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Developing an understanding of time is a difficult concept for younger children.  Think about the different ways we measure time: seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, and the tools we use to measure and represent time. Then think of all of the tools we use to develop number sense — ten frames, number lines, subitizing dots, dice, rekenreks, hundreds charts. Traditional calendars don’t relate to any of those!  We need to adjust what we have adapted to as adults to meet where connections are just starting to build for students.

It is hard for children to understand the difference between one hour, one day or one month because “one” sounds the same in all of those instances but has three completely different meanings.  Then we have a whole set of vocabulary to describe time: morning, evening, afternoon, dawn, dusk, noon, midnight, yesterday, today and tomorrow, and so on.  It is difficult to understand what can change from calendar time one morning in school to calendar time the next morning because of how flexible and dynamic time-related vocabulary can be.   

One of the most confusing parts for students is the use of the standard calendar we adults are so familiar with.  The first day of the month doesn’t always start on the first spot on the calendar. Also, when students are familiar with the hundreds chart, they understand that the numbers above and below are 10 more or 10 less. This is not true when you look at numbers on a calendar since it is based on a seven-day system.  Moreover, students have to master the return sweep with numbers just to understand where to count the next day when you get to the end of the row on Saturday.   

The confusion then grows when we try to relate the number of days we’ve been in school to place value blocks.  Some students do not grasp conservation of number, so showing them 10 blocks glued together is not the same in their mind as the ten single blocks they have in their hand.  We’ve undone all of our good number sense by using a traditional calendar and inappropriate tools. 

We have to change what we are doing.  

One way to make your calendar time more meaningful is to connect to the tools we are already using to build number sense.  Consider how we could use a horizontal calendar, more like a number line than a calendar, to show the days in the month.  Here’s why this works:

• The month always starts on the number 1, and it is always the first position.
• It is easier to see what number will come next for the date since there is no return sweep.
• It connects to what students know about order, counting, numbers and patterns.
• It is easier to count how many days until holidays or special days since it is organized in a tool like the number line.  This eliminates the confusion of how calendars and hundreds charts have different patterns or use return sweep.
• Students can use the calendar as a tool to solve problems. 

Horizontal calendars allow students to see the whole month at the same time.  Some teachers put all of the dates up facing the students and use a clothespin to show where they are in the month.  Other teachers turn the numbers face down and turn each over one day at a time.  Regardless of how you present your horizontal calendar, the students see all of the days of the month in a line.  They know when they are getting closer to the end of the month, how many days remain until a new month and can build a better sense of how long a month is when they see the number of days and when they will stop counting.  Traditional calendars do not show which square will be the final day so it seems like a new month comes out of the blue even though there may be squares left blank in the calendar. 

Calendar time should have students focus on the year, month, day of the week and date and can take place using a physical horizontal calendar or a virtual one.  Visit our online shop if you would like to purchase a virtual horizontal calendar. A focused calendar time allows students to focus on what they should be building- a sense of time.  Other parts like spiral review and weather can be added, but should be distinctly separate from the conversation about years, months and days. 

Make the horizontal calendar work for your students. You can have students use the date as a target number to build number sense or keep a count of the number of days they have been in school. The tool that you use for keeping track of the number of days in school should match the students’ understanding of number.   Place value blocks are used in second grade and are not a concept that kindergartners should be expected to understand.  Using a hundreds chart or ten frame would be more meaningful to a kindergartner or first grader. 

We know that students learn through exploring and discovering patterns.  We want to teach in a way that students can transfer knowledge to new contexts and make connections.  Horizontal calendars are an easy way to allow students to look for patterns, use familiar tools and make connections.