How to Teach Your Toddler the Days of the Week

Once older toddlers start to recognize a daily and weekly routine, you can bet that questions like, "When do I see Tommy again?" and "Is karate today?" will start flowing. It's difficult for your little one to understand when the activities he loves will occur again or when he'll see a friend at play gym. Your toddler may not fully grasp the days of the week until he gets a little older. However, you can start introducing simple activities that reinforce the names of each day so that it is easy for your toddler to remember it.

Things You'll Need

  • Calendar
  • Colored markers
  • Books

Instructions

    • 1

      Sing the days of the week. Toddlers love rhyming songs and do well with remembering them. There are a few common "days of the week" songs that have become popular in day care and preschools across the country, but you can also come up with your own, sung to a tune your toddler recognizes. One popular "days of the week" song is sung to the tune of the "Addams Family" theme song." The main part goes, "There's Sunday and there's Monday, there's Tuesday and there's Wednesday. There's Thursday and there's Friday, and then there's Saturday. Days of the week (snap, snap,) days of the week (snap snap.)"

    • 2

      Match the days of the week with your toddler's schedule. Give your toddler a calendar for her room with large date boxes. Use differently colored markers to draw a picture of things your toddler does on each day. For example, if your toddler goes to dance class on Tuesdays, you could draw ballet shoes in pink and if she visits Grandma every Sunday, draw a smiling grandma face in green. Reinforce the names of day of the week to the special activity by pointing to the calendar and saying things like, "It's Wednesday. What do you do on Wednesdays?"

    • 3

      Read children's books that emphasize the days of the week. One book to check out for children age 2 and older is "Today Is Monday," by Eric Carle, which is an illustrated book based on the children's song of the same name, and shows different types of food for each day of the week, culminating in a feast. Another book for tots is "Cookie's Week," by Cindy Ward, which follows an adorable kitten and he gets into mischief each day of the week.

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