Counting the days until summer? Use the calendar as a learning tool!

Now that we are coming to the end of another school year, before you throw out the old calendar, use this as a teaching tool to help your child with number sense skills.

1. Months of the year: your child needs to know the follow facts:
• There are 12 months in a year
• Name all of the months in order
• Use the ordinal words when naming the months: first, second, third, fourth, etc.
• Use the terms before and after to describe the relationship of months in order: October comes before November and after September

2. Days of the week: your child needs to know the follow facts:
• There are seven days in a week
• Sunday is the first day of the week
• Use the words before and after to describe the relationship of days: Monday comes after Sunday and before Tuesday
• Know the terms: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

3. Even and odd: your child needs to know how to:
• Recognize the even and odd numbers

• Count by even numbers: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 etc.

• Count by odd numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, etc.

• Count by ones, fives, and tens

4. Digits: your child needs to understand that numbers are “digits”

• The numbers 0-9 are single digit numbers

• The numbers 10-31 are double digit numbers (or two digit numbers)

• The digits have place values: 0-9 are in the ones place

• Two digit numbers, represent the tens place and the ones place on the place value chart. (this concept will help when your child learns about the Hundred’s Thousand’s place on the Place Value Chart)

5. Number Value: your child can learn the value of numbers

• Counting the digits on the calendar is the came as counting objects

• The digits on the calendar can be compared to the value of coins: 1= a penny or 1 cent or .01. 5= a nickel or 5 cents or .05. 10= a dime, or 10 cents or .10. 25= a quarter or 25 cents or .25. To make this realistic, use real coins when comparing the digits on the calendar.

Now you have some ideas for using your old calendars for helping your child learn more about number sense skills and calendar facts. Another tip: use the calendar pictures to generate vocabulary growth by describing the scenes with picturesque words.