I haven’t always done calendar time in my room.
When I decided to add that element to my day, I knew it had to be quick and effective with specific goals in mind. I see it as a chance to “drill and kill” certain skills so that they become a rote part of the kiddo’s schema.
I don’t actually DO calendar time. The kiddos do it all. They walk in, grab a dry erase pen with a puff adhered to it and a “calendar card”. I should have taken some new pics, but here are some of the pics from that older post.
Here’s a little view of what my calendar board basically looks like (pic from last year).
It’s the students’ job to:
- Determine the date
- Complete a ten frame(s) for the number of the date
- Identify and draw the tens and ones in that same number
- Identify the smallest coin combination to create that number
- Write the abbreviation for the days of the week for yesterday, today and tomorrow
- Identify one more, one less, ten more and ten less than the number of days we’ve been in school.
While they are doing all that writing on their calendar card, I take attendance and the lunch count.Then we go over it. They tell me the correct answers using complete sentences and I write them in on my board, or I have a kiddo come up and do it for me. As the correct answer is placed on the calendar board, they erase that part on their calendar card.
If they missed the answer and recognize their mistake, they just erase and move on. If they missed it they know to ask for a “reteach” and we go over it. Sometimes I think they just want to ask for a “reteach” whether they know it or not, but I figure it can’t hurt. I always allow for the reteach so that all of the kiddos feel comfortable in asking for more explanation. This kiddo would have asked for help with the abbreviations for the days of the week.
For the most part, however, the kiddos have no issue with this routine after the first few weeks of practice.
Most importantly, I use this time to incorporate new concepts we are learning in math in an effort to continue building upon their math application schema. For example on the 5th our 10 frame had 1/2 of its dots filled in. We talked about that fraction and it was easy to spot. We haven’t started our fractions unit yet, but this is a good place to introduce the concept and make it relevant.
Counting coins is not one of our standards, but we do it because it is a practical life skill, PLUS it is a huge help with skip counting in complicated patterns.
The way they tell me the correct answers is important, too. They must say them in complete sentences AND they have to wait for the actual question. I don’t go over the board in any particular order and sometimes I will ask random questions, like…
My kiddos have a bit of a problem with shouting out answers before I’ve even asked the question – so I use this time to have them listen and think before they speak. However, as you can see, I can be my own worst enemy, and asking questions like that just calls for an uproar and chaos. {shrug}
If you’d like some of those calendar components including the student card, click {{HERE}}.
We are lucky to have two 3-day weekends this month. Some of you have some amazing thing called February Break! Lucky, lucky!
Here’s what I’m planning on squeezing into this week.
These are my actual plans. I made them using my digital weekly planner. You can make your own by grabbing that incredible teaching resource (HERE).
Click the pic to enlarge your view. Click (HERE) to download a “clickable links” copy for yourself.
So if you have “February Break” do you also have Spring Break later? I’m thinking February Break is a genius idea.
Well, whether you’re heading back to work, or enjoying an extra day… Have a fabulous Monday peeps!
