Introduction: Visual Felt Calendar
This is a very simple project you can make with your kids. My four-year-old son was always asking about what are we doing today, what are we doing tomorrow, what day is tomorrow called, etc. I decided to make a visual calendar with him to teach him about days, weeks, and months and help him determine on his own what he could expect for the week.
Step 1: Gather Your Supplies
You will need:
Large sheet of felt (4x4 is the size I used)
Several small sheets of felt of various colors
Stick-on foam letters
Screw or nail
Step 2: Create Your Calendar Grid
First, draw a horizontal line with your permanent marker about 6 inches from the top.
Second, calculate how much space you will need to spell out "Wednesday" using your foam letters.
Measure 8 equal columns of your calculated width and mark them with permanent marker.
Next, divide your first seven columns into 3 sections. These will represent morning, afternoon, and evening. Make sure you have enough space in the sections to fit in all your activities. If your children get up very early, you might want to add a fourth section so the first one can be "before breakfast".
Step 3: Add Your Lettering
Across the top, using your foam letters, spell out the days of the week above each column. Above the eighth column spell out "month".
In the month column, using puff paint or foam letters, write out the months of the year.
Note: Below the months you could also add a section for seasons. I thought about it after I finished the calendar and haven't bothered to add it. Right now, the space below the months are being used as a "holding space" for inactive events.
Step 4: Create Your Activities
Determine all the regular activities your child needs to know about. Write down each activity and how often they occur. For example, our list was:
Church - 1
Nanny - 4
Library - 1
Phonograms - 4
Writing - 2
Math - 2
Music - 1
Art - 1
Dance - 1
Spanish - 1
Homegroup - 1
Swimming - 1
Afterwards, I made sketches of how I would depict each event.
We then created visual icons using felt, marker, and puff paint. We also created a two stars; one to mark the day of the week and one to mark the month of the year.
Step 5: Hanging Your Calendar
Measure the width of your calendar, and if necessary, cut the dowel rod down so it's about 2 inches wider than the calendar.
Flip your calendar over and fold the extra felt at the top around the dowel rod to the back and mark where it needs to be glued. Remove the dowel rod and glue the felt over, leaving space at the top for the dowel rod to fit through. Place heavy objects on top (taking measures to prevent seeping glue from causing problems) and leave until dry.
While the calendar is drying, drill two vertical holes through the end of the dowel rod to fit the string through for hanging.
Once the calendar is dry, thread your string through one end of the dowel rod and knot it at the bottom. Insert your dowel rod through the space at the top of the calendar. Thread your string through the hole at the other end and knot. Trim your string.
Hang your calendar on the wall using a screw or nail.
Step 6: Additional Events
As you make your way through the year you can create other icons for special events.
So far, we've made additional icons for grandparents visiting and for a special trip. I will soon be making a pumpkin to indicate Halloween.