Yesterday I wrote about calendar time and how important it is. I mentioned that I have students record the weather and attendance and told you there would be a free printable today! The weather and attendance calendar printable includes a different page for each month September-May. The printable includes a graph to record the weather, a space to record the number of absent students with tally marks, and spaces to record the stats for the month. This gives students a chance to practice three different methods for keeping records.
There are two versions of the printable that you can use depending on how many days a week your preschool is in session. The first version is for preschools that meet daily. The second version (what I use) is for preschools that meet 2-3 times a week.
At the end of each month or at the beginning of the next month, we pull out the graphs and I count with the students the number of each type of weather. That number is then recorded in the stats section. We then count how many absences there were and record that at the bottom of the page. Here is an example month with everything recorded.
In about March, we look through all the months that we have been through and talk about things that we notice. The change in the weather is usually pretty obvious. Sometimes the students can see that more students are absent during cold and flu season. This is a good time to talk about washing hands, using tissues, etc.
These pages go inside each student’s journal. Their journal simply made from a pronged pocket folder. It also includes some name practice, monthly calendars, and their ABC Chart.
Hopefully this printable is helpful to you. I’m always surprised how quickly my preschoolers understand the concept of graphs, but it does take some explaining at first. Their favorite part is choosing what color of crayon they want to use to mark the weather for the day. ;)