Mnemonic for how many days in a month

This mnemonic helps us keep our months and days straight. But, where did it come from? The rhyme has been attributed to many different sources, including Mother Goose, but a Welsh scholar may have uncovered its earliest source. He claims that the poem actually dates back to at least A version of the poem was first published in The usefulness of the rhyme continues even as its linguistic conventions change.

This poem also obviously relies on the calendar staying the same. The Gregorian calendar was formally adopted by Britain and its colonies in Recently, though, an economist and an astrophysicist at Johns Hopkins University developed a new calendar that would not require a leap year and allow dates to occur on the same day every year.

Article Summary. Part 1. Remember the first half of the poem. There is a nursery rhyme used to teach children the days in the months. The first line reminds you how many months contain 30 days. You may have to repeat it a few times to commit it to memory. Commit the second half to memory. The second half of the poem reminds you that February is a short month, and which months have 31 days. The line goes, "When short February's done, all the rest have Try repeating the whole poem a few times, after memorizing the first and second line.

This can help you commit the whole poem to memory. Remember a single word for each line. If you're struggling to remember, a simple trick can help. Try to remember a key word from each line of the poem, and find a way to associate that word with the line. For example, most schools start in September. You can picture a student multiplying 10 by 3 to get This may help you remember, "30 days has September. For example, September could have a book and April could have an umbrella.

June could have a sun and November could have a turkey. Continue using tricks like this throughout the rest of the lines of the poem. This can help you better remember it. Listen to recordings of the poem. Simple repetition is a great means to memorize poetry.

Find recordings of the poem online. A site like YouTube may have recordings of the poem. Play these recordings to yourself over and over again, and try to recite the lines along with the recordings. This can help you memorize the poem. Play the recording back to yourself while you recite the poem along with it. Add a small alteration to remember leap years. Some people do not struggle to remember the days in February, as it's only one month.

However, if you frequently forget the days in February, you can try memorizing an alteration of the poem instead. This alteration goes, "30 days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have Save February, with 28 days clear, and 29 each leap year.

Part 2. Ball your hands into fists and place them together. You can also use your knuckles to remember the number of days in each month. To start, ball both your hands into fists. Then, hold both your fists in front of your face. Push your two balled fists together, so your two thumbs and two index fingers touch.

Count the months working with your knuckles and grooves. You should start with January at the leftmost knuckle. You will count the months by moving across your fists, counting each knuckle and groove as a month. This is the knuckle made by your left pinky. This is January. Move to the groove just to the right of your leftmost knuckle. This is the groove between the knuckles made by your left pinky and ring finger.

This is February. Keep moving across your two hands, naming each knuckle and groove the name of a different month. Do not count the knuckles on your thumbs. When you reach the knuckle made by your left index finger, move immediately to the knuckle made by your right index finger.

Do not count your thumb knuckles, or the gap between your hands. He probably uses this same trick. I taught that same trick to my daughter who is now 15 years old, the good tricks are always the good tricks! This is genius! Thanks for sharing. I taught this to my Miss last week and she loves it! I also taught her the finger trick for multiplying by 9. I think shes the only 5 year old I know that can do her 9 times table! But she loves it!

After going back to school at the age of 50, I found myself still having a hard time remembering the days in a month. My grandson told me about this trick. Neat trick. I will have to share this one. So many of the kdis I work with can really benifit. I am glad I am not the only one who has trouble remembering the rest of that rhyme. I always ask my Mom who is a retired elementary school teacher and remembers it. This is a great alternative and a great way to visualize it.

Thank you! Wow…I never heard of this. What a great trick! Also, I had to laugh when you talked about your hand looking old on camera.