Months of the year
You learn how many days each month has, with your knuckles as a guide.
How to work it out
- Knuckles represent 31-day months; valleys represent 30-day months.
- Remember February is 28 days (29 in a leap year).
A worked example
April
- Count on your knuckles: January, February, March, April.
- April falls in a dip.
- April has 30 days.
More examples
August
- Count on your knuckles up to July, on the last knuckle.
- Start again at the first knuckle: August.
- August has 31 days.
February
- February falls in the first dip, but is the exception.
- February has 28 days, and 29 in a leap year.
Try it yourself
Which month of the year is this?
How many days are in this month?
Watch out
You go to a dip after July: August gets 30 days.
After the last knuckle (July) you start again at the first knuckle. July and August both have 31 days.
You give February 30 days because it falls in a dip.
February is the only exception: 28 days, and 29 in a leap year.
Tips
- July and August both have 31 days.
Exceptions
- February has 28 days, and 29 in a leap year.
Why it works
Months have 30 or 31 days, and that is hard to remember. Your knuckles show it: a knuckle sticks up, 31 days; a dip goes down, 30 days. Only February is different: it has 28 days.