Comments on: Making Calendar Time Meaningful

By: Tammy Burmeister

Tammy Burmeister — Wed, 17 May 2017 11:52:51 +0000

In reply to Candace. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! I also have struggled with calendar time. I work with 4/5 year olds and the program that I teach requires calendar time so I have experimented with different concepts. I have 3 teachers who I supervise in our class of 40 (yes 40) and I have searched for a meaningful approach to use as a guideline for circle time calendar activities. Thank you for this article

By: Vicki

Vicki — Sun, 08 Jan 2017 05:18:18 +0000

I use the calendar to teach patterning, no so much about the numbers. Each month we have a different pattern, starting with an A-B pattern. Owl-leaf was in September. As the months progress the patterns become more intricate. The children love guessing what pattern will be next.

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 29 Jun 2016 18:58:43 +0000

In reply to Becky. I have been teaching Pre-K for 18 years and I have always used a calendar as part of Circle time. It has never really been about the months or the days. It has always been used as a math activity. Number recognition, counting, what number comes next, patterns which are on the calendar pieces that the children match to the dates on the calendar. I think we can take almost anything and make it appropriate for and relevant to our children. Great article!

By: EGFP

EGFP — Mon, 28 Dec 2015 00:27:56 +0000

Hi and thank you for your posting. I have worked in a pre-K classroom for 12 years and I have always struggled with “teaching” the calendar. Every year, there have been one or two children who ” get” the calendar, but I think they arrived in our classroom with that knowledge. They can look at the calendar and tell you how many days until the weekend, and have a sense of the difference between days/months/seasons. They also understand the concept of the year and when their birthday is, as well as the birthdays of family members. However, most of the children don’t get it, and this year I don’t seem to have any children who are more advanced in their calendar knowledge. I use the calendar more as a visual tool for patterns and counting and we sing a “days of the week” song. They get a kick out of guessing which piece of the pattern is next, and they like to count the days. But, I think they are not really grasping the larger picture of days, months, seasons and year. I do wish our program wouldn’t emphasize the use of the calendar and I have, at least, managed to eliminate it as a daily activity. I’m gratified to learn that many of you see the same level of understanding (or NOT understanding) among your own preschoolers!

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 07 Sep 2015 04:13:58 +0000

In reply to Jodi. Great question, Jodi! I have an entire post on this actually :). Here are my favorite ways to engage young children in a large group setting: Circle Time 101.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 20:45:32 +0000

I have a home daycare and mainly ages 2-4 sit for circle/group time. I have a calendar. What should we focus on for this age group would you say??

By: Katie

Katie — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 14:19:26 +0000

In reply to Debbie. What a great modification with elements that are relevant and meaningful to the children! Thank you for all you do for young children, Debbie!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Fri, 04 Sep 2015 08:13:25 +0000

I do a seasons calendar, I put the name of the season eg autumn in the middle of a large piece of card and around this I put pictures for each month in that season, eg September is pictures related to going to school, October has harvest and Halloween pictures and November has guy fawkes. Then I have pictures of typical autumn weather.the children love it and because it is bright autumnal colours all the children from 1-10 yrs like looking at it and talking about it.

By: Katie

Katie — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 04:58:11 +0000

In reply to Michelle. This is beautiful, Michelle!! What a perfect way to make the day meaningful to your students!! You sound like an incredible teacher :).

By: Michelle

Michelle — Wed, 05 Aug 2015 01:37:50 +0000

I love this idea! I too stopped the traditional calendar time and turned it into more of a math centered calendar time that was more meaningful to the students. I chose to do calendar at the end of the day or before the students go home. We chose a pattern for our calendar. Most of the time I use sticky note or cut out paper shapes. Whoever is the calender helper gets to draw a picture of their favorite things they did at school that day. They tell me what it is and I dictate a sentence onto the sticky note, I make sure they write their name and the number day on the note. I will assist those who cannot write their names or my aide will assist. We will then count the number of days till a field trip or birthday because those are things that are meaningful to preschoolers. We sky-write the numbers and I touch on the day and month but never make them remember or repeat them, It has become one of their favorite times of the day and if we don’t get time to do it, they always let me know!