Where did the days of week get their names from? Before these 7 days came into existence, there were 8 in the week with no specific name attached to them. People used to buy supplies based on the number of times the sun rose and set, and collection of those days was considered a week. Afterwards, the Babylonians named all the days after the five planetary bodies known at the time which were used for Tuesday to Saturday. They also used Sun and the Moon for naming Sunday and Monday. Just as people have done throughout history, the Babylonians looked up to the sky. They tried to understand what was out there and how it might affect them. They could, of course, see the sun, and the moon, and the stars. This custom was later adopted by the Romans. Emperor Constantine established the seven-day week in the Roman calendar in 321 and designated Sunday and Monday as the first two days of the week. The other weekday names in English are derived from Anglo-Saxon names for gods in Teutonic mythology. Tuesday comes from Tiu, or Tiw, the Anglo-Saxon name for Tyr, the Norse god of war. Tyr was one of the sons of Odin, or Woden, the supreme deity after whom Wednesday is named. Similarly, Thursday originates from Thor, the god of thunder. Friday is derived from Frigga, the wife of Odin, representing love and beauty. Saturday comes from Saturn, the ancient Roman god of fun and feasting. The names were then adopted by the Roman Emperor Constantine, who established a Roman calendar in 321. The names of the remaining days were derived from Anglo-Saxon names for gods present in the Teutonic mythology; which are: Tiu/Tiw was used for Tuesday in place the name of the Norse god of war, Tyr. Tyr was the son of Woden, from which Wednesday came into the existence. Thursday originated from Thor, which was the God of Thunder. Frigga was the wife of Woden from which came Friday, and Saturday came from Saturn, the God of fun.
Understanding the concept of time in the unit of days is often difficult for students to handle at the age of five or six. You can start by explaining that each day is a new day, but we have a system in place to help them remember what type of day it will be for them. Understanding the difference between weekdays and weekends is often helpful to make them feel some form of responsibility on their part. If you communicate that there are seven days in a week, they can adapt to the concept. Your pre-k students will use these activity sheets to learn the correct order of the days of the week. Activities include matching, ordering, and more.
