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You are here: Home / Activities / Teach Days and Months with Calendar Wheels in Chinese and English (Free Printable)

Teach Days and Months with Calendar Wheels in Chinese and English (Free Printable)

By Betty
September 30, 2020

30 Sep
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Teach Days and Months with Calendar Wheels in Chinese and English (Free Printable)

To teach my children about the past, present, and future and learn about the relationship of important calendar terms, I made interactive calendar wheels!

Since my children speak Chinese and English, these printable wheels come in both languages! They have been super helpful for teaching calendar concepts, such as days of the week and months of the year.

Months of the year, days of the week, calendar wheel printable for kids, students, teachers, school
Months of the year, days of the week, calendar wheel printable for kids, students, teachers, school

This post may have some affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, I earn a small commission which supports my blog and free printables at no additional cost to you. Please see the disclosure policy for details.

I first got the brilliant idea from a paper plate days of the week wheel that I saw on @Lnnally. She inspired me to make these bilingual printables to share with other parents and teachers! 🙂

Table of Contents

  • Fun way to teach days of the week and months of the year!
  • Teach Kids clock and calendar skills
  • Calendar translations in Chinese, Pinyin, and English
  • How to teach calendar concepts
  • What you need for the calendar wheels
  • How to set up the calendar wheels
  • More free interactive calendar printables

Fun way to teach days of the week and months of the year!

In this post, you will find:

  • Days of the Week wheel
  • Months of the Year wheel

These calendar wheels are available in:

  • Simplified Chinese
  • Traditional Chinese
  • English
Calendar Wheels: Free Printable in Simplified and Traditional Chinese that teaches days of the week and months of the year
The original version of our calendar wheels from 3 years ago!

Teach Kids clock and calendar skills

This resource is part of a series on how to teach kids clock and calendar skills:

  1. Interactive Perpetual Calendar 
  2. Calendar Wheels: Days of the week and Months of the Year (This article)
  3. Months and Seasons Paper Plate Puzzle
  4. Chinese Zodiac Wheel
  5. Teach Kids Time with Simple, Hands-On Clock Activities
Months of the year printable in Chinese and English | Kids activities | School resources for learning time and seasons

Calendar translations in Chinese, Pinyin, and English

Since many of you have told me that you’re learning Chinese with your children like me, I wanted to share common calendar translations here.

Taking these notes also helps me remember the Chinese words.

Below, I have included important calendar terms in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Hanyu Pinyin, and English.

NOTE: The Pinyin from Google translate is often inaccurate. I recommend checking Pleco app or a Chinese dictionary website like Yabla Dictionary for accuracy.

  • 日历 / 日曆 (rìlì /calendar)
  • 星期 (xīngqī / week)
  • 月 (yuè / month)
  • 年 (nián / year)
  • 季节 / 季節 (jìjié / season)
  • 天 (tiān / day)

How to say the months of the year in Chinese

  • 一月 (yī yuè / January)
  • 二月 (èr yuè / February)
  • 三月 (sān yuè / March)
  • 四月 (sì yuè / April)
  • 五月 (wǔ yuè / May)
  • 六月 (liù yuè / June)
  • 七月 (qī yuè / July)
  • 九月 (jiǔ yuè / September)
  • 十月 (shí yuè / October)
  • 十一月 (shí yī yuè / November)
  • 十二月 (shí èr yuè / December)

I’ve also learned that standard Chinese words for days of the week varies depending on location.

Days of the week printable in Chinese and English | Kids activities | School resources for learning time and seasons

How to say the days of the week in Chinese

Here are 3 of the the most common ways to name the days of the week:

  • Sunday
    1. 星期天 (xīngqītiān) or 星期日 (xīngqīrì)
    2. 周日 (zhōu rì)
    3. 礼拜天 (lǐbàitiān)
  • Monday
    1. 星期一 (xīngqīyī)
    2. 周一 (zhōu yī)
    3. 礼拜一 (lǐbài yī)
  • Tuesday
    1. 星期二 (xīngqī èr)
    2. 周二 (zhōu èr)
    3. 礼拜二 (lǐbài èr)
  • Wednesday
    1. 星期三 (xīngqī sān)
    2. 周三 (zhōu sān)
    3. 礼拜三 (lǐbài sān)
  • Thursday
    1. 星期四 (xīngqī sì)
    2. 周四 (zhōu sì)
    3. 礼拜四 (lǐbài sì)
  • Friday
    1. 星期五 (xīngqī wǔ)
    2. 周五 (zhōu wǔ)
    3. 礼拜五 (lǐbài wǔ)
  • Saturday
    1. 星期六 (xīngqī liù)
    2. 周六 (zhōu liù)
    3. 礼拜六 (lǐbài liù)

星期, 周, and 礼拜: Which is the most common way to describe days of the week in Chinese?

After speaking to dozens of parents around the world, my understanding is that 星期 (xīngqī) is the most common general term to describe the day of the week in most parts of Asia.

周 (zhōu) seems to be common for Beijing natives.

礼拜一, 二, 三… (lǐbài yī, èr, sān…) is another way to describe days of the week and is used often in certain regions, such as Hong Kong and Singapore.

My Shanghainese relatives also typically say this.  Although, I have not made a 礼拜 wheel yet, leave a comment if want me to make this version for your family!

Since we are a Christian family, a few years ago, I made a personalized wheel that says 主日 (zhǔ rì / Lord’s Day) for Sunday which you’ll see in these photos.

At that time, I was teaching my daughter about 主日学 / 主日學 (zhǔ rì xué / Sunday school).

However, 主日 is not typically used to describe Sunday compared to the aformentioned terms.

Months of the year calendar wheel printable for kids, students, teachers, school

How to teach calendar concepts

Every morning, we try to start the daily routine by identifying the date on the calendar.  Habit and practice encourages pattern recognition and comprehension over time.

Here are basic questions that we discuss when reviewing the calendar wheels

  • Months of the year:
    • 我们在哪个月?/ 我們在哪個月?(Wǒmen zài nǎge yuè? / What month are we in?)
  • Days of the week:
    • 今天星期几?/ 今天星期幾? (Jīntiān xīngqī jǐ? / What day is it today?)
      昨天是星期几?/ 昨天是星期幾? (Zuótiān shì xīngqī jǐ? / What day was it yesterday?)
      明天是星期几?/ 明天是星期幾 ?(Míngtiān shì xīngqī jǐ / What day is it tomorrow?)
Days of the week calendar wheel - English printable

What you need for the calendar wheels

Please review the Terms & Conditions before downloading any materials.  © CHALK ACADEMY. Do not share any files without permission from chalkacademy.com. Only this website link may be shared.

  1. Calendar wheel templates: Our Printables Library for subscribers has several versions of free calendar wheels in Chinese and English
    • Click here to subscribe!
    • Click here for the Printables Library (password from the Welcome letter)
  2. Printer
  3. Laminator
  4. Laminating pouches
  5. Scissors
  6. Corkboard
  7. Pushpins
  8. If you prefer not to pin to corkboard, you can use paper fasteners
Calendar Wheels: Free Printable in Simplified and Traditional Chinese that teaches days of the week and months of the year
Corkboard for calendar wheel printables
Calendar Wheels: Free Printable in Simplified and Traditional Chinese that teaches days of the week and months of the year

How to set up the calendar wheels

  1. Print pdf file on different colors of paper.  My daughter likes choosing the colors!
  2. Laminate each page
  3. Cut out circles
  4. Pin to corkboard so that your child can visualize all wheels

My daughter has so much fun spinning the wheels!   It’s so helpful being able to compare the months of the year and days of the week side by side.

More free interactive calendar printables

Free interactive Chinese calendar

I highly recommend using the calendar wheels in conjunction with our free Interactive Chinese Calendar!

Interactive Perpetual Calendar in Chinese

Chinese Zodiac Wheel

For Chinese New Year, your family can also enjoy our interactive Chinese Zodiac Wheel in simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, and English!

Chinese Zodiac Wheel - Interactive printable in Chinese and English

Does your family use 周, 星期, or 礼拜?  Should I make a 礼拜 Days of the Week Wheel?  Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestions!

Have you tried our bilingual calendar printables with your kids?

If you try this activity, please let us know in the comments below! What age(s) are your kid(s) and how did it go? We’d love to hear about your learning experience!

On Instagram and Facebook, tag a photo @chalkacademy and use the hashtag #ChalkAcademy so our family can check out the action! Or email me a photo at [email protected]!

Tips on creating a Chinese learning environment at home

  • Teach Your Child a Second Language at Home with 5 Key Steps
  • Raising Multilingual Children as a Non-Fluent Parent: 7 Lessons
  • How To Get Your Child To Speak the Minority Language
  • Encourage A Child to Love and Speak the Minority Language with 5 Strategies
  • How to Find a Foreign Language Teacher for Your Child
  • 5 Reasons Books are the Best Gifts for Multilingual Kids

Happy learning, friends!

2 Comments

About Betty

I'm a Chinese-American mom who is having fun teaching my children Mandarin Chinese while re-learning the language myself. I love coming up with creative, hands-on, and educational activities, and I hope these ideas help your children have fun learning Chinese!

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Comments

  1. Maya says

    October 19, 2020 at 8:13 am

    Hi,

    Thank you for providing such greatinput and resources! Veryblessed to have came accross your website.
    Please help me find printable links for daily routine schedule and also the pinwheel for monhts.
    I havetried to scroll trhougha few times and clock unto a few articles but is not able to find the link/.

    Thank you

    Reply
    • Betty says

      October 19, 2020 at 6:47 pm

      You’re welcome! Please check the “what you need” section of the blogpost for instructions on where to subscribe and link to Printables Library for Subscribers. Enjoy the printables!

      Reply

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Dr. Betty Choi CHALK Academy - 2

Hi! I’m Betty, a Chinese-American mom, believer, pediatrician, and writer.  I’m having fun learning Chinese with my children, and I love sharing multilingual resources and teaching tips!  I hope these ideas can help your family or school! Read More…

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE: Unauthorized use and/or duplication of any content without express and written permission from CHALK Academy is strictly prohibited.  Excerpts, pdfs, images, and videos may be used only with permission, provided that full and clear credit is given to CHALK Academy / Betty Choi with appropriate and specific direction to original content.

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