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As your child grows from a teeny tiny toddler to a full on preschooler, they’ll not only become more aware of the world around the, they’ll start taking more of an interest in it as well.
This interest will serve them well and you’ll be amazed at just how much they learn, and how many concepts they pick up, simply by interacting with their environment.
The concept of time and how it passes is a perfect example of this.
The actual passing of time may be an abstract concept for younger children, but they can still gain a basic understanding of what a calendar is and how it works and giving them opportunities to become familiar with things like the days of the week and the months of the year only helps to strengthen that.
Now don’t let the idea of trying to teach your child the months of the year scare you!
Just like teaching them any other concept, it’s a whole lot easier when you make it fun.
Start with a Calendar
Seems like the most logical place to start, right?
Young children are naturally curious so letting them see and explore a calendar on their own will pique that curiosity and will catch their interest.
Try making your own preschool calendar board, one that is bright, colorful, and interactive. Let them move the pieces around and talk about what the different parts are for as they do so. Nothing too in depth, just a quick mention as they explore the various parts of the calendar.
This is s super simple way to introduce the months of the year without overwhelming your child with a ton of information all at once.
Break it Up
At some point in time, your child has more than likely picked up on the fact that their are multiple seasons. They may not be able to name them all yet or know what order they go in and that’s okay.
The may know all about summer simply because their favorite thing to do is swim or they may associate the Christmas holiday season with winter. These simple connections can give you an excellent starting point.
Starting with whatever season they seem to know the best, start naming off the various months that make up that season. This helps for a couple of reasons. One, they’ve already shown an interest in that particular season and if it contains something they love, like Christmas or swimming, they’ll be want to learn more about it and, two, this allows you to break up the months of the year. Rather than throwing 12 different months at them all at once, you can easily break the year up into four groups with just three or four months in each.
Add Some Music
For many preschoolers, there is little they love more than singing and dancing around. Teaching them a new concept, such as the months of the year, with songs, chants, and rhymes not only makes those months a lot easier to remember, it makes learning them a whole lot more fun for the both of you as well.
With a quick Google search, you can find hundreds of fun songs and videos that can help you teach your child the months of the year, but we’ve also rounded up a few of our favorites to share with you as well. The songs are catchy and the videos bright and colorful so your little ones will love them. One quick note though, they probably will get stuck in your head a time or two :)
Make it a Game
On top of all of the awesome videos that are out there, there are also a ton of apps and games that can help you teach your child the months of the year.
While we try not to go crazy with the screen time here in our house, we do have some educational apps and games that we use occasionally during quiet time or while we’re waiting on appointments. Some of that we have used in the past include:
Learn Seasons and Months by Appledore Soft
Learn Months of the Year – Kids Fun
Months of the Year by PlayTales (This particular app is not free but they do have both an English and a Spanish version if you’re looking to incorporate a little foreign language into your learning as well.)
Get Hands-On
They say the best way to learn is by doing, right? Give your child a little hands-on learning time by letting them make their own calendar. It won’t look perfect and that’s perfectly fine. As long as they’re having fun creating and coloring a calendar of their own, the learning will come naturally.
Start with a single month, the month their birthday falls in would make a great starting place, and have them add some numbers, draw pictures for any holidays that fit in the month and, if you’d like, have them write in or trace the name of the month as well. If your children are smaller, you could also use a calendar that is already made, like our coloring book calendar, and have them add in their holiday pictures after coloring.
Using the calendars they make along with the calendar board you made, take a little time each day, just a minute or two, to go over what month you’re in, the holidays that fall in that month, and what season it belongs in. Before long, your preschooler will have the months mastered and they’ll have had a lot of fun in the process!
