School Sparks - Kindergarten Readiness

The importance of knowing the days of the week

Helping children organize their world helps them feel more comfortable. When children know the names of the days of the week and then know what will likely happen on each day, they can anticipate the day’s activities and relax. They will not be on edge wondering what will happen or what surprises they may encounter. Knowing and understanding the days of the week also helps parents, as children who can anticipate what will be expected of them on a specific day may need less direction from an adult.

Helping children learn the names of the days of the week

Learning the names of the days of the week is similar to learning to count. Children simply need to hear the names and order of the days of the week over and over until they can recite this themselves. This is a rote memorization activity, but it does not have to be boring. Try these suggestions for teaching your child the names of the days of the week:

• Sing the days of the week in a song or familiar tune. Some children’s CDs have songs dedicated to this learning. The song that the children in my preschool and kindergarten classes enjoyed was sung to the tune of the Addams Family theme song. It went like this: “Days of the week - snap, snap (snap fingers or ask little children to just clap). Days of the week - snap, snap. Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week - snap, snap. There’s Sunday and there’s Monday, There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday, There’s Thursday and there’s Friday, And then there’s Saturday. Days of the week - snap, snap. Days of the week - snap, snap. Days of the week, days of the week, days of the week - snap, snap.
• Read books that highlight the days of the week. Try Eric Carle’s books Today is Monday and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Your local librarian will no doubt have several others to suggest as well.
• Chant the names of the week as you and your child march around the house.

Tips for using these days of the week worksheets

Before your show your child these worksheets, you might want to glance over the activities listed for all seven days. By doing so, you can see if some of the activity choices on another worksheet day would be appropriate for a different day’s worksheet. If that is the case, you can cut out all of the activity squares and group them based on the activity. This will give your child the opportunity to find the activity square that he needs for each day of the week.

Show your child the page for one day of the week. Discuss the events that usually take place on that day. How many can your child think of? Certainly help him remember some of the activities that happen for each day. Show him the cut activity squares and let him decide which activities should be pasted onto that day’s chart. There should be more than four choices that fit on each day’s chart. The worksheets were designed this way so that your child could practice making choices and so that every child would be able to fill the entire chart.

While the most common (and even a few less common) activities are pictured on the worksheet pages, your child may want to add a special occasion or event to his weekly schedule, such as a special class. Of course, feel free to write this in. Perhaps your child can draw a picture to illustrate the activity.

You can help your child make a chart of his schedule by cutting out each completed day of the week and pasting the days, in order, on a large piece of tag board. Or you and your child may want to paste each completed chart on a separate piece of construction paper and hang the appropriate page on his bedroom wall each morning. In either case, by looking at the appropriate chart at the beginning of each day, your child will be reminded of the name of the day and also the activities that he can expect for that day.

The Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow slider can be used to reinforce the order of the days of the week, as well as introduce the words and the concepts of yesterday, today and tomorrow. First copy or paste this page onto heavy weight paper or tagboard to make it more sturdy. Then cut out the slider body as well as the slider strip. Cut the dashed lines on the slider body to allow the slider strip to move up and down.

As your child is learning to read the words for the days of the week as well as the words yesterday, today and tomorrow, I recommend that you slide the strip just once each day to reveal the current day of the week in the middle position. Allow your child to read the slider several times each day before he moves the strip to reveal the next day.

Extra activities to supplement the days of the week worksheets

• Each morning at breakfast, talk about what day of the week it is and what special things you have planned for the day. At night, tell your child what day it will be tomorrow.
• Using 7 pieces of construction paper cut, write, “TODAY IS [fill in the blank]” on each sheet. Each morning, take down the sign from the day before and tape up the new sign with the correct day of the week.
• When picking your child’s clothes for the day, put a card on top of the pile of clothes with the name of the day of the week. As your child is getting dressed, show him the card and discuss the day of the week’s name.
• Keep a calendar for your child, marking only dates that are special for him, such as play dates or friends’ and family members’ birthdays.
• Have your child decorate 7 pieces of paper. Label the top of each page with the name of one day of the week. Laminate the papers and use each one as a placemat for your child on the correct day.
• Play with your food! Serve spaghetti on Sunday, meatballs on Monday, tacos on Tuesday, watermelon on Wednesday, three-bean salad on Thursday, french fries on Friday and salad on Saturday.
• Instead of listening to the radio or your child’s favorite CD, sing “days of the week” songs when riding in the car. Ask your child to clap loudly as he sings the word of the current day.