How to Teach Months of the Year
Months are harder than days for kids because they're longer than a week. Use birthdays, seasons, and the 'Knuckles' trick to make them stick.
Months are significantly harder for children than days of the week, for one simple reason: a week is short enough to experience, a month isn't. A child can't feel a month the way they feel Monday morning. Teaching months needs anchors outside the child's direct experience.
The anchors that work: birthdays (family members and friends), seasons, and big calendar events (Christmas, Easter, Halloween, summer holidays). Tie each month to a real thing the child cares about: "January is when Daddy's birthday is. February has Valentine's Day. March is when the daffodils come out." Building a birthday calendar on the wall is one of the most effective single activities for this.
Songs help with rote order — the Months of the Year song to the tune of 10 Little Indians is the classic. The Knuckles trick (counting knuckles and gaps to remember which months have 31 days) is fun and genuinely useful, though a Year 3 concept. Start the months topic around age 5 to 6; earlier is possible but rarely productive.
Practise With These Free Games
Printable Worksheets to Go With This Guide
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age should a child know the months?+
Reciting in order by age 6 to 7. Understanding which month contains which events (birthdays, holidays) by age 7 to 8.
Why do children find months harder than days?+
Because children can't directly experience a month — it's longer than working memory allows. Days repeat within a week; months feel abstract until linked to real events.
What's the Knuckles trick?+
Make fists with both hands, count across the knuckles and gaps. Each knuckle is a 31-day month; each gap is a 30-day month (with February as the exception). It works reliably for Year 3+ children.
Should months come before or after days of the week?+
After. Days of the week (usually age 4 to 5) should be secure before months are formally introduced (age 5 to 7).