January is a great time of year to introduce or reinforce calendar skills. The Story Time Felts felt board calendar set is a great tool, but any calendar will do! Calendars are excellent resources for counting skills, number recognition and ordering numerals for any age child.
- Spend a few minutes each day counting out loud the days of the month.
- Point to each numer as you repeat its name.
- Count items in the accompanying picture such as buttons on a snowman.
- Say, "Today is Tuesday, January 6, 2009." Then use the calendar as a visual prompt for teaching the abstract concepts of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
- Count how many days until a certain upcoming date or special day.
- Sing a days of the week song while pointing to each day name.
- Use items on the calendar for color recognition questions.
- Find evidence of the seasons on the calendar and discuss the seasons.
- Ask questions such as, what day will it be 2 days from now? What date will it be in 1 week?
- For older children, cover up the days or dates and as similar questions.
- Look for patterns in the numbers such as evens and odds.
- Discuss any special days coming up, such as Martin Luther King Day or President's Day.
- Use the calendar as a number line for addition and subtraction problems.
The following calendar songs and poems were found at http://www.canteach.ca/
The Months of the Year
(To the Tune of "Three Blind Mice")
January, February, March,
April, May, June.
July, August, September,
October, November, December.
These are the twelve months of the year.
Now sing them together so we can all hear.
How many months are there in a year?
Twelve months in a year.
Months of the Year
(to the tune of "Ten Little Indians")
January, February, March, and April,
May, June, July, August, and September,
October, November, and December,
These are the months of the year.
Months of the Year
(to the tune of The BattleHymn of the Republic)
January
February
March
April
May,
June
July
and August
Septembers on it's way,
October
and November
and Decembers at the end,
Then we start all over again...
Months And Seasons
By Meish Goldish
January, February, middle of March,
Brrr! In the cold I'm stiff as starch!
Let's make a snowball, sled down a hill.
Wintertime, wintertime, time to chill!
April, May, to the middle of June,
Ahh! What a nice cool afternoon!
Let's fly a kite, and plant pretty flowers.
Springtime, springtime, time for showers!
July, August, middle of September.
Ouch! Got a sunburn I'll always remember!
Let's go swimming, let's eat a peach.
Summertime, summertime, time for the beach!
October, November, middle of December.
Hey! each day grows shorter than September!
Let's see the leaves fall, let's bake a cake
Autumntime, autumntime, time for a rake!
Hooray for the seasons all through the year,
One just left and another one's here!
I love the seasons, each is a ball:
Wintertime, springtime, summertime, fall.
The Months
By Sara Coleridge
January brings the snow;
Makes our feet and fingers glow.
February brings the rain;
Thaws the frozen pond again.
March brings the wind so cold and chill;
Drives the cattle from the hill.
April brings us sun and showers,
And the pretty wildwood flowers.
May brings grass and leafy trees,
Waving in each gentle breeze.
June brings roses, fresh and fair,
And the cherries ripe and rare.
July brings the greatest heat,
Cloudless skies and dusty street.
August brings the golden grain;
Harvest time is here again.
Mild September brings us more
Fruit and grain, for winter store.
Brown October brings the last
Of ripening gifts, from summer past.
Dull November brings the blast:
Down from the trees the leaves fall fast.
Cold December ends the rhyme
With blazing fires and Christmas time.
Calendar Song
(To the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle")
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.
Every Week
(tune: Are you Sleeping)
Every week has 7 days,
See how many you can say.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
Saturday. What's today?
Days of the Week
(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
These are all the
da-ays of the we-ek,
Sing with me,
Sing with me.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Saturday
A day to play.
Days of the Week
(to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday too.
Wednesday, Thursday just for you.
Friday, Saturday that's the end .
Now let's say those days again!
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday!
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)
Days of the Week
(to the tune of "Oh My Darling Clementine")
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in the week.
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in the week.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Days of the Week
(To the tune of Frere Jacques)
Today is Monday
(Today is Monday)
April 12th
(April 12th)
1998
(1998)
That's the date
(That's the date).
Days of the Week
(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
Tuesday, Tuesday,
Tuesday, Tuesday,
All day long, all day long,
Yesterday was Monday, tomorrow will be Wednesday,
Oh, what fun! Oh, what fun!
Sunday, Monday , Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Today is Song
(To the tune of "Frere Jacques")
Today is _______.
Today is _______.
All day long, all day long.
Yesterday was ______.
Tomorrow will be _______.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!