Circle time is a cornerstone of the preschool and kindergarten day, and this classroom calendar brings it together on one colourful page. A rainbow stripe of red, orange, green, blue and purple runs across the top of the landscape page, above the friendly title Our Classroom Calendar. On the left, a big month calendar with a red title bar, orange day names and large rounded numbers is easy for little eyes to read. On the right, three boards help children talk about the day: Today is with seven coloured day chips, The weather is with six drawn weather icons, and The season is with four colourful season tiles.
Why Use a Circle Time Calendar
Daily calendar routines teach young children about days, months, numbers, patterns, weather, and seasons. Repeating the routine each morning builds confidence and vocabulary, and gives children a sense of order and predictability. A clear, colourful calendar makes these lessons fun and visual.
The Big Month Calendar
The month grid uses a rounded, child-friendly font and large centred numbers that are easy to read from the carpet. Weekends are shaded light blue to show children which days they are at home. The calendar is editable, so change the month and year in Calendar Options each month.
Today Is Board
Seven colourful chips show the days of the week. Point to today’s chip and ask children to say the day name together. The line underneath, Yesterday was, invites children to think about time and sequence. Older preschoolers can try saying what tomorrow will be.
Weather Board
Six simple icons show sunny, cloudy, rainy, snowy, windy, and hot weather. Ask a weather helper to look outside and choose the right icon each morning. Over the month, children can count how many sunny or rainy days they had.
Season Board
Four tiles show spring, summer, autumn and winter in different colours. Talk about the current season, what the weather is like, what people wear and what changes children notice outside.
Circle Time Routine Ideas
A typical routine might include singing a days of the week song, finding today’s date on the calendar, counting the days so far, choosing the weather, talking about the season and sharing news. Keep it short and lively, around ten to fifteen minutes.
Classroom Helper Jobs
Assign rotating helper jobs such as calendar helper, weather reporter, and day leader. Children love having a turn, and the job gives them confidence speaking in front of the group.
Making the Calendar Interactive
Laminate the printed calendar and use dry-erase markers, sticky notes, or Velcro pieces so children can move markers each day. A clothespin or arrow can point to today’s chip, weather, and season.
Bright Primary Colours
The rainbow palette is cheerful and engaging for young children, and each board has its own colour to help children find it quickly. All colours are editable if your classroom has a particular theme.
Printing the Circle Time Calendar
Print on US Letter landscape for a small group or at home. For a classroom wall, ask a print shop to enlarge it to poster size so the whole class can see it from the carpet.
Using the Calendar at Home
Parents of toddlers and preschoolers can use the calendar for a morning routine at home. It is a gentle way to prepare children for school and build early maths and language skills.
Calendar for Daycare and Nurseries
Daycare centres and nurseries can display the calendar in each room and include it in daily routines. Staff can also use the month grid to note birthdays and special days.
Birthdays and Special Days
Write children’s birthdays, holidays, and special events on the month grid. Counting down to a birthday or a class trip is exciting and reinforces counting skills.
Matching Classroom Templates
Pair the circle time calendar with our 100th day of school chart, class superlative awards and colourful classroom certificates for a complete early years classroom set.
Saving the Classroom Calendar Template
Save the calendar in your account. Update the month each time you print, or print all twelve months at the start of the year for easy changes.
Circle Time Calendar File Formats
Download a PDF for printing or an image for showing on an interactive whiteboard. Using the calendar on a screen lets children tap or point during the routine.
Learning Goals Supported by the Calendar
A daily calendar routine supports early learning goals in mathematics, such as number recognition and counting, and in understanding the world, such as weather and seasons. It also builds communication skills as children speak, listen and answer questions in a group.
Counting the Days of the Month
Each morning, count the days of the month together while pointing to each number on the grid. Children practise counting, recognise numerals and notice patterns, such as weekends always appearing on the edges. Later in the year, count by twos, fives or tens for an extra challenge.
Songs to Use With the Calendar
Days of the week songs, months of the year songs and weather songs make the routine memorable. Sing the same songs each morning, so children quickly learn the words and join in confidently.
Weather Graphs for the Month
At the end of each month, count the sunny, cloudy, and rainy days the class recorded and make a simple bar graph together. It is an easy introduction to data and comparing numbers.
Circle Time Calendar for Special Education
The clear visuals and simple routine suit children who benefit from structure and visual supports. Use the icons as picture cues and keep the routine consistent each day.
Monthly Theme Ideas
Pair each month with a theme, such as snow in January, kindness in February, or growing in spring, and decorate the calendar with matching pictures that the children draw themselves.
Adapting the Calendar for Different Languages
All text is editable, so you can translate day names, weather words, and seasons into another language for bilingual classrooms. Children can learn both languages side by side during circle time.
