Calendar Time/No Calendar Time
Whether to incorporate Calendar Time into children’s daily learning experiences is a bit of a “hot topic” right now. Do you set aside a specific time during your schedule to discuss calendar concepts? How do you teach the days of the week, months of the year and the weather?
Calendar Time can be a fun and predictable routine that stimulates and inspires meaningful group discussion, provides the opportunity to introduce and practise number value, create an awareness of time, days, months of the year and give children the chance to participate in graphing/tracking the weather.
Music can play a big part in teaching calendar concepts and adds liveliness to the repetitive structure of a daily calendar routine. Songs are the perfect tool to help children practise the information they are learning and recall it long after Calendar Time is over.
SONGS FOR TEACHING DAYS, MONTHS AND WEATHER
(These videos also reinforce early literacy skills!)
“The 7 Days of The Week” , from “Shadow” teaches that there are 7 days in a week and goes through the sequence of the days twice, to help children memorize the order.
“12 Months”, from “Shadow” teaches all 12 months’ names FORWARD and BACKWARDS.
“What’s The Weather?” , from “Wonderful You”, teaches basic weather descriptives–“raining”, “snowing”, “cold”, “hot”, “sunny”, “windy”,”cloudy”, “stormy”and “grey”.
If you discuss which season it is during Calendar Time, you can also use “The Seasons”, which goes through the months (also good for teaching the months in order) and when each season starts.
“Weather” (haha) you choose to incorporate or omit formal calendar instruction/learning time into your early learning environment, music makes it easy to memorize the days, months and weather words.
Using my calendar songs will not only make the experience fun for teachers and students, singing these specific songs regularly will cement the information in students’ minds forever.
Join my community of educators, parents and caregivers on my Facebook page, “Music With Nancy” here!
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