Flower Calendar

In each of the conferences Martina and I attended, and in many articles read, it was very clear that understanding a calendar was of importance to the TK and K world. Yet, we agreed that a traditional paper calendar may not be the most appropriate way to begin this subject. 

So, we discussed WHAT is important about the calendar and HOW could we build up the children's knowledge in order to understand a traditional calendar. This, my friends, has a very fancy word - SCAFFOLDING! One of the most frequently used words in my college educations. 

In education, scaffolding refers to a variety of instructional techniques 

used to move students progressively toward stronger understanding and, 

ultimately, greater independence in the learning process. (edglossary.org) 

Martina came up with this fun solution: the Flower Calendar.

Similar to a circle, the week repeats itself. We wanted to give the children this visual; when Sunday is over, Monday comes again. So on and so forth. 

To begin the calendar routine, we start with a song sung to the tune of "Oh My Darling Clementine":

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

7 days has the week

Sunday, Monday,

Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Then, the children take turns flying our hummingbird clip from one day to the next. This is followed by a discussion of the day's schedule and happenings. When there is an enrichment class, the children get to add another clip to the day.