Calendar Math Activity Program
Designed to meet these objectives:
Math
• Students will count orally by ones, twos, fives and tens.
• Students will represent sets of concrete objects through 10.
• Students will recognize when an estimate is reasonable and use terms such as “more than” and “less than.”
• Students will identify simple patterns, extend patterns and sort by attributes.
• Students will use reasoning to support math conclusions and problem solutions.
Our Calendar Math Activity Program includes everything you need to teach daily math concepts during
calendar time. Filled with engaging activities, this comprehensive program can be used with the whole class
or in small groups to practice essential skills such as counting, estimation, number sense, place value and
problem solving. Simply set up the pocket chart and place the contents in their designated areas, and your
program is ready to go! Our handy guide provides you with plenty of activity ideas to get you started.
What’s Included
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Pocket chart
12 “months of the year” title cards in a vinyl pouch
31 double-sided numeral cards in a vinyl pouch
50 pattern cards in a vinyl pouch
50 Pick-A-Problem cards in a vinyl pouch
22 Days in School number cards in a vinyl pouch
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow cards
47 holiday and special day cards (including 5 blank cards)
Date cards (months, days, numbers and years)
Estimation jar
Estimation card
32 large buttons
Counting sticks
Write & wipe marker
Using the Calendar Math Activity Program
The Calendar Math Activity Program can be used any way you like to enhance mathematics learning in your
classroom. In addition to providing a colorful daily calendar for your classroom, this program includes handson activities that target important math skills, such as counting, estimating, patterning, number sense and
problem solving. However, rather than attempting to introduce too many skills on the same day, you may
want to select only one or two additional concepts on which to focus as you review the day and date during
calendar time each day. This rotation will allow you to help children develop one specific skill at a time, while
providing plenty of variety in learning from one day to the next.
© 2005 Lakeshore
(800) 428-4414
www.lakeshorelearning.com
GG791
Ages 4+
Printed in China
Setting Up
To set up your Calendar Math Activity Program, first unfold the pocket chart. Place the chart on a stand or
attach it to a bulletin board in your classroom. Remove the contents from the bags and place the items in the
labeled pockets on the bottom of the chart as shown in the diagram below. The Calendar Math Activity
Program contains many different components to enhance mathematics instruction for young learners. A
description of each component and a variety of suggested activities are provided in this guide.
Can you count
backwards from
10 to 1?
Calendar
Take out the appropriate month title card and slip it into the plastic sleeve at the top of the calendar. (You
may store the other title cards in their vinyl pouch.) The calendar we’ve included provides you with 31 doublesided number cards—red on one side and blue on the other. You will also find cards that are labeled “Today,”
“Tomorrow,” and “Yesterday,” which are conveniently sized to slip behind the number cards to indicate
current dates. A variety of other cards is provided to designate special holidays or classroom celebrations.
Below the calendar, you will find a long pocket in which to show the correct date written in proper form.
Simply slip the day, month, date and year cards into the pocket in the appropriate order to show the date,
such as “Monday, August 15, 2005.”
Days in School
The Days in School section of the chart is segmented into place values of hundreds, tens and ones. Place the
red and white numeral cards beneath the correct place value to show the number of days in school. The
counting sticks can then be inserted into the hundreds (red), tens (green) and ones (yellow) pockets to
represent this number.
Estimation Jar
Remove the colorful buttons from their plastic bag and place them inside the estimation jar. Place the jar in
the pocket on the chart. Then attach the “Guess How Many” estimation card to the chart next to the jar.
Pick-A-Problem Cards
There are 50 problem solving cards divided into five different categories: sorting, measurement, patterning, estimation and number sense. Each card has an activity that will engage your whole class in hands-on
math learning. Unwrap the Pick-A-Problem cards and store them in the Pick-A-Problem pocket on the chart
or in their vinyl pouch.
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Suggested Activities
Below you will find a variety of activities that you can use to incorporate the Calendar Math Activity Program
into your daily routine or existing mathematics curriculum.
Calendar Activities
• Each morning, have a student volunteer point to the date on the calendar. Read the date aloud: “Today is
Monday, August 15, 2005.” Have students repeat after you. Then, if there are any special holidays or
celebrations that correspond with that date, invite the student volunteer to slip a “special day” card behind
the date on the calendar.
• Use the Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow cards to
help children track the dates as you move from
one day to the next. Have a volunteer move the
cards behind the appropriate dates each day and
introduce students to the concept of past, present
and future.
• Introduce students to the days of the week. Point to the word as you name the day and have students
repeat after you. Explain that Sunday is the first day of the week. Have students count with you as you say
the name of each day again. Ask, “How many days are there in a week?” For an extra challenge, ask
students to name the second day, the third and so on.
Days in School Activities
• After discussing the date, have children count the number of days
they have been in school. Use the red and white numeral cards to
show the correct number in the Days in School section of the
chart. Introduce place value. For example, explain that 23 days in
school is the same as 2 tens and 3 ones. Have children place the
numerals beneath the correct place value to build the appropriate
number.
• Invite children to use the counting sticks to represent the number
of days in school. Have them count out the correct number of
sticks and place them in the appropriate place value pocket to
show that they understand the value of the numeral.
Pattern Card Activities
• Introduce children to simple AB patterns using the pattern cards provided. For example, take out two sets
of cards, such as circles and diamonds, and place them in the space provided to create a pattern (e.g., circle,
diamond, circle, diamond, circle). Have students say the name of the shapes as you point to the cards.
When you reach the end of the pattern, ask, “Which shape comes next? Circle or diamond?” Practice the
AB pattern with other pattern cards. Once students understand this pattern, introduce other patterns, such
as AAB or ABC.
• Use the pattern cards to help students develop sorting and classification skills. Turn the cards faceup on a
table and have volunteers sort the cards by shape, placing all the circles in one pile, all the hearts in another
pile and so on. Once cards are sorted, ask, “How many cards have hearts? How many have diamonds?”
Encourage students to count the cards.
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Estimation Jar Activities
• Remove the estimation jar from the pocket. Take a small handful of buttons and place them in the jar. Pass
the jar and allow children to get a good look at it. Invite students to estimate how many buttons are in the
jar. Record each child’s name along with his guess on the estimation card. Then, have children count aloud
with you as you remove the buttons from the jar, one at a time. Circle the name of the student whose
estimate was closest to the actual number. Repeat the activity on different days using a different number
of buttons.
• Use the estimation jar to discuss the concept of “reasonable guesses.” Ask, “If you put a handful of buttons in the jar, would it make sense to estimate that there were 100 buttons in the jar? Would it make
sense to estimate that there was only 1 button in the jar?” Invite students to explain why they think these
guesses would or would not be reasonable. Then, have each child take turns gathering and counting a
handful of buttons so they can see for themselves that the estimate of 100 buttons is much too high and 1
button is much too low. After they have counted the buttons, explain to students that when they estimate,
they can use what they know to determine if their estimates are reasonable.
• Ask students what other objects they might like to place in the jar to estimate (e.g., rocks, crayons, pennies,
marbles and so on). Invite them to bring in objects for the class to estimate. Every few days, allow children
to practice estimating with objects of various sizes. Help students understand that the smaller the item is,
the greater the amount they can fit into the jar.
Pick-A-Problem Activities
• Designate one day a week as Pick-A-Problem Day! On this day, select a card from the Pick-A-Problem
pocket. Read the problem aloud to the class, then have children complete the activity to find the answer.
(The back of each card has directions for the teacher on completing the activity.) Your students will love
the hands-on activities and will look forward to Pick-A-Problem Day each week!
• If you prefer, you may use these cards with small groups. Simply select a card from a category you’d like to
target (e.g., sorting, measurement, patterning, estimation or number sense) and read the question aloud to
students. Then, invite students to discuss how they might find the answer. Encourage them to solve the
problem using the strategies they discussed.
Number Sense Activities
• Introduce the concept of odd and even numbers. Have children turn over every other number on the
calendar so that odd numbers are blue and even numbers are red. Point out that even numbers end in 0, 2,
4, 6 or 8. Ask, “What do odd numbers end in?” Point to the ones place in each odd number as students
identify that they end in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9. Have students skip count by twos starting with even numbers.
Then do the same with odd numbers.
• Play number riddle games using the numbers on the calendar. For example, say, “What number is before 7
but after 5?” Encourage children to raise their hands when they figure out that the answer is 6. Divide the
class into pairs and invite children to create their own number riddles for their partners to solve.
• Have children count by fives. As they count, invite a volunteer to turn over the numbers on the calendar so
that 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 are a different color than the rest of the numbers.
• Allow the children to practice the concept of “more than” and “less than.” Pick a number on the calendar,
such as 13, and say it aloud. Then, have a volunteer point to that number card on the calendar. Ask, “Who
can name a number that is greater than 13?” or, “Who can name a number that is less than 13?” Invite
several children to offer responses.
• Use the buttons to practice simple addition problems. For example, ask, “What is 2 + 3?” Hold up two
buttons, then add three more buttons and ask students to count the total number of buttons. Practice with
other single-digit numbers.