Quick and Easy Baby Shower for Teacher

My son's 5th grade teacher is expecting a baby very soon and the class opted to throw her a baby shower / end of the year combo. party.  The kids were thrilled to surprise her and I think she was touched by how the kids kept the secret.

We had only 1/2 hour in the school day to throw the shower, and no food was allowed, so things needed to be planned carefully to allow the kids to give gifts and have some fun in a short amount of time.

Since the party was a surprise, the parents simply walked in holding balloons and banners.  We set them around the room to serve as last minute decorations.

The students kicked off the party by presenting their teacher with gifts.  She opened them while we got the kids started with some activities.  Many parents contributed money so we purchased gift cards and arranged them on a "Gift Card Tree" (a re-purposed jewelry holder she can reuse).

Next, decorative index cards were distributed and the students were asked to write their Best Baby Advice on one side and an guess as to delivery date and weight on the back.

The cards were tucked into a decorative box and presented to their teacher.  She can re-use the box to hold recipes or keep the cards as a keepsake.

The students then participated in a Baby Diapering Relay Race!

The kids were divided in half and desks were lined up facing each other on opposite sides of the room.  The teams were given a doll and a diaper.  At the whistle, the first student diapered the doll and passed it to their team mate who removed the diaper and passed it to the next and so on...

The winning team!

Next, the students Challenged Their Teacher to a Diapering Duel!  Names were drawn randomly and the diaper race began!  They loved trying to beat a seasoned parent at the diapering game.  The spirit of competition even won over the boys - in fact, a boy was the overall winner!

Last, the kids were given a ball of yarn and had to guess their Teacher's Belly Circumference.  After everyone was ready, the teacher measured her belly with her own yarn then taped it to the board (because no one wants a bunch of 5th grade hands mauling them).

The students lined up to hold their yarn up to the teacher's yarn to determine a winner.

Finally, every student who hadn't won a prize was given a chance to choose something from the prize bag so everyone went home happy.  I found boy and girl baby erasers in the dollar bin at Joann Fabrics that went over great, as well as some yo-yo's, beach balls, Frisbees, and various dollar store junky junk.

And THAT is how we threw a shower for our teacher in under 30 minutes!