Calendar Making for Third Grade

IMPORTANT NOTE:
DO NOT read this post if you are the parent of a student in the Grades program in our homeschool co-op!

PLEASE DO NOT read this post because it will ruin a surprise your darling child is carefully planning for you!

Even if you are feeling ultra-tempted, please refrain from reading any more!

If you are, however, any other homeschooling parent, please do read this post because I think you will find it very helpful. And it's somewhat time sensitive so I don't think I can wait to post it until the end of December.

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The Maths of Practical Life: Time, Temperature, Weight & Volume

This is a classic Waldorf Third Grade main lesson block and it is one of my favorite math blocks to teach. I love how much hands-on stuff there is to do! One of my favorite projects, besides Baking, is to have the children make their own calendars for the upcoming year, which they can then give as gifts. We are doing this math block in November so that the calendars will be ready for gift-giving, and the start of the new year, in December.

It is a lot of work for children to write every month name, every day of the week name, and all of the numbers for each month, so allow plenty of time for this project. I really like blank scrapbooking calendars and I always buy the same brand, Karen Foster Design. I like that they include 13 month pages, which means that you can do December of the current year as well as all twelve months of the upcoming year. That way the person who you give the gift to can hang it up on his/her wall right away, which is an extra bonus!

They also have all the branding on the front cover, which is covered by the artwork, so there are no logos anywhere else; only your child's work shows. Lastly, I'm so pleased that they give you six week rows for each month, which means that in a month with six weeks, your child can write in every day easily and clearly. It's so confusing to a young child when you're suddenly asking them to write 24 / 31 on a Sunday every once in a while.

Here's my 2016 blog post of notes of projects, and photographs, from the last time we did this: Notes on Homemade Calendar Activity.

Finding seasonal artwork is always a fun project and I love Pinterest for this. Here is my plan for the artwork for each month (and accompanying stories). Using scrapbook calendars means that you need to do all of the artwork on 12 x 12 paper. Use watercolor paper trimmed from a 12 x 18 inch pad or just do the artwork on 12 x 12 cardstock. I try to avoid chalk or oil pastels as much as possible, since they will smear on the number page opposite the artwork unless you spray them very well.

Front Cover

Marble Painting
(repeat from a prior year)

December 2018

Birch Trees

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
illustrated by Jane Chapman

January 2019

Penguin Inkblot Painting

The Emperor's Egg by Martin Jenkins
illustrated by Jane Chapman

February 2019

Celery Heart Roses
(repeat from a prior year)

Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch by Eileen Spinelli
illustrated by Paul Yalowitz

March 2019

Kandinsky art project from art class with Miss Anna

The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art by Barb Rosenstock
illustrated by Mary GrandPre

April 2019

Georgia O'Keeffe Flowers
(repeat from a prior year)

Through Georgia's Eyes by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez
illustrated by Julie Paschkis

My Name is Georgia: A Portrait by Jeanette Winter by Jeanette Winter

May 2019

Wine Cork Ladybugs

Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen
illustrated by Tudor Humphries

June 2019

Matisse Mural

The Iridescence of Birds: A Book About Henri Matisse by Patricia MacLachlan
illustrated by Hadley Hooper

Henri's Scissors by Jeanette Winter

Matisse's Garden by Samantha Friedman
illustrated by Christina Amodeo

July 2019

Positive / Negative Art

Eating the Alphabet: Fruits & Vegetables from A to Z by Lois Ehlert

August 2019

Galaxy Handprint Art

Older Than the Stars by Karen C. Fox
illustrated by Nancy Davis

September 2019

Spider Web Art
(repeat from a prior year)

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

October 2019

Chalk Stenciled Pumpkins
(repeat from a prior year)

The Pumpkin Giant by Mary E. Wilkins, retold by Ellin Greene
illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

November 2019

Shaving Cream Marbling Autumn Leaves

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

December 2019

Snowman Graphic Art

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

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