Time, Dates, Days

Overview

A 30-minute interactive session designed for a 1:1 EYFS student to develop an understanding of the concepts of time, dates, days, and months. This lesson uses multisensory and play-based activities aligned with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) framework and the National Curriculum for England (Mathematics - Understanding the World - People, Culture and Communities).

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National Curriculum Links and Learning Objectives

• EYFS Development Matters 2021:

  • Mathematics – Number: Understand ‘more’ and ‘less’, understand the passing of time.
  • Understanding the World – People, Culture and Communities: Recognise some similarities and differences between life in this country and life in other countries.
  • Specific Learning Goal: Recognise daily routines and sequencing events.
  • Development Matters: Children talk about past and present events in their own lives and in the lives of family members.

• Early Learning Goals:

  • Mathematics: Children count reliably with numbers from one to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number.
  • Understanding the World: Children know about similarities and differences in relation to places, objects, materials and living things.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the session the student will be able to:

1. Understand the concept of ‘today’, ‘yesterday’, and ‘tomorrow’.
2. Name the days of the week in order.
3. Begin to recognise the months of the year.
4. Understand the idea of morning, afternoon, and night in relation to their daily routine.
5. Start to sequence simple events in daily life.

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Resources Needed

• Visual day and month cards (colourful and large print)
• A simple, large laminated calendar with movable day markers
• Clock with movable hands (analogue preferred)
• Storybook featuring days and time (e.g., “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” or similar thematic book)
• Daily routine picture sequence cards (washing hands, eating, playing, sleeping)
• Toy figure or puppet to personalise story and time concepts

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Lesson Structure (30 minutes)

1. Introduction (5 minutes)

• Engage the child: Use the puppet to introduce the idea of days and time.
  • Puppet asks, “What day is it today?” and “What do you do in the morning?”
• Briefly discuss what ‘today’, ‘yesterday’, and ‘tomorrow’ mean with practical examples from the child’s life.

Teaching Tip: Use language consistent with EYFS communication goals, e.g. “Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday. Tomorrow will be Tuesday.”

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2. Main Activity - Calendar and Days (10 minutes)

• Show the laminated calendar and ask the child to find today’s date.
• Practice saying the days of the week aloud together using the colourful day cards.
• Help the child place the day marker on the current day.
• Ask questions like:
  • “What day was yesterday?”
  • “What day will come after today?”
• Begin introducing the months using month cards. Focus on recognising some month names instead of sequencing all.

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3. Sequencing Daily Routine (8 minutes)

• Use picture cards showing morning, afternoon, evening activities.
• Ask the child to place the cards in order: waking up, eating breakfast, playing, eating lunch, going to bed.
• Connect these with time-of-day vocabulary (morning, afternoon, night).
• Show the clock and move the hands to match these times (e.g., 7 am for waking up).

Extension: Ask what activities happen on specific days (e.g., "We go to the park on Saturday").

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4. Storytime and Time Talk (5 minutes)

• Read a short section from a story that includes references to time or days.
• Pause and ask comprehension questions about days and times mentioned.
• Encourage the child to relate the story events to their own daily routine.

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5. Plenary and Assessment (2 minutes)

• Recap key vocabulary: Today, Yesterday, Tomorrow, Days of the Week, Morning/Afternoon/Night.
• Ask the child to tell what day it is today and name at least 3 days of the week.
• Assess understanding by asking the child to sequence at least 3 daily routine actions.

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Differentiation and Next Steps

• If the child is confident: Extend by introducing the concept of seasons or exploring simple time increments (morning, midday, evening).
• If struggling: Focus on just today/yesterday/tomorrow and two or three main daily activities.
• Embed learning throughout the week using similar routines and calendar checks.

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Key Professional Reflection

• Was the child able to communicate the concepts of ‘yesterday’, ‘today’, and ‘tomorrow’?
• Did the child show awareness of the sequence of days?
• Were language and visual aids effective for the student to grasp abstract time concepts?
• Consider integrating more sensory or physical activities (e.g., role play ‘morning routine’) for kinaesthetic learners.

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This lesson plan honours the holistic EYFS approach by combining mathematical understanding of time with everyday language and cultural routines, ensuring early numeracy and communication development is integrated smoothly and meaningfully.