Days, Weeks, Months and Years

Maggie, a friendly green alien character with antennae

Wow, I just flew in from planet Micron. It was a long flight, but well worth it to get to spend time with you!

My name is Maggie in your language (but you couldn't pronounce my real name!)

When I first arrived I couldn't understand how you measure time, but my friend Tom taught me all about it, and I am going to share with you everything he taught me.

Today is my day to learn about days, weeks, months and years !

Days

Maggie the alien waking up in bed as the sun rises

Every time I wake up, Tom says it is ...

... a new Day!

Each day really starts at Midnight (12 O'clock at Night) and ends next Midnight:

One Day
Clock showing 12:00 midnight with a dark starry sky Sun rising over a landscape Sun high in the sky at midday Sun setting over a landscape Clock showing 12:00 midnight with a dark starry sky
Midnight Sunrise Midday Sunset Midnight

But I sleep when it is dark, so I only notice the new day when I wake up!

Days Have Names

Each day is special! Tom says there are seven different days:

  • Monday
  • Tuesday
  • Wednesday
  • Thursday
  • Friday
  • Saturday
  • Sunday

And after Sunday, it is Monday again!

Round and round every seven days.

Week

Seven days together make a week. A week can be any period of seven days, as shown here (click on any day, and a whole week is shown):

images/calendar.js?mode=7

Tom said that he was going sailing in one week ... so that means he has to wait 7 days.

This is easy! I know what a Day is, and 7 Days make a Week:

1 Week = 7 Days

Months

I have also heard people talk about Months ... what are they?

Colorful vertical list of all twelve months from January to December  

Tom says there are 12 different months!

Each has a different name, and I should try to
remember them all (wow!)

 

He says a month is about 30 days long, but some
months can be longer or shorter.

For example April has 30 days, but May has 31 Days!

If there are about 30 days in a month, how may weeks is that? Tom says 30 days is a little longer than 4 weeks.

OK, some months are 30 Days, but not all of them.
So I don't know exactly how long a month is unless I look it up.
But I can remember this:

1 Month = about 30 Days = about 4 Weeks

Year

Tom says 12 months together make One Year:

1 Year = 12 Months

He says a Year is a long period of time.

Birthday cake with 7 candles ... from one Birthday to the next Birthday ... Birthday cake with 8 candles
     
Decorated Christmas tree ... or from one Christmas to the next ... Second decorated Christmas tree

And there are 365 days in a year (but some years are 366 days long if they are a Leap Year)

OK, so a Year is 12 Months
And a Year is also 365 Days (or 366 Days in a Leap Year)

1 Year = 12 Months = 365 (or 366) Days

Summary

I asked Tom for a diagram and this is what he showed me:

Days fit into a week, into a month and into a year like this:

Diagram showing how days make up weeks, months, and years in concentric circles

And these are all the days in a year:

Calendar year diagram showing 12 months with their respective number of days as blocks

Tom says each month in the diagram has the correct number of days!

I tried counting them, but I lost count ... maybe you can do better.

Maggie, a friendly green alien character with antennae

I hope you enjoyed learning all about Days, Weeks, Months and Years.

Now I must return home. Bye for now!
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 3652, 3653, 3654, 3655, 3656
Days Weeks Months Years Measurement Index