Name: Thrive! NCHE Homeschool Conference
Start: 2025-05-22T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-24T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Winston-Salem, NC

Tagged: holiday, Living Book, seasonal

This topic has 7 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Ladyofthehouse.

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)

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April 10, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Ladyofthehouse
Member
One of the topics I want to cover this coming year is calendars, teaching the kids how to read/use one, learn the 12 months, days of the week, seasons etc. Also I will probably tie in some seasonal topics for nature study and hands on since that would fit in nicely.
Do any of you have living book recommendations for the introduction of calendars? Also your favorites for seasons/time/holidays/etc :o)
Thanks!
April 10, 2012 at 1:23 pm
MamaSnow
Participant
To learn how to read a calendar, etc, we just keep one – we didn’t read any books or anything about it. I printed off a simple calendar template and each day at the start of our school time, we fill in the date and then recite the whole date ie “Today is Tuesday, April 10, 2012”. We might also talk briefly about what day it was yesterday, and what day it will be be tomorrow. We used a couple silly little songs to learn all the months and days. When we did this the first time, my dd was in preschool and I just had her trace over the numbers that I wrote. When she was in K I had her start writing the numbers for herself (this was a really simple, non-threatening way to learn how to write numbers BTW – she just wrote 1 single number each day for an entire year, before we started a written math curriculum.) You can also tie other mathematical topics too – we build the number of the date out of base 10 blocks, and colored the squares on the calendar to make a pattern, etc. There are some good calendar printables here that may help you. http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/calendar-printables Now that she is in first we are doing our calendar time in French. =)
For seasonal nature study ideas, I suggest checking out the ebooks on the Handbook of Nature Study blog – she releases a new one for each season with tons of links, notebooking pages, etc. http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.fr/ Heaps of ideas. We are having fun with these this year, and I’m not a natural “nature study” person.
HTH some
Jen
April 10, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Tecrz1
Participant
I cannot recall the author of the book on calendars we read this year (library book), but we really enjoyed reading the history of calendars and the different ways they have been kept through the years. It is was very interesting to see how the modern system evolved. We just found a cute picture book loaded with info. I think the history is an interesting study too! it helps us understand the “why” behind the system.
As far as the actual learning of how to use a calendar, we make one when the child is ready to learn it. I print out 12 free blank calendars and we learn January, draw a picture of what January looks like, and write in all the days of the week and then the numbers. We do the same for each month. The kids like it and seem to grasp it easy.
Tara
April 10, 2012 at 11:50 pm
Rachel White
Participant
I concur with Jen. However, there are some poems and books to learn the roots of the names. There’s a book by Betsy Maestro: http://www.amazon.com/The-Story-Clocks-Calendars-Millennium/dp/0688145485/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_8
April 11, 2012 at 1:18 am
Kelly Bond
Participant
This book by Tasha Tudor (available through our library, perhaps through yours, too?) is a lovely book of little poems/verses and illustrations for each month of the year…definitely very seasonal!
April 11, 2012 at 2:13 am
simple home
Member
With my young kids, the months determine which books I bring out according to season. Fall is topics like Johnny Appleseed, apples, autumn books, pilgrims, etc. Winter is hibernation books, Christmas stories, snow books, etc. Spring months are topics like plants, flowers, butterflies, etc. Summer is a little less but I am sure you get the idea. 🙂
I like to buy each child their own little calendar to mark off the days. They recite the date and we talk about how to spell the month and special observances or holidays throughout the month. It’s very easy and fun!
By the way, I store the aforementioned seasonal books in a special box and change out the books each month. The current books being used are kept in a convenient basket on the kitchen table where the kids can browse during meals.
HTH!
April 11, 2012 at 3:20 am
Wings2fly
Participant
Keep a calendar or print one off at starfall.com.
Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar goes through days of the week. There is free unit study to go along with it at homeschoolshare.com. It looks nice, but I have not used it.
http://www.homeschoolshare.com/very_hungry_caterpillar.php
Sonlight used The Year at Maple Hill Farm for months/seasons and also the Berenstain Bear’s Almanac.
April 11, 2012 at 6:39 pm
Ladyofthehouse
Member
Thanks ladies! You all are so helpful :o)
I’d forgotten about A Time to Keep…..I have that and love it but hadn’t associated it with our calendar/seasons unit so that was a good reminder.
My mom told me she has several of those blank calendars where you fill in the month and dates and decorate the top picture yourself so those should be a perfect way to practice calendar work plus the illustration portion can cover seasonal/nature study topics!
Thanks for the link to The Very Hungry Caterpiller and the Homeschool Share unit, Sarah, that will be a great way to include my two little preschool guys in the study.
Thanks again, I’m getting excited to start :o)