I never thought I needed an Everyday Board – you know, the kind of tool preschools across the country use during Circle Time to teach students weather, time, and calendar skills.
I don’t run a preschool (even though I do get accused of that occasionally 😉 ), so I didn’t figure I needed something like this, but then I noticed a strange (and rather irritating) pattern taking place in my home day after day…
4 year old: “What day is it today?”
Me: “Wednesday.”
4 year old: “What do we do today?”
Me: “School and watch a movie.”
a few minutes later…
6 year old: “What day is it today?”
Me: “Wednesday.”
6 year old: “What do we do today?”
Me: “School and watch a movie.”
a few hours later…
6 year old: “What day is it today?”
Me: “Wednesday.”
6 year old: “What do we do today?”
Me: “School and watch a movie.”
a few minutes later…
4 year old: “What day is it today?”
Me: “Wednesday.”
4 year old: “What do we do today?”
Me: “HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION???!!!”
Now, don’t get me wrong, these little guys are super cute and I love answering their questions, but I do NOT want to answer the same question over and over if I can help it!
I was brainstorming ways to stop the madness, when I realized those preschools with their Everyday Boards were on to something!
Children like routine. They naturally look for it. So, when my boys were repeatedly asking what day it was and what we did on that day, they were looking for the structure and routine of the day. They wanted to know what they had to look forward to that day (school and watching movies), and what else their day might hold. The fact that they were asking repeatedly every day wasn’t defiance, but rather forgetfulness. That’s why I decided an Everyday Board would be the answer!
Each day, my 10 year old daughter takes down the Everyday Board and goes over every section on the board with the little boys. She tells them the month, day, time, and weather…and yes, she tells them WHAT WE DO ON THIS DAY!
I got my board from SimplyFun. I didn’t want to have to make one myself, so it was worth it to have one already made for me. The Tibbar’s Everyday Big Board has a row of numbers at the top to show what day of the month it is. A column on one side with months and one on the other side with days of the week. At the bottom of the board is a circle for seasons, and a circle for weather. In the middle is a big clock (not a working clock) that my daughter shows them how to “set”. There are lots of extra pegs in case you lose one…or five. It really was exactly what I needed!
And guess what?! They don’t ask me what day it is and what do we do on this day any more! They have the board to look at ALL DAY LONG! Even the non-readers know by where the peg is placed, what day it is! And best of all, they are learning without even realizing they are learning!
As I said before, children like routine. This routine is something that is just for the little boys. It’s not something I have to work super hard at to make happen, but it offers structure to their day and a few less questions to mine. 😉
Would you like to WIN your own Everyday Board?! SimplyFun has been gracious enough to allow me to give away one of these boards to one reader! Enter to win below!
Lissa says
Ha! My four and six year old do the same exact thing!
Meghan says
I am a first-time stay-at-home mom with a precious 1-year-old son, and I would love the Everyday Board to start “teaching” him about days, times, etc (you can never start too early!)
Gail Harris says
I would love to win this! I answer the same questions all the time! Thanks for the great giveaway Amy!
Victoria Rigby says
This oils work out great for my daughter who is 3. I homeschool my other two children who are only 15 months apart and are both going into 2nd grade this year, and she wants to “do school” like her older siblings so this would be something easy and fun we could work on each day!
Victoria Rigby says
Sorry autocorrect!! Meant this would not oils!!!
RM says
I love this idea. I have similar ideas on our schoolroom wall, but this would be a great manipulative for my 4 year old!
Nicole says
This seems like a really helpful tool for teaching littles about time and those a little older to spell the days of the week and the months of the year.
Becky B says
I need this!! I really do. I have a 7 children which include a 3 and 7 year old who need this information. What a fabulous idea.
Love this!!
Becky
amy says
My house sounds just like yours! I could really use one of these boards and save myself 10 min of answering the same questions over and over…and they learn 😉
Brittany says
That sounds awesome! I, too, have to answer the “what day is it?” and “what are we doing?” questions multiple times a day! “What are we having for dinner?” is another common one, even though I have a menu posted. At least I can just refer them to that, and hope that someday they’ll check there first. 🙂
Ashley says
Thank you for this giveaway! This is such a great idea to incorporate!
Jessica says
We have a variation of this-I just have a pocket type calendar and during circle time, whoever’s “special day” it is gets to put the date up. They say what month it is and what day it is, and what yesterday was and what tomorrow will be. Then I write it up on the whiteboard (or those that can reach and can write will write it). We don’t do the weather because where we live, the weather is pretty much the same most of the time.
Heather says
This would be awesome for my three littles, I get the same kinds of questions. What a great idea!
Molly says
This is just what I need for my little guys, 6,4,3,and 1. Right now they tell days/time by how many naps and bedtimes. Thanks for the chance to win!
Giovanna says
This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
Thinking my littles (3, 4, and 5) would love this.
Rebecca says
Thanks for a great giveaway! I would love to win as I have several people in mind who would benefit greatly!
Catherine says
What a great idea! Love this!
Amy Savage says
Starting with my littles (3 and 4) and I love your idea of having my bigs teach it to them….this would be the perfect tool!
kimberly says
Looks like a great idea
Jessica says
Thanks for this post, it looks like something my little ones would enjoy!
Carissa says
I love the idea of an older sibling taking responsibility for teaching the little ones with the everyday board. My 10 year old would thrive on that!
Amy Hanners says
This would be perfect for my 4 and 6 year-olds!
kelli says
This would be a great addition to our school!
kelli says
What a neat idea. This would be a great addition to our school!
Amy says
I have 3 young boys and this would be very helpful in teaching them the concepts on the board.
Wendy massey says
Here too! Only my issue is attentiveness training: I’d like to have everyone listen ONCE instead of EACH of them listen once!
Kelly says
This would be a great tool for teaching my youngest! It would be something he could work on with me, his siblings, abd then eventually on his own. I know he would love this!
Alissa says
Hi! This will be perfect for my daughter who is starting kindergarten in a couple weeks.
Cumberlan Davis says
I definitely need this I’m currently homeschooling a 4yr old, 3yr old, and a 1 year old. We go through the same scene of answering the same questions everyday. I’ve contemplated making one, but haven’t found the time.
Melody says
I would love a Big Board for all my littles – seems like I run a preschool as well…:)
Jessica says
What a fun idea! I love that the board is so sturdy and wooden!
Sara says
My two year old loves learning about the days and months. It would be great to provide a visual.
Jade says
Thank you so much for the opportunity to win. This looks like something my littles could definitely use and enjoy!!
Ava says
I love how practical your decision to use this board was! My husband and I recently made a similar decision about creating a chore chart. We never thought we would want one, it didn’t seem our style. But then I realized that we were not consistently picking up toys every night and we would forget sometimes to brush teeth before bed. So I designed a small chore chart so that would serve as a reminder check list for my husband and I and reward system (stickers!) for my little ones. It’s still in the trial stages but I think it may work out really well.
The everyday board sounds like fun! Thank you for offering the giveaway!
Patty says
My son would love this!
Katie says
Love it! I haven’t seen a board like this before.
Vicki says
This looks great! Would be wonderful to use with the grandkids!
Julie says
I have looked for a good calendar for quite a while, and tried out a few but they had too many separate parts. I love that this one is one piece with only moveable pegs and arrows.
Anne B says
I have kids right in the same age range and I am noticing they have memorized Shakespeare but not the days of the week or months of the year. That must be fairly disorienting!
Clarissa says
This would be perfect for the same reasons you stated, my 6 & 5 year olds ask me what day it is all the time, and my oldest needs to review the months, too, so having him help the littles with it every day would be perfect!
Carson says
Ohmygoodness! My girlies have to have one of these. This is the first I’ve seen that I like 🙂 thanks!
Melissa Nunez says
I have something similar I use with my 4-year-old, but this one is cuter. I love the extra details and the set up with the pegs and spin arrows.
Beth says
I have a 5 year old and twin 3 year olds. They would love this!
Angela Hall says
I have a large calendar that sits on the wall, but we don’t really utilize it. It isn’t in the best place to utilize it daily since it is so big (a preschool one with pockets). This would be great to bring to the table and go over. I’m sure my 9 year old would love “teaching” the younger ones.
Kirsten says
I need an everyday board because I have tried making one before, but we seem to forget about it or it never really works the way I want it too so I stop using it. I would love to have something already made and ready to go . That way, I believe we would use it more. I know my kids would love more of a routine in that area.
Heidi J says
This sounds like a good idea!
Shannen says
I love this! I keep telling myself I’ll make a daily binder or board myself, but that just seems to elude me. Maybe when there are more hours in the day. 🙂
Rae says
This would be wonderful! Easy and fun to use with my very busy 2 year old. We have been attempting the calendar but I think I could do better.
Jessica says
This sounds just like we need!
Molly says
I made my own substitute (because we go through the same conversation four thousand times a day as well) but this one is way better than the one I made!
Tammy Hinton says
This would be great to have for my boys starting school this year. I have 3 boys ages 6,5, and 3. I would use this as we start our day around the breakfast table!
Sara Joy Thompson says
This looks like an incredibly useful and fun teaching tool. With two preschoolers and a newborn our homeschool days aren’t overly structured yet. I love the sense of order and routine that this promotes
Stacy says
I need the every day board because we will be homeschooling for preschool and it’s the perfect size for our small space!
Melissa M says
Oh! I have the same problem at my house! Would love to win this.
Dani M. says
This would be a great addition to our homeschool. We are road schooling for the next year with our 4 kiddos. We are needing to streamline and downsize the way we do school. I love how compact this morning board is!
Leah says
My littles would love that! And my 11 year old would likely be the one going over it with them as well. What a good idea!
Juliette says
Starting school and this would be great for our class time.
Amy Mac says
What a neat idea to have one of your middle children do this with the youngers.
Leila says
5 and 7 year old ask this all the time also!
Natalie says
I seriously considered buying this exact board the last time you shared about a sale that company was having, but decided not to because of the price. It would be great for my 4 & 5 year old. But do you think the pegs would be a concern around a 2 yr old?
Amy says
I keep ours up high 😉
Suanna says
If this will help me not to repeat the same thing I’m all for it! Even my big kids are always asking me what the date is several times on a school day.
Carrie says
My kids are always confused on what the actual date is! This will help our little Preschooler and my 11-year-old, particularly. Great idea!
Michelle says
What a time savor to win this, as I was thinking about making one of these anyway!
Audrey says
I have 6 little ones who would really enjoy this!
Amy says
Would LOVE to use this for our upcoming K’er. And I love that you have an older sibling doing the teaching!!
Tracie says
What a great idea! We will start our school routine in just a couple of weeks. I was already in the process of creating a similar learning board out of a tri-fold poster board. I plan to laminate several things on it to make it last. Glad to know that someone makes these! I would love to have one.
tashap says
For the same reasons. My daughter asks the same things over and over again all day. Her most common response is “Is that another day?”
CaItlin says
i could totally use this at homeschool with my 5 and 2 year old!
Diana B says
I’m trying to start our new normal, and was hoping to start the day with a circle time. I think the everyday board would be a great way to prepare for the day.
Jocelyn says
I need the Everyday Board because my children drive me crazy in the exact same way! 🙂
Melissa G says
Would love this for my 3 and 5 year olds. My three year old asks me what day it is, and what time it is, and this would give him something to learn too, while his older sisters do their school.
Sarah McCubbin says
Wow, this is awesome! I love this sturdy home friendly version for circle time. I would use this with my pre-k kids and with the kids in our homeschool co-op. This is much nicer than what I’ve made myself.
Kelly says
I would love to win this for my little guy who will be 4 next week.
Tara says
We have the repetitive question asking and I never thought of putting it together like this board. Looks like a great idea.
RG says
I thought I was reading a replay of my days when I saw your post! What a great tool this looks like! Even if I don’t win,I thank you for highlighting this product.
Amy McMann says
This is really a great board. I have tried the whole calendar notebook and I never seem to hang in there to reap the benefits because you have to change out the pages or flip through to another section. I know these are excuses but with 7 children the calendar notebook gets lost in the sauce:)
Veronica says
What a great idea! I’ve never seen a reusable board that didn’t need markers to write stuff in. This looks nice and simple…
Beth S says
This would be so helpful with my 6 year old! She’s constantly asking what day it is & what we’re doing on that day. This would be a great tool in our homeschool toolbox.
Rosa says
I would love one of these for my littles! Thanks for the opportunity. Love your blog and all the encouragement I glean from it.
Noele says
It is so true about kids loving routine! Would love this for my littles!!
Ami says
I have an autistic 7 yr old, who is almost strictly a visual learner. I answer the same questions daily, but still she doesn’t remember. Put a picture or sign with it and she remembers forever. I also have a 2 (almost 3) yr old and 5 yr old. Even if there wasn’t a give away I’m glad you posted this. It will help her tremendously. I will be looking for one next time I go to the educational supply store. Thanks!
Coleen says
I have struggled for years for how to do “calendar” time with my kids. So many ideas out there, but none seemed to “fit” our family, and our goals. This Everyday Board seems great. It seems like something my younger kids could really grasp, but that my older kids would also enjoy too. It looks very simple but also very useful!
Jenna says
The everyday board would make EVERY day run a bit smoother in our home!
Becky says
This sounds helpful, not only for my preschooler, but also for my older child with dyslexia…he has such a hard time getting the months and days of the week down! Something like this he could physically move each day and see/feel what day it is; and hopefully keep reinforcing the order of those things so they don’t seem like such arbitrary facts to him. 🙂
Kelly Wise says
I would love to use this for my 4 middle kids. And eventually the younger ones also.
amy says
I’m about to start preschool with my little one and this would be perfect!
Christina says
I was just getting ready to make one of these for this school year. Sure would save me some time to have a pre-made one.
Lisa says
7 children. 7 going in 7 different directions
Aimee says
I have discovered as a mom of many, that it is easy to forget to teach these basic things to the younger children. One day you realize–they don’t know the days of the week…or how to tell time… or their address… and so on. This Everyday Board looks like a great tool to make sure the younger children learn these basic things!
Angelica says
Great idea! I, too, am tired of answering the same questions All. Day. Long. LOL!
Kina says
I need this for the same reason as you – to keep from answering the same question over and over!
Kirsten Pankratz says
What a great idea! I would love to win a board!
Krista says
I have a 6 and a nearly 5 year old and they too like to know the plan for the day and WHAT day of the week it is! This would be very helpful.
Amber says
This would be perfect for my younger two kiddos they really struggle with the calendar concept in general. This visual would be perfect for them.
Lisa says
I think the board looks so fun! We use a notebook journal for calendar time, but the board would be a great addition.
Kelly says
At the stage of life that I am in…. big kids, middle kids, elementary kids, preschoolers and babies….this could definitely bring some order to my day. I love that you have your 10 year old take responsibility for doing it.
Kimberly says
because the 2 and 3 yo would eventually pull down anything paper on the wall. : D
Tara says
Oh my…! Never heard of one of these, but would be amazingly helpful. HSing 4 this year, with 5 at home on most days from 4-12 years of age. This would be super! Would love to be able to have fewer of the SAME questions, but also to give my 9 year old an opportunity to “teach” the 4 & 6 year old…she would feel so BIG!
Jennifer says
That would be perfect for me 3 and 5 year olds this year! I hope I win.
Marci says
I have a 5 year old and would love to have this for his morning work. I really think he would enjoy it.
Sasha says
This looks like fun!
Beth says
My girls sound much like your boys in their constant requests for previously given information. Yes, please!