With the beginning of the new year, we always get new calendars in our mailbox from various local organizations. This year, we received 4 different calendars in the mail. Add the new calendars to the old calendars used around our house over the past year, and we ended up with quite a stack! 
While we obviously didn't need that many calendars, I just couldn't get rid of them. (Does anyone else have a hard time throwing things away when you might be able to use it for learning activities?) I let them sit on the counter for a week before I got sick of them. Just as I tossed them into the recycling box, I remembered something I used to do in my Kindergarten classroom several years ago. And then, once I really brainstormed, I thought of several more ideas.
Number Writing Practice:
Allow your tot to practice writing numbers in the boxes. If they aren't ready to write numbers on their own yet, use a highlighter to write the numbers and allow them to trace the lines.
Build-a-Number/Number Matching:
Using number stickers
or number stamps
, have your tot match up numbers or "build" numbers in the boxes. We used some foam stickers we found in the "Dollar Spot" at Target recently. 
Cutting/Gluing Practice:
I let Jonah practice cutting on the lines. First, I cut each row apart so it would be smaller for Jonah's little fingers to hold. Using child-safe scissors
, he then practiced cutting the squares apart. After all the squares were cut apart, I let Jonah practice finding the numbers on a new month and gluing them down on the corresponding square. (If your child has trouble with scissors or is just learning how to cut, these Pre-School Spring Action Scissors
are great!) 
Patterns/Odd & Even Numbers:
Using two markers, we worked on coloring a pattern. This can be tricky when they switch rows, so I would consider this a little more advanced in patterning. Another thing to note, is that this can be used for Odd & Even Number learning.
What other things can you think of to do with old calendars? Feel free to share in the comments!
