For over 20 years, my love for teaching preschool motivated me to develop my teaching themes more and more each year, until they became so ridiculously elaborate that I needed to find another way to use them outside the classroom. My preschool, preppie-k and kindergarten students absolutely loved pretending and engaging in the hands on theme activities.  As my passion for developing these activities increased, my dream was that I could somehow use these themes to entertain children in a unique and creative way.  So... I began doing birthday parties for kids.

       I am often asked where I got my dinosaur.  Well, here's the story:  A parent whose two children had previously been in my preschool class told me about a giant dinosaur skeleton that was being displayed in her daughter's elementary school classroom.  Apparently the owners had bought it on e-bay, used it for their son's birthday party, then in their son's preschool classroom, and finally in their daughter's elementary school classroom.  After that, they didn't want to keep it anymore.  The parent of my previous students thought of me, and of course I couldn't resist.  So, in 2003,  that is how I acquired Mr. T. Rex.  The original owner of the dinosaur said that it had been used in one of the Power Ranger TV shows.  In 2004, I gave my very first birthday theme party using Mr. T. Rex. 

       My "Circus of the Stars" show began in 1994 in my preschool classroom with a red blanket suspended from the ceiling, a circle of chairs, and a painted cardboard voting booth for the performer's entrance.  I started with simple costumes.  Every year I added a few more costumes, and then the big top made from a parachute. Finally I constructed and painted my 20 X 20 tent made from fabric and PVC pipes.  The circus train I painted on the fabric was copied from one of my mother's kindergarten bulletin board she used in the 1960s.

       My idea for the Aloha Air Flight 131 to Hawaii began during my preschool class "air transportation" unit.  I thought it would be fun to arrange my classroom tables in the shape of the body and wings of an airplane and act out a pretend flight.  The chairs were set up in rows down the center for seats.  I juggled back and forth between the roles of the ticket agent, the radio control tower, the pilot, and the flight attendant.  In time I added seatbelts, pretend airplane food, tray tables that fold down and up, and pillows and blankets.  In 2004, I built my airplane out of PVC pipe and fabric.

       My "Be a Community Helper" party idea came to me when I combined several different preschool class "community helper" units (fire fighter, police officer, doctor, dentist, and  mail carrier) and also my farm unit.  Then I added a few more to create mini city.  Easy-up canopies became the building rooftops and divider walls were made out of fabric with PVC pipes to reinforce them.

       PVC pipes have become my giant "Tinker Toys".  I have used them in some way or another in each one of my parties.

As you can see, I have a fun time coming up with these wacky ideas.  But more so than that, I have an even greater time watching the kids use their imaginations and have a blast during the parties.