Teaching Preschoolers Days of the Week and Months of the Year

One of my favorite lessons to teach preschoolers is the days of the week and months of the year. This makes a great lesson plan to start out the New Year, and is an ongoing lesson plan which includes all other thematic lessons throughout the school year and summer months.

Preschool Classroom Calendar

Making your own colorful preschool calendar is an easy project with a minimum of supplies, and no artistic ability is necessary. The children will be able to participate by forwarding the days on the calendar, and as they plan for holidays and parties, they will be learning about days and months of the year.

Display your preschool calendar in a prominent place with easy access for the children as well as teachers. This will keep everyone on schedule while teaching important lessons.

Supplies Needed for Preschool Calendar

1 large white poster board

2 large rolls of double-sided Velcro squares or circles

1 glue stick

1 black permanent marker pen

7 colored permanent markers or crayons, in red, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, brown (primary colors discussed below for a bonus lesson)

Yardstick

Cardboard scraps

Magazines

Preschool Calendar Assembly Instructions

Depending on the direction you want the calendar to hang, leave room at the top of the poster board for title month and days of the week, plus any thematic borders around the calendar edges. Using a yardstick on the poster board, measure out one week of 7-equal day squares across, and measure down 5-equal week squares (each at least 5" square) creating a large calendar grid.

Mark off lightly in pencil, 35 equal grid square/cubes, before permanently outlining the days and weeks in permanent black marker pen onto the poster board. Above the days of the week, in brightly colored permanent marking pens, label the week days in primary and secondary colors.

Labeling Days of the Week

Begin labeling the weekdays - above the first day of the week label Sunday in red, then Tuesday in blue, and Thursday in yellow (the 3 primary colors). The rest of the weekdays will be filled in with secondary colors, which are the combinations of two primary colors.

Filling in with secondary colors, label Monday in purple (mixture of primary colors red and blue), Wednesday in green (mixture of primary colors blue and yellow), and Friday in orange (mixture of primary colors yellow and red). Label Saturday in brown, which is a combination of any two opposite colors on the primary/secondary color wheel.

Labeling Months of the Year

Months of the year labels should be created on separate, interchangeable 4"x 16" cut-out strips from scrap cardboard. Neatly print the 12 months of the year, and then add 3 Velcro squares or circles onto the back of each month strip, with corresponding backing on the calendar poster.

Years can be also written in the same interchangeable manner as the months, but on shorter 4"x 4" strips. Remember to put the Velcro backing strips on the year, with corresponding backing on the calendar, to the right of the month.

Numbering Days of the Month

On scrap cardboard cut-out 31 squares (2"x 2") and number each 1 through 31, in black permanent marker, adding a piece of Velcro backing on each. Cut 1 strip (2"x 3") and print in black "Today is" with Velcro backing. Add 2 Velcro pieces along the top of every calendar day (lined up with "Today is" and day of the month) and another Velcro piece below for every day, which will hold daily or upcoming events.

Events in Pictures

From cardboard scraps cut out at least 10 squares or shapes (3"x 3") to fit into the calendar squares highlighting important daily, or monthly events. Cut out pictures from magazines which signify important events, such as a birthday cake (for birthdays) or a snowman (for snow days) as well as upcoming curriculum themes.

Curriculum such as planting could be represented by a picture of a budding plant, a shell picture could mean sand and water play day, a tie could stand for Father's Day, and a heart could double for Mother's Day as well as Valentine's Day. Using a glue stick, paste these pictures separately onto 3"x 3" squares, and then back them with Velcro to stick on, and take off the calendar.

Keeping your preschoolers on schedule is so much easier when they can remind you what's coming up during the month, according to the event pictures on the calendar. When changing the days on the calendar your students will also be learning their colors and numbers, right along with the days of the week, and months of the year.