pitterpatter Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We have been doing calendar time every day for 4-5 months now. DD knows her days of the week, can tell you that there are seven of them, knows that we start with Sunday. She can also tell you the months, that there are twelve of them and we always start with January. She knows the seasons. She knows yesterday, today and tomorrow. She understands weather. She knows we say first, second, third, etc. when using a number in terms of a date. I'm just really sick of having her change the date, weather, etc. every single day and having her regurgitate the info. I'm ready to just put up a regular calendar now. Is it too soon? Our math and science programs also hit upon the subject. This is the one we've been using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Once they know the material, I stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 If you don't think she needs to do it anymore, just stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whereneverever Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Once they know it, I stop. Then we just review with real life calendar stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Let it go. Millions of children in the world learn to tell time and days of the week and months of the year without once doing "calendar time." Let it go. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeegal Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I've never done 'calendar time'. We have a calendar posted on the fridge and the children quickly learn to use that. They'll count down days before their grandparents visit, check to see what park we're going to, when cousins are visiting, and argue over who gets to cross off the day. There's nothing like real world applications to teach a concept. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewingMom2many Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I'm glad you posted and glad for the responses. We had been doing calendar time for months and I got tired of doing the same thing day after day. Even my 2yo knew the days of the week (although he doesn't understand tomorrow and yesterday quite yet). I got lazy and stopped and now we are lucky if I remember to change the calendar once a month lol. I'm happy to hear it's just fine to stop. I was thinking I'd be stuck doing calendar until my 2yo reached age 4 or 5! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amie Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Never did it. My son learned from playing with a real calendar. I still keep a "regular" paper calendar (from the $1 bin) hanging in the kitchen at their level. My kids like to track days/dates/holidays at random. If you're tired of it, I say move on! :001_smile: ETA: My son also likes to follow the weather at random! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I have never done "calendar time." Some things kids learn simply from living in a family that is engaged w/their children. IOW, not all things need a formal approach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My dc learned about calendars from watching me keep track on mine, then getting their own each year for Christmas (cute pictures of puppies and whatnot, lol). We had lots of real-life discussions about when things were going to happen. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chepyl Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I have never done calendar time. He learned the days of the week before we ever started school. We keep a calendar and both kids know gymnastics is on Wednesday and coop is Thursday. I do need to mark one for dd's birthday next week!! She askes me how old she Is every day!!! She is excited to be four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I have never done "calendar time." Some things kids learn simply from living in a family that is engaged w/their children. IOW, not all things need a formal approach. :iagree:We have a calendar up on the wall for reference, so that ds can find the proper date to put on his papers, but we have never done calendar time. Mostly because it would drive me crazy. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy_of_4 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 We never did calender time. We went over the days of the week and the months a few times and that was it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Let it go. Millions of children in the world learn to tell time and days of the week and months of the year without once doing "calendar time." Let it go. :D This. I don't do it with DS 5. He knows the months, days, whatever. In math they do the order of the months and in PR they cover the number of days in the months. It all gets in there somehow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted February 16, 2012 Author Share Posted February 16, 2012 Oh good, thanks! :thumbup: Think I'll chuck it for a paper one and put it at DD's height. She can mark off the day on her own, if she wants. We can look at it ever once it a while. Yeah! It was good, at first. It really did help her learn and she still enjoys changing the date and weather, but one can only do things for so long. Aaah. Making such a decision is like opening the windows and letting a fresh breeze in. LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Thinking about this more... Yeah, I never did calendar time with my oldest. He picked up days, months, years, etc. on his own. DS3 is also doing the same (slowly - he's still 2). DS2 needed direct instruction, but he also had to be taught directly colors, counting to 10, and other such things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen in CO Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Once they know the material, I stop. :iagree: I let my first grader pick out her own calendar to put in her room. She marks off the days at night and writes important things on it like playdates and birthdays. We also have our themometer on the porch where we can see it from inside. we frequently check the temperature in the morning and before we go it. Edited February 16, 2012 by Karen in CO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We have never done calendar time, but dd has had her own calendar since she was 4yo. Once kids know how to use the calendar to keep track of stuff they are interested in, I don't see the point of it. But I have a kid that is always looking for an excuse for a party. I always have to tell people, "No, we are not Jewish. She just wants a party." :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tawlas Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 By all means, if you hate, get rid of it! Calendar has been our math for PK. Counting to 30, bar graphing the weather each month (more, less, more than etc), we're moving into a 100s chart and place value with straws. But even then, I'll do calendar for a few months and then stop for a few so it's fresh again. Ds4 and Ds2 both love it! If we're still feeling it, I might get into yoga poses, character education, memory work, picture study etc as part of our calendar routine, but if not, meh. It's our show, after all:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 (edited) Hmm...we did a bit of calendar time during Morning Worship right up till my boys graduated. We talked about phenology, and what anniversaries were celebrated, and talked about the weather and current events and prayed for a country a day, and where we were in the church calendar.Psalms and recipes. I think staying linked up to the calendar is grounding. Waldorf has a lot of good stuff about rhythm Edited February 17, 2012 by Hunter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanna1949 Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 We've been phasing it out gradually. We still mark off the day and keep a tally of the number of days of school (with tally marks and numbers, noticing the place value). We've started graphing the daily weather. But whenever I "forget" to put out the calendar journal page each morning, I hear about it! :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliegmom Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My dd knows the material, but wants to continue calendar time next year. She enjoys this activity in her class. We will be newbie homeschoolers next year. May I ask where you got your calendar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 I've never done 'calendar time'. We have a calendar posted on the fridge and the children quickly learn to use that. They'll count down days before their grandparents visit, check to see what park we're going to, when cousins are visiting, and argue over who gets to cross off the day. There's nothing like real world applications to teach a concept. :D :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissKNG Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 The thought of doing officialy calendar time made me sick! :tongue_smilie: My big girl learned the calendar/seasons/past/present/etc through daily life. My small girl is also figuring out the days of the week and months of the year. There is a Leap Frog movie that goes through the calendar - I think that's how my small girl picked it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Once they know the material, I stop. :iagree:We did "calendar time" a bit when my oldest was about 4 years old. We haven't officially done that since. Our twin Pre-K'ers know the material from daily life. We do some review, though. Our calendar has little velcroed strips for the days, months, seasons, and weather. Often the girls will change the calendar themselves. But MOST of the time, the calendar says it's Wednesday (as it now does).... even though it's Sunday. :D I'll keep it up until the end of Pre-K, but this summer it's coming down. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Bmom Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 My pre-k is over it, so we stopped. We just include weather and seasonal observations in our Nature Study. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 There is a Leap Frog movie that goes through the calendar - I think that's how my small girl picked it up. Might check into that b/c I am officially sick of "doing" calendar. (Well, I guess I would be sick of it if I actually REMEMBERED to do it more than 1-2x a week.... :tongue_smilie:) Right now, our calendar wall says the date is March 9th... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 I bought mine from Learning Resources (had a coupon), but Amazon sells it too. A lot of places, actually. Do know that the magnets are typical sheet magnets. They aren't weak enough to fall off, but they do easily move when nudged. http://www.learningresources.com/product/parents/shop+by+subject/magnetic+learning+calendar.do?search=basic&keyword=calendar&sortby=bestSellers&page=1& http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-0765023003109-Magnetic-Calendar/dp/B00000IVNF/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1332118323&sr=8-2 http://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/toys-games-magnetic-learning-calendar/22637023?ean=765023003109&itm=1&usri=learning+resources+calendar My dd knows the material, but wants to continue calendar time next year. She enjoys this activity in her class. We will be newbie homeschoolers next year. May I ask where you got your calendar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 I officially discontinued calendar time three weeks ago. DD is still a bit sad about it, but I find it wonderfully freeing. :thumbup: Finally got a standard replacement calendar just today. I'm glad we did it, but I'm glad we're done. Might check into that b/c I am officially sick of "doing" calendar.(Well, I guess I would be sick of it if I actually REMEMBERED to do it more than 1-2x a week.... :tongue_smilie:) Right now, our calendar wall says the date is March 9th... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mudboots Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 A couple years ago we got a felt board calendar and weather set. I used it for pre-K with the older two until we got tired of it. I need to pull it back out for the next kid - and it would be good review for the olders. I like the idea of starting with the calendar as a "grounding" activity. Maybe we're just ready to switch to a regular wall calendar for the older two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kolamum Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Once they knew it I had them do it themselves: Go put today's number on the calendar please! Adjust the Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow tags please. Then we'd sing a little song that took 2 minutes. Then, I hung all the days of the week & months up on my wall and had them move an arrow {still do this} & I gave them each their own REAL calendar. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdkidsmom Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 We haven't been doing a formal "calendar time" each day, but they do like to change out the weather info when it is drastically different. They also like to set up the new month with birthdays, field trips, holidays or other special events. Then they keep track of how many days until...whatever it is they're waiting for. I like that they have "taken over" the calendar and made it their own with no muss or fuss from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamakelly Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I never did calendar time with my kids. Their math taught enough of it for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momtoamiracle Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 have never done calendar math. We covered the basics in our math program. And that was about one week, with a review every couple of weeks. Can't imagine doing it more than that... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustybug Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I've never done 'calendar time'. We have a calendar posted on the fridge and the children quickly learn to use that. They'll count down days before their grandparents visit, check to see what park we're going to, when cousins are visiting, and argue over who gets to cross off the day. There's nothing like real world applications to teach a concept. :D I have never done "calendar time." Some things kids learn simply from living in a family that is engaged w/their children. IOW, not all things need a formal approach. :iagree:Same here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marie131 Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I did calendar time for about a month and a half with my oldest DS and will never do it again. It was painfully un-necessary :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juliegmom Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 If your dd is enjoying changing the day and marking the weather I would let her continue. It does not have to be a formal school thing anymore but part of her routine in the morning. If she really is into daily recording, someone a long while ago posted this calender book http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/4-73019/ We enjoyed doing it so much my dd wants to do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted March 19, 2012 Share Posted March 19, 2012 I was totally excited in the beginning. I printed off a bunch of cute, colorful pages that I found on some blogs, laminated and attached velcro, and got started. My kids loved it... For about a month or so, then the excitement dwindled. We kept going for a few more months, but eventually I was sick of it. We do our meeting strip now with math (had previously skipped that part), and graph the weather there, too. Other than that, we are officially done with moving our velcro pieces and singing our Days of the Week song. Yay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitterpatter Posted March 19, 2012 Author Share Posted March 19, 2012 Because the magnets are weak and get all twisted and turned. And, if I let her play, she will. They'll be all over the house. ;) I'm going to let her mark off the days on the new standard calendar, though. PS - That little calendar book is pretty cool. If your dd is enjoying changing the day and marking the weather I would let her continue. It does not have to be a formal school thing anymore but part of her routine in the morning. If she really is into daily recording, someone a long while ago posted this calender book http://www.rodandstaffbooks.com/item/4-73019/ We enjoyed doing it so much my dd wants to do it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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