Weekday learning aid for your children
16.9.2020
Translation: machine translated
Children have the wonderful gift of living in the here and now. However, when they reach the point where they want to understand time, this craft can help them. A self-made weekday circle that you can adapt to their individual needs.
"Mummy, when is Saturday again?"
My son has been asking me this a lot recently. Because he always meets up with his playmate on Saturday. The highlight of his week. At the weekend, my children also get to watch old Walt Disney films with their grandma, which they look forward to all week. This has awakened their curiosity about the days of the week. With the help of this colourful weekly schedule, it will only be a matter of time before they learn to understand it.
What you need for the weekday circle
The basis is a round cake mat made of cardboard (if possible with a punched-out hole in the centre). I found a suitable cone-shaped vase in the cellar that acts as a stand and also has space for flowers. You can also make the cone yourself from cardboard, wood or metal. You will also need a clothes peg, seven acrylic paints and pens to label the days of the week. Depending on which seven colours you have selected, you will need a light and a dark fineliner. You can use pencil, ruler, Radiergummi, brush and an adhesive tape for masking.
Step by step to the weekly circle
1. Remove the punched small circle in the centre of the cake mat. The trickiest part of this craft is cutting the cardboard circle into sevenths. To do this, mark the centre of the circle. Then use the pencil and a ruler to draw a line at 12 o'clock. Draw another line at 34 minutes (i.e. shortly after half past). Thirdly, draw the left side and then the right side. This method by eye works quite well. You don't need to use a protractor to draw in the exact angles.
2. Tape off three - non-adjacent parts - with adhesive tape and colour them in with the acrylic paint. Think about special colours for Saturday and Sunday, because these two days should stand out. I opted for silver and gold. Then leave everything to dry and add adhesive strips to the next parts and colour them in.
3. Once everything is dry, you can trace the edges of the seven pieces again with a fineliner. Use the pen to write the day of the week on the edge of each section. If you are unsure, you are welcome to use a pencil to write in advance.
4. Place the circle over the vase or cone and attach the clothes peg to the correct day of the week. You can decorate the vase according to the season and the weekly circle is ready.
I love the colourfulness of this circle. As a mum, I realise even more how colourful a whole week is. We get to experience something new every day. I forget that all too often in everyday life.
My children have decided that our weekly circle should be on the kitchen table. When they eat breakfast, they are then allowed to move the clothes peg. We practise the days of the week using the colours. Later, I will make them cards with corresponding symbols that they can then put on the respective day of the week.
I wish you and your children a really great week and enjoy the colourfulness of every single day.
I'm more of a thinker than a doer. Yet I'm still always active: crafting, sewing, writing to-do lists, daydreaming, counting clouds, digging into soil, comforting my two little ones and collapsing into bed after a long day. If it were up to me, each day would have a few extra hours... I wonder if that would be enough.