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Wanting both an interactive calendar for my five-year-old to help her learn months and days and a project to do with her, I came up with this. At the craft store, I got an oversize sheet of craft foam (white); then several bags of craft foam shapes, numbers, and letters; and a few bottles of puff paint (the kind you write with, squeezing from the bottle directly onto the surface); and several packages of Velcro circles.
The oversize sheet was glued onto a sturdy piece of cardboard and trimmed to fit. On the left hand side we glued the word DAY in foam letters, and beside it across the top, seven large foam shapes with the days of the week written on them. (Obviously, I did the lettering with the paint.) Underneath the days of the week, we glued the Velcro circles in a calendar grid. (The Velcro circles have sticky backs, but you will still need to use glue or they will come off after being used a few times.) Below DAY we glued the word MONTH and a Velcro circle under that. Underneath MONTH is the word SEASON and a two Velcro circles: one for Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and one for a foam shape with a painting of a flower, a sun, a fall leaf, and a snowflake. At bottom is the YEAR and a sticky circle for that.
Then came the long part! On various foam shapes, we glued the numbers 1 through 31; and on twelve large foam shapes I wrote the names of the months with paint. Once that was dry, we glued the other half of the Velcro circles onto the backs of the months and dates (again, use extra glue and don’t depend on the Velcro sticky backs.)
Then for special days, on various foam shapes I painted the words ZOO, PARK, GYM, etc. We made music notes for music class, a flag for July 4th and other patriotic holidays, a heart for Valentine's Day, a cross for church and Easter. For the Christmas tree we glued two green triangles (one above the other) to a large red foam shape, then glued a couple of smaller yellow circles to the tree. The balloons are for birthdays or other parties: we put five colored teardrop shapes on one larger foam shape, overlapping, for the balloons and painted the strings hanging down. The face is the children's grandmother, and her picture goes on the calendar when we know we're going to Mimi's house. Personalize this for your regular activities - draw a plane or car for a trip, or DAY OFF for school vacation days, or a pair of ballet slippers for dance class, etc. Oh, in case you were wondering: LLL is for days we go to our La Leche League meeting!
After letting the glue dry overnight, we began using our calendar. It sits in our kitchen, but could easily be mounted to a bulletin board, or hung (poke holes in upper corners and tie wire or string to hang from a nail), or even mounted on the refrigerator (glue magnets to the back).
It’s easy and a fun project to do together. Enjoy!
Copyright (c) 2002 Carma Paden. All rights reserved. No portion may be reproduced in any fashion without express permission.
