Calendars In The Classroom
Many early childhood educators use a calendar in their classrooms. This practice seems to be engrained into the classroom routine. To many teachers, a calendar seems like a good thing to teach young students. You can discuss days of the week, months of the year, and so on. Is this REALLY developmentally appropriate for our youngest learners?
I came across this wonderful article that discusses this very subject. You can check it out by clicking here.
So how can we use a calendar in our classroom and make this time meaningful? I want to talk to you about linear calendars!
Do Preschoolers Care About Calendars?
Most preschoolers are too young to understand or care about the aspects of calendars that are being taught using a traditional calendar. They don’t care what day of the week it is, but they care if they stay home or go to school that day. They don’t care if it is April, but they will care that their birthday is in April. Using a linear calendar, we can focus on the things that the students care about, which will keep them engaged and excited about calendar time!
What Are The Pros Of Using A Linear Calendar?
A linear calendar is very much like a number line. There are no breaks in the calendar, and it stretches from 1-31 across the wall. Due to the way a linear calendar is constructed, it gives children a more concrete way to visualize the passage of time. We can count down to special events and count the days that have passed. My students love anticipating what number comes next when we do our calendar time each morning!
How I Use My Linear Calendar
I set my calendar up a bit differently than other teachers I’ve seen. I do not place the numbers on the calendar and keep them there. Instead, we place each number on the calendar when we do calendar time in the morning. You can opt to add your numbers all at once and simply cross them off as you go.
I start my calendar time by asking what number it was yesterday. They know this because it is the last number on the calendar. Everyone gets to say the number together as a class. Then I will ask them what number comes after (the number they just shouted). They will answer together as a class. After placing the number on the calendar, I will state the date correctly (Today is Monday, March 4th). We will look for special events coming up and do a quick count down. Sometimes we will count each day of the month to see how far we have come, and then we count to see how many days we have until the next month.
Our calendar time lasts less than a minute! There is no time for the students to get bored or misbehave. You can still have your calendar time without the boredom and hassle of a traditional calendar.
Click HERE to grab my Linear Calendar Set on TPT.
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