Time is a tricky concept for young children. This is especially for those in the first plane of development, that is under age 6. Often, time is just too abstract. Their days are numbered by the sun, by their routine, or by a familiar rhythm. They don't have a whole lot of time or attention for numbers on a calendar or clock. While this changes slowly as children get closer to the second plane of development and their powers for abstract thinking increase.
But, even understanding all of that, the world runs on clocks, calendars and schedules. And, as a Montessori family, I want to help orient my first plane children to our family's schedule. The reality is there are certain days of the month or week that are special. And, celebrating and honoring those days is for everyone!
How We Use Calendars with Our Young Montessori Children
First, we want to make our discussions of time as concrete as possible for our young children. I don't just want to talk about numbers on a page, but I want them to move and feel how many numbers are in a month. So we use a perpetual calendar for the month and change it together each time. So while my toddler might not understand how many days 31 is, she has felt that we have to put a lot of numbers on the calendar together.
We use this calendar for our monthly planning.
Second, we keep it simple. We aren't putting reminders on our calendar for ALL the things. We have an adult calendar for that. Instead, we are marking the important moments - birthdays, religious celebrations, holidays, and vacations - mostly. These are the big events that are going to change our daily routine or are celebrated in a specific way.
Finally, we keep our calendars in central locations - our dining room and playroom - and we refer to them frequently. They aren't a central focus to starting our day, we don't have calendar time, but we do talk about them. We count how many days until a holiday/birthday. We count how many special days we have this week or month. We talk about what those days might look or feel like. It's not set and forget.
A Note On Weekly Calendars
After years of using just our monthly calendar with our first plane children, I came across this weekly companion calendar in a local thrift shop. It was such a great deal that I couldn't pass it up. So we have been using it with Penelope. Each week I add a few picture coins to let her know if we have any special things we are going to do that day.
It's been a great way to start to keep myself accountable for those plans and to help her remember if we have something special going on. I have kept the coins that we use with our weekly calendar super concrete and recognizable. I also introduced each one and we review it often. So far they have included things like baking day, watering the plants, going to the zoo, going to the nature center, or going to the store.
I definitely don't have something on each day, and I'm not super worried (at 2.5-years-old) about the names of the days of the week. For Ted (my newly 5-year-old) we are using the calendar to talk more directly about the days of the week.
How have you introduced calendars in your home? Do you use a rhythm chart or calendar with your toddler?
