Morning circle time at school is a way for the classroom to come together as a community of learners. As a music therapist, I often provided the classroom with songs to support their involvement, recall, and learning of academic materials. Many teachers already incorporate some kind of “calendar song” by playing a sound recording or a YouTube video. Many calendar songs about the months just sing the months in order, and are usually way too fast! I decided to design a new calendar song with a focus of sequencing two months at a time, and incorporating the month numbers.
I created individual cards with the month name and corresponding month number written below for visual support. When working with a classroom, I pass out the even numbered months to the students, and lay the odd numbered months on the floor (leaving a space for the missing months). Students hold onto their cards, and when their month is sung, they come up and place their card in the correct space. For students just learning to read or recognize the months in sequence, the month number on the cards are a great cue for them to be more independent in participating.
When first introducing this song, I usually just sing the first part of the song without the section on holidays. Once students are familiar with the sequencing the cards and the song, I then begin adding the section about the holidays. Have picture cards of the holidays ready so students can actively participate, matching the holiday with the correct month.
Free Download: Calendar Cards
Free Download: Rock the Months of the Year
Rock The Months Of The Year
by Wade Richards
The first month is January.
The second month is February.
January and February.
We’re gonna rock the months of the year.
In January there is New Years Day, uh-huh, uh-huh.
In February there is Valentine’s Day, o-oh, o-oh!
The third month is March.
The fourth month is April.
March and April.
We’re gonna rock the months of the year.
In March there is St. Patrick’s Day, uh-huh, uh-huh.
In April there is April Fool’s Day, o-oh, o-oh!
(Continue the song with your own lyrics…)