Calendar is done each morning. Many important concepts can be introduced and reinforced through the use of the daily calendar. Working with the calendar helps children to develop an understanding of such abstract ideas as yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It also introduces the days of the week, months of the year and the relationship between months and seasons.
To get ready for calendar, print out the following pieces and use with a 25" x 28" pocket chart or tape to a large sheet of paper (Poster board works wonderfully).
When you begin, sing the following three songs:
The Calendar Song
(To the tune of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star)
When we do the calendar,
We learn the month, the date, the year.
Every week day has a name.
There are lots of numbers that look the same.
So let's begin to show you how
We do the calendar right now.
The Days of the Week
(To the tune of The Addams Family)
Days of the week (snap, snap)
Days of the week (snap, snap
)Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week (snap, snap)
There's Sunday and there's Monday,
There's Tuesday and there's Wednesday,
There's Thursday and there's Friday,
And then there's Saturday.
Days of the week, (snap, snap)
Days of the week, (snap, snap)
Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. (snap, snap)
The Months of the Year
(To the tune of the 10 Little Indians)
January, February, March, and April,
May, June, July, and August
September, October, November, and December,
These are the months of the year.
Then, we decide what day of the week it is, what day of the week yesterday was, and what day of the week tomorrow will be. Then, ask what the month, day, date, and year are.
Then sing one more song:
Today Is...
(To the tune of Frere Jacques)
Today is (day of the week),
Today is (day of the week).
All Day Long
All Day long
Tomorrow will be (next day of the week)
Tomorrow will be (next day of the week)
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!
Underneath your calendar keep three ziploc bags of straws. Under one put a sign that says, hundreds, another a sign that says tens, and the last one a sign that says ones. Each day add a straw to the ones bag (when you get ten bundle them and put them in the tens bag, etc.) and count how many we have total.
The Ice Cream Calendar Song
Here is a fun song to sing each day to practice the days of the week and the months of the year.
Make a calendar binder for your child to follow along here.
Practice the alphabet: