Calendar Awareness

In this installment of Tuesday’s Timely Tips, I strongly encourage anyone who thinks their child might be able to comprehend the calendar to work on some calendar skills. Learning the seasons, the months, the days of the week and the numbers are all incredibly valuable skills.

In January, at the start of the new year, we’re given a natural start to teach our kids calendar awareness. Although some of our kids will certainly be fine without calendar awareness, I am a firm believer that it gives kids a better understanding of their day-to-day lives and their schedule.  For example, think about your innate understanding that you need to power through your work week, but you know you’ll be rewarded with a weekend to rest and recuperate.

You don’t need any special materials, but you could use a calendar like the one above. You could also use a typical monthly calendar and cross out each day as it passes. You could get a fun page-a-day calendar – especially if your child loves to rip off pages! We also use a whiteboard calendar to give Michael insight into his schedule.

We should give our children every tool to help them feel like they understand expectations. It helps them to feel more control over their lives, which helps them meet each challenge with greater confidence.