As you practice, these numeric values will be easily recalled.  But, as a beginner, you may find mnemonic techniques useful for remembering the month and century values.  The mnemonics below are for those of you who are not already using a peg or other memory system.  Chose one or two of the associations below (or create your own) to assist you in recalling the value for each month.  Silly associations are easier to remember.

 Month Value Mnemonics:

January = 3

New Year's Day = 3 words

Happy New Year = 3 words

The countdown for the New Year is 3, 2, 1.

February = 6

February is a cold month.  Think of a temprature of 6 degrees with 6 feet of snow.

Valentine's Day is in February.  Think of receiving 6 valentine cards.

March = 6

Think of 6 soldiers marching 6 miles.

Think of marching up 6 flights of stairs.

Think of marching while wearing size 6 shoes.

April = 2

April has 2 syllables.

"April showers bring May flowers".  April showers = 2 words.

Think of 2 inches of rain in April causing 4 flowers to grow in May.

May = 4

"May I?" has 4 letters.

"April showers bring May flowers".  Think of 2 inches of rain in April causing 4 flowers to grow in May.

June = 0 (zero)

Summer vacation begins in June... Zero school, zero homework, zero responsibilities.

A June bug is oval shaped, like a 0.  Picture a group of June bugs forming the number 0.

July = 2

July has 2 syllables.

July is when girls wear 2 piece bikinis.

July is too hot, It only rains 2 inches during the month of July.

August = 5

August has Back-to-school sales with 5 stores offering a 5% discount for 5 days.

5 year-olds start kindergarten and have 5 school days at the end of August.

September = 1

The 1st Monday in September is Labor Day.

Picture one lumberjack chopping down one tree yelling "tim-ber" as the single (1) tree falls.  Sounds like Sep-tember.

October = 3

October is the month when the most leaves fall off of trees.  Picture a tree with only 3 leaves remaining.

Halloween occurs in October.  You've got lots of candy to give out to trick-or-treaters, but only 3 kids show up, at 3am!!

Picture a 3 armed octopus.

November = 6

Think "no sex!".   "No" as in No-vember, sex sounds like 6.

November is the month of Thanksgiving.  Think of eating a 6 course Thanksgiving dinner that causes you to gain 6 pounds.

December = 1

December is the month of Christmas.  Picture one present under a sad Christmas tree that has only one ornament.

Think of "the 1st day of Christmas" and "one horse open sleigh".

Think of a Christmas card from Grandma with $1 inside.

Century Value Mnemonics:

1700s =  2

The United States was established in the 1700s.  There were only 2 U.S. Presidents who served in the 1700s (Washington, Adams).

A 17 year old has 2 pimples on his face each day.

1800s = 0

This was the century of inventions.  Picture Edison inventing the oval (zero-shaped) light bulb.

Picture the telegraph sending it's first test message of all zeros: 0000000

Picture the 8 in 18 as two zeros stacked on top of each other.

You can vote at age 18.  Think "V-zero-T-E" for v0te.

1900s = 5

This century was most notible for war.  Think of the 5 major U.S. wars during the 1900s: WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm).

This was the century of factories where the 5 day work week was started, with work days ending at 5pm.

You will have 5 boyfriends/girlfriends when you turn 19.

2000s = 4

This is the century where gas first hit $4 per gallon.

In your 20s, you will graduate from college after 4 years.

2100s = 2

This is the 22nd century. Think 2-2.

In the 2100s, we will all be all be too old or too dead to be able to add 2 + 2.

One can purchase 2 new things when he turns 21 (alcohol, tobacco)