**This post about math skills at calendar time contains affiliate links.**
I know most of us have a calendar routine that we complete during morning meeting. I wanted to share some math skills that you can add to your calendar routine to help build and generalize skills in your classroom. These are a variety of calendar activities you can add to your calendar routine. I would take one new things to add to your routine and when your class is understanding that skill, add a new skill!
Counting
We practice counting every day during our calendar routine. When I set up my calendar, I put in all of the calendar cards in backwards. During our calendar time, we count how many days we have had in the month and make predictions about what number will come next in the sequence. This is a great place to start building math skills during your calendar routine.
Number Identification
Putting away the calendar each month does not need to be your job! One of our favorite things to do at the end of the month is find numbers to put the cards back into the envelope. At the end of the month, I’ll ask each student to find a specific number on the calendar and put it away. We never put them away in order and I vary my questions for each student. Here are some ideas of ways you can request numbers:
- Give me the number 7.
- Find the number with 2 tens and 3 ones.
- Give me the number that comes after 10.
Once you get started, there are tons of ways you can have students identify numbers on the calendar.
Determining Patterns
Another perk to putting the calendar cards in backwards is that it allows us to predict and determine patterns. At the beginning of the year, I usually use AB patterns so we can start predicting which picture we will see on the card. I usually do this after we count and determine the number. Once we are getting solid on that skill, I’ll introduce predicting patterns. As we learn, I add different patterns (ABB, AAB, ABC, etc.) to our calendar each month.
Another fun thing to do is choose random day on the calendar and have students predict which picture they will see on the date. This is an activity we usually save towards the end of the year. For example, after the 12th, I may ask students, what picture do you predict we will see on “this day” while pointing to the card. I let students make predictions on post its. We check in as we get closer to the target date and revise predictions.
Creating 10s and 1s; Regrouping
I’m pretty sure we all count how many days we’ve been in school. One thing I added to my calendar routine a few years ago was a counting straws pocket chart. Each day we would add a straw to the pocket chart and record how many days we’ve been at school on our recording chart.
This pocket chart and recording chart was helpful in demonstrating how to put 1s, 10s, and 100s together. I always enjoy when we make it to 10 and we try to figure out what we should do with the straws since we can only put one digit in each space of the recording sheet.
Another fun way to use this pocket chart is to count down to an event. We’ll find the next birthday in our classroom and put that many straws in the pocket chart. Each day we will remove a straw. Determining what to do when you’re out of ones is always a great discussion.
Of course, I add in songs, dancing, and all the fun in our calendar time as well. You’ll notice that once you start adding math skills into your calendar routine, you’re going to have so much more fun! I love watching my students gaining the targeted skills in the classroom.
Need a calendar kit to get started building math skills in your classroom? I have a kit that has everything you need to get started in the early elementary classroom. Click the image below to check it out:
