The morning time in a early years classroom is typically devoted to calendar or circle time. This time of the day is when a teacher can introduce skills needing repetition to master. Many language arts and math outcomes are reached thanks in part to the daily reinforcement during calendar time.
What Math Skills are Taught
There are many areas that can be integrated into the daily routine of calendar time. Before starting it is important to check the Provincial curriculum guide, or other local curriculum guides, to ensure what skills are age or grade appropriate. It is important to note, that all skills do not need to be taught at one time. For example, counting by 2s, 5s and 10s is usually done during the second term in Grade One.
Once a skill area has been developed and repeated for a time can another skill then be added and reinforced during calendar time. However, some concepts remain a part of calendar time the entire year, foe example reviewing months of the year, days of the week and counting to 100.
Calendar Activities
In the book, Calendar Math by Mary J. Kurth, teachers given many fun-filled hands on activities to promote mathematical concepts. The book is filled with great activities for both large group and small groups, which can also be altered to fit any classroom and teacher style. Here are some ideas for activities:
Musical Days of the Week: Each day of the week listed on chart paper has a corresponding instrument. Such as rhythm sticks, triangle, bells, cymbals etc. When the teacher points to a day on the chart the students with the corresponding instruments need to play them. A fun variation could be using voices if not enough instruments are available. For example, Sunday can be an opera voice, Monday a baby voice and Tuesday a bear voice.
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Activity: On three sentence strips write these sentences:
- Yesterday was _____.
- Today is_______.
- Tomorrow will be_________.
Then a teacher or student needs to place the day of the week answering the questions. As a class, repeat the sentences together.
Number Line Counting: Using a number line along the top of the front of the classroom place a movable arrow pointing to the number of school day. Create an arrow by cutting bright construction paper and place sticky tack on the back. Attach the arrow on the line pointing to the number days since the start of school.
Calendar Patterns: Create a pattern on the calendar by using theme calendar numbers. For example September theme could be school buses and apples. Once a pattern has been established the class will become independent in repeating the pattern.
Graph Class Birthdays: On a white board write the months of the year along the bottom. Then give each student a birthday cake cut out with his or her name and birth date on it. Then call students with birthdays in January to come up. Be sure to have a master birthday list since some children may forget. An extension could be to have students line up according to months of the year. "If you are born in January, please join us in line."
Weather Graph: Using a copy of a blank graph, write the title September Weather along the top. On the bottom of each row of squares draw a sun, cloud, raindrop and a snowflake. Each school day, colour in a square corresponding to the weather of the day. Save the graphs and create a classroom book.
Calendar time provides students with a daily routine to develop math skills. Teaching children that math is not only numbers but months of the year and days of the week is very important. Math is not only addition and subtraction but much more.
If this article was helpful, also see Circle Time in the Early Years Classroom.
Kurth, Mary J. Calendar Math, CA: Creative Teaching Press, Inc, 1995.
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