Interactive Chinese Calendar and Teaching Tips (Printable + VIDEO)
A few years ago, my sister made a printable Chinese calendar to teach my kids how to keep track of the months, days, and seasons! A perpetual calendar is convenient and effective for review because it can be reused month after month, year after year. Despite also splurging on a beautiful wood Chinese calendar, my children still update our printable Chinese calendars each month!
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Download interactive Chinese calendar with instructions
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Our printable calendar with step-by-step instructions is also available in English and Korean!
Recommended materials for the printable Chinese calendar
- Printer
- Laminator and laminating pouches
- Scissors or paper trimmer
- Mini Velcro dots
- Mini paper clip
- Silicone ziplock bag to store extra Chinese months, seasons, years labels
Video demonstration of the Chinese printable calendar
Here’s a video of my daughter when she was 3 years old, counting and looking for the consecutive dates in the calendar!
More calendar and time tools for kids
- Calendar Wheels: Days of the week and Months of the Year
- Months and Seasons Paper Plate Puzzle
- Chinese Zodiac Wheel
What skills should kids have before learning about the calendar?
Calendar concepts can be tricky for young kids! Before children can understand the calendar, they need to know how to count and read numbers and understand how to follow a sequence.
Ways to help kids understand calendar concepts
Talk about your daily routine
Before introducing physical calendars, kids become familiar with general calendar concepts simply by hearing their parents talk! Even before kids can talk, narrate the day of the week and what you are planning to do that particular day. Use a visual daily routine chart to empower your kids with the events of the day.
For example, when it’s the weekend, I tell my kids that it’s Saturday, which usually means that Daddy and Mommy are not working. Instead of driving to preschool, we’ll start our day with the playground. On Sundays, we go to church, so my kids associate these events with that specific day of the week.
If your family is bilingual like ours, children start to notice patterns. One parent might talk about the date and time in Chinese, while school teachers talk about the calendar in English on weekdays.
Sing songs about the calendar
Music is a very fun and catchy way to help kids learn the names of the days and months! Here are some of our favorite calendar songs in Chinese:
- What Day Is It Today? (今天是星期几？) via Little Fox Chinese
- 四季歌，Four Seasons Song via Giggling Panda
- Months of the year song: 一月，二月，三月，四月，五月，六月， 七月，八月，九月，十月，十一月，十二月 , 一 年 有 一二 月!
Learn how to count and sequence numbers
Our printable hundred chart is a fantastic way to introduce numbers in rows and columns. When a child is comfortable with the hundred chart, they have a solid foundation for learning the calendar!
Involve your child with keeping track of the date
Initially, you can demonstrate how to set up the calendar. Mark the current day with a little paper clip on our printable calendar or mini clothespin on the wood calendar. If your child is interested, invite him or her to move the clip to the subsequent day! This is also a great way to strengthen fine motor skills.
Questions that help kids master calendar concepts
In the morning, we try to start the day by reviewing the calendar as part of the daily routine. Here are basic questions that you can answer initially and later invite your child to chime in!
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?)
Season of the year:
- 目前的季节是什么？/ 目前的季節是什麼？(Mùqián de jìjié shì shénme? / What is the season currently?)
- 这 季节还剩几个月？/ 這季節還剩幾個月？(Zhè jìjié hái shèng jǐ gè yuè? / How many months are left in this season?)
- 下一季是什么时候？/ 下一季是什麼時候？(Xià yījì shì shénme shíhòu? / What is the next season?)
Real life word problems involving calendar skills
As your child becomes more confident and familiar with the numerical calendar patterns, you can use the calendar for real-life word problems.
Examples include:
- 到星期五还有多少天？/ 到星期五還有多少天？(Dào xīngqīwǔ hái yǒu duōshǎo tiān? / How many days until Friday?)
- 上周一的约会是几号？/ 上週一的約會是幾號？ (Shàng zhōu yī de yuēhuì shì jǐ hào? / What was the date last Monday?)
- 如果圣诞节是在十二月，那么几个月后是圣诞节？/ 如果聖誕節是在十二月，那麼幾個月後是聖誕節？ (Rúguǒ shèngdàn jié shì zài shí’èr yuè, nàme jǐ gè yuè hòu shì shèngdàn jié? / If Christmas is in December, how many months will it be until Christmas?)
- 几个星期前是你的生日？/ 幾個星期前是你的生日？ (Jǐ gè xīngqī qián shì nǐ de shēngrì? / How many weeks ago was your birthday?)
