We start each day with group time which includes our calendar activities. Several of the printouts you see here are part of my Letter of the Week curriculum. Here is what our “calendar area” looks like and some of our activities:
(Calendar and numbers are from Lakeshore Learning, I can’t find it on their site, but found it at Teacher Storehouse)
Pledge of Allegiance
Memory Verse Review: Click here for my A-Z memory verses
ABC Song
Days of the Week song: (To the tune of Adam’s Family”)
- Days of the week (clap clap)
- Days of the week (clap clap)
- Days of the week (clap clap)
- Days of the week, Days of the week, Days of the week
- There’s Sunday and there’s Monday,
- there’s Tuesday & there’s Wednesday,
- there’s Thursday & there’s Friday
- and then there’s Saturday!
- Days of the week (clap, clap)
Month’s of the Year song: (To the Macarena)
- January (Right hand out)
- February (Left hand out)
- March (Right hand palm up)
- And April (Left hand palm up)
- May (Right hand on left shoulder)
- June (Left hand on right shoulder)
- July (Right hand on right ear)
- And August (Left hand on left ear)
- September (Right hand on left hip)
- October (Left hand on right hip)
- November (Right hand on right hip)
- December (Left hand on left hip)
- 12 months in a year! (Hop in circle as singing)
Count our calendar:
Put up today’s number on calendar along with appropriate colored chain link to continue our pattern for the month and count from 1 up to today’s date (1-11 in the below picture), then say the date: “Today is Thursday, March 11, 2010”
Today/Yesterday/Tomorrow: We discuss what today is, what yesterday was, and what tomorrow will be and update our chart:
Chart the Weather: Each day we chart the weather and discuss appropriate clothing, whether it is cold or hot outside. Then fill in a square on our Weather Graph. At the end of the month we discuss which type of weather we had the most of, least of etc.
Seasons Chart: We don’t do this daily, but we do discuss the name of the season when we chart our weather and appropriate clothing. We talk about what kind of activities we do during each season as well.
Address: We review our Address and Phone Numbers:
For song & movement time we use one of these fun ideas:
- Hide ‘Em In Your Heart Vol 1 by Steve Green
- Hide ‘Em In Your Heart Vol 2 by Steve Green
- Songs for Saplings by Dana Dirksen
- Kid’s In Motion by Greg & Steve
- Kids In Action by Greg & Steve
JeN: You know I don't see it online, but I put a link in the post to a Teacher Storehouse where they have it. It's in the posters section of Lakeshore, so if you have a local store, go look, I'm sure they still have it.
Thanks so much for this post! Your blog is fantastic resource for teachers 🙂
I taught first grade for 8 years, and we used BOTH of those songs: Days of the Week and Months of the Year. The kids LOVED them!!!!!!! My daughter is 21 months, so not really quite ready to do a calendar time yet (in my opinion), but I'm hoping here sometime this year to dig out all my calendar time stuff from when I was teaching and start setting it up. I do like your chain link pattern idea! Your site is amazing, and I use it often! I have asked for a laminator for Mother's Day, Anniversary….my husband thinks I am nuts to want a laminator! But I'd be thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am tone challenged. I need to someone to video themselves doing the calendar macarena and put it on You Tube. I can't seem to get the words to go right with the tune. Come on ladies, who wants to show me what they got? 😉
I am new to your blog and LOVE it! And new to homeschooling.I will start with my five year twin boys in September. Very excited! Right now I am trying to get finishing touches on our "room". I was looking at the -Today/Yesterday/Tomorrow-Chart the Weather&Weather; graph-Address and Phone #Are these free to download? Thank you for all your hard work and blog. I look forward to coming back often.
Tasha, yes they are on My Printables Page:http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2009/11/my-printables.html Scroll down to calendar time.
I am now excited about calendar time! I got so burnt out last year, thanks for the great new ideas!
I also added "word of the day" and "body part of the day" to our calendar time. The kids like learning the fancy version of words and I love to hear them use it in a sentence. Also, the love learning about their body and what organs are on the inside of them!!Thanks for your great blog. I have fun reading all the goodies you put up!
I love all your ideas and just bought a great calendar that is similar from Oriental Trading Company, called My First Calendar Magnetic Chart – http://www.orientaltrading.com/my-first-calendar-magnetic-chart-a2-59_3098-12-1.fltr?Ntt=calendar. I purchased your LOTW and am going to print and laminate “yesterday – today – tomorrow” chart.
I am new to your site but completely addicted already. I will be downloading your letter of the week for my 2 1/2 year old daughter shortly. I have been “homeschooling” her for a while now and she already knows her shapes, letters numbers and so much more. we are working on the calender things now. I love the way your calendar looks and found it on the lakeshore learning website, however I cant find the numbers to match the months. Where did you get them from?
Christie,
I got my numbers from a local teacher store, they had a different set for each month and were pretty inexpensive.