him before the song started, “I want them to hear it all the way in Muliberg.) (that is the part of town we live in) He definitely did his best. Then the kids got to push/pull him up the hill, and we went back to school for birthday treats.
The honor and celebration continued as we entered the classroom.
The kids all formed a human arch and Noah got to run through it very first. Kind of like what the military does with their swords when people get married, which I think is totally cool, by the way. Then all the other kids got to run through the arch as well, although the last few kids had a very short arch to run through! They all went straight to their chairs and sat down quietly. They knew what was coming. 🙂
The teacher turned off all the lights again, except for the light candles, and played some fun music. Noah got to choose two children in turn, to dance with.
All the other children clapped their hands in time to the music. Then everyone got to stand up and dance all together for a bit. What a perfect way to get all the wiggles out before snacktime!
The birthday kid’s mom is in charge of bringing snack for everyone. Some of the mom’s are very talented and bring in rather elaborately decorated cakes or breads for the kids, and I didn’t want to look like a slacker compared to them. So I made individual breads for each child in the shape of 6’s, since Noah was turning six. There were also brownies, as requested by the birthday boy. And this is what we used as a birthday cake.
Noah got to hold a real sparkler while all the kids sang the traditional version of “Happy Birthday” in both English and German. He likes that they sing it “Happy Burstday” instead. 🙂 I had also brought a fruit tray for the normal children who aren’t afraid of it. Noah made sure to keep that far away from his side of the table. The sixes were a big hit, and I even had a few leftover for my own kids when they got home from school.
When everything was all cleaned up, it was time for us to go home. Noah was kind of sad, and wanted me to stay longer, but I needed to get home and get lunch started. Besides, it was the second to last day of school. I knew he would see plenty of me in the next little while. It was a fun morning, and I am so glad his teachers go to such great lengths to make the birthday kid feel special.