Telling the time is a fundamental life skill that all children should learn. Whilst it will almost certainly be covered in your child’s school, some curriculums don’t allow enough time for this important skill to be gained, or your child might be ready to start learning before school has officially introduced it as a topic. If you want to help your kid learn to tell the time, check out these tips on how to do so.
Buy a Teaching Clock
You’ll easily find a teaching clock on a site such as Amazon, and this is an important step in helping your kid learn this new skill. Teaching clocks are easy to read, with clearly marked second, minute, and hour hands. The face is broken up into five-minute chunks, and often o’clock, quarter past, half past, and quarter to are marked on the clock to make it easier.
Practice Division
Children are often confused by the terms half past and quarter to. Help them to understand that 30 is half of 60, and that 15 is a quarter. You can do this by splitting up cubes into two or four equal groups, cutting up circles into halves and quarters, or counting in 15 seconds until you get to 60.
Talk About the Time
Make an effort to notice the time and say it out loud. Your child will pick up on this, and hearing it repeated will help them to associate the time with what they’re seeing on the clock. As they get more confident, ask them to tell you the time at random points throughout the day to test their skills.