The fact that the perception of passing time is subjective is well known. However, how children perceive the passage of time is a mystery!
In our classrooms we have been hanging a long calendar on the walls, and on it each month we have pinned a picture of the child (or children) whose birthday is coming up. Children can thus observe who will be the next birthday boy or girls who have a birthday the same month.
With the birthday ritual, which the little ones are now familiar with, we then try to make concrete and simple a concept as abstract as the passage of time…
This is how the birthday magic comes about: after placing on the floor a large mat divided into twelve segments and with a sun in the center, the children place the month cards in sequence, one month for each segment. In the center of the mat, a candle is placed and lit over the sun image to symbolize the color and light of the sun. The birthday boy stands at the height of the month in which he was born and holds the globe in his hands. The child moves around the sun, carrying the “world” in his hands. He slowly walks clockwise while his classmates chant the name of the months. A festive and emotionally charged atmosphere is created: the birthday boy will make as many laps around the sun as his birthday! At each round, aided by photos representing past highlights in his or her life, the birthday boy or girl tells the most important events in his or her story. A “strip” of the child’s life will thus be formed on the mat.
The ritual ends with a big applause as the child wears the crown and blows out the candle on the mat.
Finally, communal tasting of the birthday cake with the classic candles and the song of “Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
