Back to School Calendar Book

Update:  See this post for how my calendar book looks now! It evolved throughout the years to be more of a daily journal page in which we fill in information each day (on one page) instead of over a series of pages.  It became more meaningful to the children having the skills all on one page*

I get tons of e-mails asking me about calendar book.  First, I want to clarify that this was NOT my original idea!  My kindergarten friends introduced me to it a few years ago, and they learned about it from a Shari Sloane conference.  I just adapt and tweak to meet my kiddos needs.
The first year I did calendar book, I was SCARED.  I didn’t start until January.  I thought the kiddos needed some time to mature and be able to sit longer be better listeners and so on.  Don’t get me wrong, I still did calendar, but I wasn’t ready to put the books in the hands of my little babies!
My second year of calendar book, my friend convinced me to start right away at the beginning of the school year.  I didn’t start at the very beginning….I gave it a week or 2 and started in September.  VERY S….L…O…W…L…Y.
These are the binders that I use:
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I get them at Sam’s club.  I TRY to make them last 2 years, but some kids are harder on them than others.  We always talk in the beginning about how important they are, and how they need to treat them nicely……you know the gig.
I also put in a pencil pouch.
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They are kinda spendy – so I really watch for deals.  Sometimes you can get them at the dollar store, but make sure they fit a three ring binder! I bought a bunch of them once, and they didn’t fit!  My friends put these on their supply lists, but I can’t do that because not all the K teachers in my building do calendar books.
In the pencil pouch are 2 crayons and a pencil.  Keepin’ it simple!
This is what the kiddos have in their calendar notebooks:
1. September songs
2. Alphabet Chart
3.The September calendar page with dotted numbers to trace.
4. Number writing page (we wait a while to start this).
5. Patterning page
6. How many days in school page (with the first few numbers dotted)
7. Tooth tally chart
8. Birthday Chart
9. Zero the Hero Chart
*The last 4 stay in the calendar book year round.
As the children are able to, I add more pages that match the pages in my flipchart.  (Here the bummer news: I can’t send you my calendar flipcharts because I use DJ Inkers clip art, and the images can’t be secured.  We all know that is a big no-no with DJ Inkers!)
Phew – got all that?  Really, it’s not that difficult to do – just takes a bit of courage!  Kim Adsit and Shari Sloane have put together a really nice calendar packet that explains everything in detail…there are lots more activities for names, weather, songs, etc.  It’s a gigantic pack and well worth the price!  You can find at at Kim’s store on Teachers Pay Teachers.
So, here’s the good news! I’m sharing my calendar goodies with you to get you started!  I promise you you’ll really enjoy it! The kids are so engaged and are practicing skills everyday.  When you notice they need practice with a certain skill, just add it to their book…they get so excited about new pages! 
So…here goes! 
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This is why you need 2 crayons in your pencil pocket Smile I always keep an “extra”  basket nearby for pencils that break or if someone loses a crayon.
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This one we do with a number writing song – right now I can’t tell you if it is a Jack or Dr. Jean song.  Sorry!
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(I get the Zero the Hero page from Kim’s pack)
 Just leave a note to tell me that you snagged ‘em Smile

69 comments:

  1. I may try this.... Never have done this before.... What is the procedure for this?
    Thanks for helping!!!
    www.heidi'skrazykinderblogspot.com

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  2. I've never done this but this year I decided to try it this year. thanks for sharing your calendar pages now I can cross something off my list of to do's

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  3. Thank you for all the great printables! These are great! I am not sure how much of this I can do because our administrators told us No calendar time this year:( but I am still going to do some of the typical calendar things. Thanks!!
    What I Learned in Kindergarten

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  4. I love the idea of a calendar notebook but I am scared too! I may get up the courage to start it this year but there's always next:) Thanks for the information!

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  5. This is wonderful...thanks for sharing!
    Angela Just Love Teaching!

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  6. you are so generous and kind to share. I love my calendar time because you can teach so many different skills at different levels. I am going to give the binder a try, but I'm scared too!

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  7. Wow! Thank you for sharing this great resource. Can't wait to use it this year!

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  8. Thanks for sharing....these are great resources!!!

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  9. Thank you for sharing! I may try this year thanks to you! :)

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  10. I might be brave enough to start at the beginning of the year this time around... who knows! Thanks for sharing your take on the calendar notebook. It is nice to hear that others have attempted at the beginning of Kg and been successful!!!

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  11. I love the dotted numbers in your calender (month of september)

    In my calender book, I make them write their first name each day and later their full name for practice.

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  12. We are going to try the calendar book in K after seeing your previous post. THANK YOU for all of the goodies! I love your blog! :-D

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  13. I love this idea! You have made it really easy to get started. I guess I need to start looking for binders and pencil pouches...
    Thank You!

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  14. Thanks for sharing. I am biting the bullet and giving the Calendar Book a try ... totally freaked out! I am confident that at the end of the year I will think it was the best thing ever!

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  15. I bought the packet!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! i LOVE LOVE that you are sharing the music that you use with it!! I have the binders all set up and we are ready to go in my classroom!! We will start in September!! WOOT! WOOT! I am wicked excited!! My students LOVED it last spring when you first mentioned it in April!! LOVE LOVE!

    Thanks for inspiring others!!
    Sarah Hetrick
    shetrick@gmail.com
    www.mrshetrick.com

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  16. Thank you so much for sharing. I have been doing calendars since I started teaching kindergarten 4 years ago. Some years are easier than others, but I still think it is worth the effort. Great thing is that it is easy to change/add activities month to month to meet your students needs. I may be being greedy, but do you by any chance have a June calendar? Thanks again!

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  17. Thanks so much for the goodies - I was nervous to begin this last year, but it went really well! My kiddos LOVED their "calendar binders" and especially looked forward to ending a month (taking home a few of the pages) and adding new pages. I even had them taking out and adding their own pages - they are so capable when given the opportunity! Thanks again!

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  18. I have strict copying rules at my school, so I am going to buy some stickers for the Birthday and Tooth sheets. I am going to place the stickers and draw the lines to seperate the months. I should say I am going to call on a wonderful parent volunteer to do this for me.

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  19. Thanks for sharing this. Not sure if I'm going to try it but your things give me a place to start if I decide to. We have a very boy heavy kindergarten this year. There are only 12 girls in the whole grade. I've got so many things I want to try this year thanks to reading all the wonderful blogs. Love this community.

    http://mskerriandherkrazykindergarten.blogspot.com/

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  20. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas and calendar inserts. I do mine very similar to yours.

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  21. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to try this out.

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  22. Thank you so much for sharing, I so appreciate it!

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  23. Thank you so much for sharing! I looked into the calender book in the spring when you blogged about it then, and L.O.V.E. it! Thanks for adding this new stuff!

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  24. I started calendar books in October (added a cute cover and sent home to review at the end of the month) I added to them slowly- I too was scared. My morning class did not do all the activities that I did with the afternoon. I also did a sight word of the day (different than of the week). Children read, wrote, and then reread all the words each day. I lOVED calender time last year- the students were so engaged. The only trouble was catching up the kids who were absent- I had the teacher helper of the day help me.

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  25. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I plan to begin calendar books this year, you just saved me a TON of time!

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  26. Thank you so so much! I can't wait to start using calendar books!
    Beth

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  27. Thank you so much for sharing... I have been debating whether or not to use calendar books this year. I think you have convinced me this is great for the children and you have saved me so much time to put it together!

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  28. I am a former teacher turned stay at home mom. My oldest is ready to start doing preschool things with me and since I taught middle school, I feel a little lost with PreK/K but your blog, ideas, & songs have so helped. Thanks! :~)

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  29. thank you! thank you! thank you! i am so excited to try the calendar book this year!!!

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  30. I have been using a calendar book for several years now. Your ideas will help me update and make it more user friendly. Thanks you so much for your generosity and sharing!
    Pati

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  31. Love your site! Thanks for the freebies.

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  32. Thank you so much! I had already decided to do calendar books with my kiddos this year and wasn't really worried about it when I should have been. Your experience definitely saved me from the learning curve I would have run into and months of trial and error.

    Tammi
    Having Fun K-1

    TammiL(dot)13(at)gmail(dot)com

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  33. I loved reading your blog! You are so creative! Have you ever considered using Brag Tags for your kids in your class? I have been involved in the printing industry for many years, and have been able to use my contacts and save my daughters’ school a significant amount of money on their laminated tag costs. With school budgets being so tight, I wanted to offer other schools and teachers the opportunity to take advantage of the savings as well. The costs are over 50% off any other companies making them now! The designs are great and you can even custom make any tag at no extra cost. Contact me for more info and special discount info.

    Denise
    boostpromos@gmail.com

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  34. I am going to try to do Calendar Books this year. Looking forward to working with them. Thank you sharing your resources. It is greatly appreciated. Have a great school year.

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  35. THANK YOU SO MUCH! :o) I started a calendar notebook a few years ago when I taught first grade, but for some reason I didn't continue it all year. We were doing Saxon Math and it just didn't fit in with our hellacious schedule. I have more freedom now at a new school in kindergarten, and I cannot WAIT to use the cute printables - thank you so much for sharing. I have you pinned on Pintrest so I don't forget to come back and get the rest :o) Have a wonderful year!

    http://sothentherewere2.blogspot.com

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  36. I got so excited I even blogged about you :o) http://sothentherewere2.blogspot.com/2011/08/awesome-blog.html

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  37. Great way to keep everyone engaged during calendar time ... this has not always been n the case in the past. Thank you for sharing! BTW - LOVE your blog!
    One quick question - where do the children do this? ... at their seats? on the floor at the calendar?
    Thanks again!

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  38. @Mrs. Kremser -- I have the children do it at the carpet. If we're having a particularly challenging day, we'll do it at the tables :) Sometimes too, though, we switch it up just for a change - they love that!

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  39. Thanks you for posting all these freebies. I've never heard of a calendar book...I'm new to the blogging world...but I love the idea. I'm nervous to start this in Sept., but I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes. Couldn't hurt! I was wondering what you use for your alphabet page you said was in the student book?

    http://hmconyers.blogspot.com/

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  40. OMG!! Thank you so much, Kathleen! These are so awesome! I bought Kim and Sherri's packet this Summer and was planning to start these in Sept.! Your pages are so stinkin' cute!!! I'm so excited to use them!!! Thanks a ton!!!!
    Little Warriors

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  41. Thanks so much for posting this- I love that I could save them in google docs! I found another version, but I like this one much better and will be printing it instead. I teach a k-2 special education class and we have done calendar binders with velcro pieces in the past, but I feel this will be a better system. Will let you know how it goes! Thanks!

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  42. WOW.....love this! Can't wait to use it with my kinders in just a few short weeks. Thanks so much.

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  43. Thank you for sharing! I've been trying to update my calendar for this year and you had everything I was thinking of making!Thank you!
    Lindsey
    Whyte Water

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  44. I love these! Thanks for sharing.
    I have a question I hope you can help me with. Sometimes when I download things, I get a gradiated black line rather than what was printed on the page. I downloaded your free manners package from teachers pay teachers, and it did that on some of them. What do I need to do so that doesn't happen?

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  45. I found my problem! Everything was opening in Preview rather than Adobe Reader. Thanks!!! I love it!

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  46. I saw that in a past post you showed the calendar program that you use on your active board. Is that a program you created yourself? I have a Polyvision Interactive board in my room but am new to it. Can you give a quick description of how you created your calendar for the active board? Thanks!!!

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  47. I grabbed several of these for our homeschooler in Kindergarten this year. Thank you!

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  48. Thanks so much! I love your blog! Sooooo many great ideas to choose from. I too am trying a calendar notebook for the first time. It only makes sense to practice these skills.

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  49. Thanks so much! I'm going to try this with my kiddos this year...looking forward to it!

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  50. Thanks, Kathleen! The birthday printable will come in handy! I've run out of board space to display birthdays :-)

    ReadWriteSing

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  51. Thank you sooooooo much for sharing your awesome calendar pages!!! I am starting calendar books this year along with my new Smart Board calendar and I can't wait to try these! You rock!

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  52. I just found out that I was teaching Kindergarden last week....I am SO happy that I came across your blog. You are an inspiration and I can't wait to make calendar books with my students!!!!!!

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  53. Thanks so much...now if I can be brave enough to try!

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  54. wow, thank you so much for sharing these printables. I teach at a private school and resources are limited. You are fabulous to be so generous. Thanks again:)

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  55. Thank you so much! I'm using the calendar tracing pages, so adorable!

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  56. Oh. My. Goodness! My students LOVE this! I'm using almost all of your printables for our morning calendar meeting. They LOVE the Hickety Pickety poem. I know you said you would post more monthly "stuff," any idea when you'll have time? :o)

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  57. Where do you get the calendars from?
    slong@icaba.org

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  58. Our Kdg team is starting our binders in Oct & I will definitely be printing these to include! Thank you so much for sharing so generously!!!

    Gretchen

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  59. One month into using calendar folders for the first time and I'm loving it and so are my students!!! I'm loving it so much that I just had to blog about it too. Thanks again for sharing this with us. :)

    kindergarten days

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  61. Thanks for the cute September song! I found August, too, and look forward to starting the school year out with them!

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  62. Thanks for the inspiration! Me and another K teacher are planning on doing calendar books for this upcoming year, and your posts on the matter have really guided us! Thanks!

    One thing we were wondering about was, toward the middle of the year, after doing calendar books for a while, do your students get a little lazy/board with the idea? What do you do to keep it interesting, fun and meaningful?

    Thanks again!

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  63. Thanks so much for the great calendar binder sheets!! Can't wait to use them. Was wondering if you have a new September calendar for this year.
    Thanks again!!

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  64. Thanks so much! These pages are awesome!

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  65. I am excited to try this during calendar. This way makes everything very meaningful and fun! Thanks!

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  66. I love your calendar patterns for each month that you had for 2011. Do you have calendars for the 2012 - 2013 year with the traceable numbers?
    Thank you for an awesome job and sharing!!!

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  67. I just found a job for next fall, and am excited about finding your "Monthly Songs". These are so unique!! However, I've scoured your website, and can't seem to find songs for: Oct, Dec, Feb, Mar, May. Am I missing something??

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  68. I am not able to download your calendar pages and I am hoping you will send them to me. My email is: roberts.tr@sau54.org
    I would really appreciate it!
    Thanks
    Tracy

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