Classroom calendars are a great teaching tool, especially in elementary school. They can help teach the days of the week, the months and tell the date. Classroom calendars also offer flexibility because you can shape them around your needs and themes in the classroom. Choosing a calendar that works for you depends on the needs of your class.
Create Your Own Classroom Calendar
A simple fill-in-the-date calendar can teach children to remember numbers and days of the week. Creating a basic grid with the days of the week labeled will provide the basis of this calendar. Laminating the calendar will allow you to use a dry erase marker to fill in the dates for each day of the month. If you have a student write in the date each day, this is another opportunity to reinforce the concepts of dates and time passing. It is a great way to incorporate teaching and other subjects into calendar time. You can add themes by changing the heading of the calendar that matches the month. You may choose to mark birthdays with a special card or color of marker. Celebrating and remembering birthdays can easily be worked into calendar time each day.
Theme-Based Classroom Calendars
A fun way to create a classroom calendar is to incorporate a theme into each month of the year. Again, a basic laminated grid calendar is needed, but then you can create different shapes with the numbers for each month on them. September could be apples, since we celebrate Johnny Appleseed Day in September. October could be pumpkins or autumn leaves, and so on throughout the year. You could also choose themes that match the units you are teaching in science or social studies. Students can each create a different marker for each day. This will give them the opportunity to display their art and give them a sense of ownership to the calendar.
Purchase a Classroom Calendar Set
Another option is to buy a calendar set that is already assembled. This option saves you the trouble of creating your own. These calendars generally already have the date on them, or they come with dates to put up. You can still point to the date and review the information with your students. It should allow your students to become familiar with the concept of days of the week and numbers. Additionally, you can mark important upcoming events such as assemblies or field trips so that your students can begin to understand the passage of time.
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