Let the children know that it's time for calendar activities with a song. A short and simple ditty that you have made up works well. Recite nursery rhymes and sing rhyming songs as a group to help students develop literacy skills. As you introduce new concepts, find songs or rhymes that will help children remember the lesson. Repetition is important, so sing each song frequently throughout the week.
The days of the week are often difficult for preschool children to remember. A song or rhyme will help them to recall all of the names. Choose a student helper to stand at the calendar and point to each day as the class sings. Ask the children if they know what day it is. Review the previous and following days of the week. You can also use this time to review any birthdays, holidays or special occasions that may be coming up.
Use the numbers on the calendar to teach your students how to count. A student helper can stand and point to each number as the class counts, which will help teach one-to-one correspondence. Ask the children what the date or number is today, what it was yesterday, and what it will be tomorrow. Later in the year, you can introduce patterns by adding shapes and colors to the daily squares of the calendar. For example, in February the even days could be pink and the odd days could be red. The students can then identify what color will come next in the pattern.
Calendar time is a good time to teach children about the weather. This will also give the students an opportunity to learn about the differences in the seasons. Appoint a student as the class weatherman to look out the window and describe the sky. He can also describe what it felt like as he was walking outside that morning. Discuss what clothes you should wear in such weather. A bulletin board of an animal that gets dressed for each day will help the students to put the lesson into action.