Have you ever had to remember in your head the number of days in a month? You don't always have a calendar handy when you need it, and in many cases it can be easier to have the number of days in each month memorized. There are a few simple tricks you can use to remember, like a very common song and using your knuckles. If that fails, another option is to use hints to improve your memory and help solidify the information.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Remembering the poem
Step 1. Remember the first half of the rhyme
There is a song used to teach children the days of the months. The first verse says which months are 30 days long.
- The verse goes like this: "Thirty days have November, April, June and September."
- You may recall from this verse that November, April, June, and September are each 30 days. Repeat a few times to write to memory.
Step 2. Remember the second part
The next few verses of the song remind you that February is a short month, and which months are 31 days old. The verse goes like this: "Twenty-eight has only one, the rest has thirty-one." Excluding November, April, June, September and February, every month has 31 days.
- Repeat a few times to remember, as you did with the first verse.
- Try repeating the entire song a few times after memorizing the verses. This can help you to record well in memory.
Step 3. Remember one word from each verse
If you're having trouble remembering, a simple trick can help: try to remember a key word from each verse in the song and find a way to associate that word with the verse.
- Imagine something having to do with the month that reminds you of the rest of the verse. For example, in Brazil, November usually already feels like summer. You can imagine a thermometer reading 30°C, which might help you remember that "thirty days is November."
- Think about giving a symbol every month that has 30 days. For example, September may have a flower and April a dry leaf. June can have a snowflake and November a sun.
- Keep using tricks like these in the rest of the verses to help you remember better.
Step 4. Listen to recorded versions of the song
Repetition is a great way to memorize a song, so find recordings of it online. You'll certainly find some versions on YouTube; listen to them over and over and try to sing along to memorize the lyrics of the song.
If you don't find an online version, record yourself singing the song on your cell phone or computer and listen to it several times along with the lyrics
Step 5. Make a small change to remember leap years
Some people have no difficulty remembering the days of February as it is only a month. However, if you often forget, you can memorize another version of the song: "Thirty days have September, April, June and November, February twenty-eight have; thirty-one all will have."
You can memorize this version of the song using the same tricks you used for the first one
Part 2 of 3: Using your knuckles
Step 1. Close your hands into fists and bring them together
You can also use your knuckles to remember the number of days in each month. To start, clench your hands into fists. Then bring the two together in front of you with the two thumbs and index fingers touching.
Step 2. Count the months using your knuckles and the dips in between
Start with January on the first left knot. You will count the months moving through the nodes, counting each of them and the dips as a month.
- Start with the first knot on your left hand. This is the knot made by the left pinkie. It represents January.
- Move to the depression to the right of the first node. This is the space between the left pinky and ring nodes. It represents February.
- Continue moving with both hands, using each knot and depression to represent a different month.
Step 3. Don't count the knuckles
When you reach the left index finger, go to the right index node. Don't count the knuckles or the space between your hands.
The left index node must be July, and the right index node must be August
Step 4. Remember that months in a node are 31 days long
These months are January, March, May, July, August, October and December, and all have 31 days.
Step 5. Understand that the months that are in a depression are 30 days apart from February
The months in the spaces between the nodes must be February, April, June, September, and November, and all but February are 30 days old.
If you don't get these months in the depressions, you may have skipped a knot or depression, or counted the space between your hands. Start over and go slowly
Part 3 of 3: Using Tricks to Improve Your Memory
Step 1. Try using an acronym
Doing this can help you remember month names. An acronym, or acronym, is a memory trick in which you make up a word or phrase using the first letter in a group of terms you need to memorize. You can use this technique to remember the days in each month.
- The first letter of September, April, June and November is S, A, J and N. You can create a sentence like "Sara Adora Juntar Nabos".
- January, March, May, July, August, October and December have 31 days. The first letters (D, J, M, M, O, J and A) can form: "João Marcos Sends Two Friends to Play Eggs".
Step 2. Use a mnemonic device
This technique helps you remember complicated information by associating an image with it.
For example, if you want to remember that February is 28 days in most years, think of Carnival masks with numbers 2 and 8. Carnival usually falls in February, so use that to make the association
Step 3. Find ways to connect months
Making connections between which months have which number of days can make them easier to remember. It's easier to remember facts if you make a connection.
- For example, September, April, June and November are 30 days old and are the beginning of something. In Brazil, spring begins in September, in April the weather begins to cool, winter begins in June, and in November, preparations for the end of the year begin.
- You may not be able to connect every month with 31 days as there are many, but you may still find small connections between small groups of months. For example, January is hot and humid, while March is rainy and muggy. In October, the weather starts to heat up and the flowers bloom. All these months have different qualities related to hot weather.