Reading a Calendar
Teaching children about reading a calendar can be a fun activity for both the teachers and the children. Explain to your students that reading a calendar is important so they can keep track of all the days in a year and the special dates in the year. By breaking it down it can be a great early morning activity for younger children. Telling them about the 12 months in a year and stating the months from January – December will provide some excitement for the things to come throughout the year. This includes holidays, birthdays, weekends and any other important dates you may want to point out.
Make the calendar interactive:
You can make reading a calendar a fun interactive part of the day. The best way to do that is by:
- Using a colorful calendar with pictures. Point to the current day and say, “Today is…!”
- Allowing the students to help highlight upcoming events like birthdays or holidays.
- Count the days together until a special event arrives to help build the excitement.
- For younger children, focus on days of the week first. Sing songs or rhymes about the days (“Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday too…”).
- When the children master the days of the week you can introduce the months. You can connect them to seasonal changes – “Look, December has a picture of snow because it’s winter!”
Make Learning Fun!
- There are children’s calendars with movable pieces or magnets. Let them play and explore!
- Draw your own calendar together. Decorate it with pictures and stickers.
Besides the days of the week and the months of the year, you can also discuss today’s weather. Children love to discuss the weather along with the days of the week.
Remember, the key is to keep it age-appropriate and engaging. The more they play and interact with the calendar, the better they’ll understand how it works!
Check out the worksheets below that are super helpful when teaching children how to read a calendar!!
