Well, have you ever done Calendar Binders? Calendar books? It really keeps kids involved and productive during calendar time. They learn to be so independent! It is a great way to review and spiral math concepts. I make a copy for every student and put them in a 3 ring binders. You can also put them in folders with fasteners in the middle. However, you could just make overhead copy or put under your document camera. I make a book for me too and the kids follow along with me as they complete theirs. At the end of the month, I just staple the pages and have the kids take it home and put the next month in. I use the cover above and slide it in the front of the 3 ring binder.
Now follow me and I will take you through the book one page at a time. :) Let me know what you think. Try it out this month for $3 from my TPT store. Remember all my funds till Jan. 14th are going to help teachers at Sandy Hook!
I will be making them for the rest of the year.
We start with the calendar and color the square for the box with a crayon. We make a pattern for each month. For January we do a light blue and blue for snow. Or I let the kids choose. I let the kids choose the different types of patterns. It is better to color the day first and then write the day. So after we color the box we write the date. We use a black marker so you can see it over the top of the crayon.
Then we turn the page and sing the days of the week song. You could choose any song you love that says the days of the week. We do Dr. Jean "Days of the Week" that goes to the tune of the Adams Family.
Next, we do the Months of the Year. We do the Macarena Months by Dr. Jean. It gets us up and moving, which never hurts. :) Then we say them in Spanish. Which my ELL kids love!
I have the kids find their birthday month and circle it. Helps them remember and learn their friends birthday.
Next is "How Many Days have we been in school?" We color the day that we are on with a yellow crayon. On the 10th days we color it with blue to make those look different. On days that end with 5 we color with orange. Then we count them. Some days we count by 10's, others days by 5's, and some we take the plunge and count to the day we are on. I know it's close the 100th for us so the first day is it going to take them longer to color the page but then it will only be one page a day. You could laminate this after you make it to the 100th day and put it in other months so that they don't have to color it every month. I did make a page that goes from 101-200. So you can keep counting till the end of the year!
You can use this more on some days have then find a mystery number. Cut up all the days and put them in a container and have the helper pick one. Then color the number that number with a special color. The possibilities are endless.
Next, is the NUMBER OF THE DAY! page. I put two dice in a clear container and have the helper shake it. Then add them together and tell us what that number. We talk about the number sentence that these two numbers that make it. It gives us a good chance to talk about addition and how to solve simple problems.
Then we have the problem of the day page. These are a great review of concepts taught of or a preview of new concepts. This is a great time to work through problems together and use math talk to find the answer. We do one box a day.
So the first day we talk a lot about how there are two boxes on each page. I have them point to the top box, then point to the bottom box. We make a game out of it. I say top, bottom, top, bottom, bottom, top. etc. Then, of course, I try to trick them. We do this so they understand that each day we will only complete one box.
I did make a whole page for the 100th day and Martin Luther King Jr. day. You could take them out and still have enough for the month or you could do them both on one day. It's totally up to you. Everyone has the 100th day at different times so you may have to move it to fit your needs. :)
Anyway, I hope that you enjoy calendar math as much as my kids do. It is a fun addition to calendar time and students learn so much. It keeps them attentive and focused on their learning!
Enjoy! Lisa Click on link below to go to my TPT store and get started with Calendar books.
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