How to teach a child to tell the time by the clock
Is your child wondering why it is day and night? Knows how to count already? Then it’s time to teach him how to tell the time by the dial of his watch. And we will tell you about effective methods of teaching children in this difficult matter.
Psychologists say that by the age of 6, the child is ready to learn the clock. At this age, children understand the meaning of the words “tomorrow”, “today”, “yesterday”, they are aware of the day outside the window or night. Experts do not recommend compulsively teaching a child, but suggest doing this when he himself starts asking you about the time, for example: “When will cartoons start?”, “Is an hour a lot or a little?”, “What are minutes?” etc.
Parents can interest their child themselves. You need to associate certain hours with your baby’s favorite activities. You can use the following tricks: “At two o’clock we will go for a walk on the street”, “At five o’clock we will go for a drive in the car”, “In half an hour your favorite show will start,” “Tomorrow we will visit grandma,” etc.
So, if your child is interested, then consider that you are already on the way to success and it remains to move on to teaching methods.
Step 1.
To teach your child how to tell the time by the clock, it is worth preparing. Practice counting to 60. Have your child write the numbers from 1 to 60 as you speak them. If he forgot a number, do not swear and give him time to rest. Repeat for several days until he writes the numbers in the correct order. Hang the numbers in a prominent place and periodically ask your child to count out loud. In the store, draw your child’s attention to double-digit numbers and ask them to speak. To prevent the child from getting bored, praise and encourage him with games, or you can buy him a favorite treat if he correctly names its price.
Step 2.
After that, it is worth teaching the child to count as multiples of five. On the same piece of paper where your child wrote the numbers from 1 to 60, have him highlight the number five and then count five more and highlight the number 10, etc. After some simple calculations, ask the child to write out the highlighted numbers on a separate piece of paper. And be sure to praise your kid for the work done.
Step 3.
Teachers offer to learn a counting song, you can easily find it on the Internet. Try to sing it often with your child on a walk or when you bathe him. So you can teach your child to count in a short time.
We give the concept of hours and minutes
Step 1.
Better to start with a concept “Exactly one hour”… You should have a watch with large and understandable numbers on the dial at home, it is better to buy a toy one with removable hands. Show your kid which hand represents the clock and attach it to the dial. Set the hand to a specific time and tell your child what it is, for example, “two o’clock exactly” or “five o’clock exactly.” Then ask him to set a different time, one hour back or two hours ahead.
Once you have mastered the hour hand, you can move on to the minute hand. Attach it to the watch face and show the difference between them. The minute is thin and long, the hour is thick and short. Tell that the minute hand makes a circle in an hour, and when the hour hand shows exactly three or five o’clock, the minute hand is always raised up, pointing to the number 12. Now do the same as with the hour hand, ask the child to show five or seven hours using both hands.
Step 2.
Move consistently to the concept “Half an hour”… Show where the hand is if only half an hour has passed. Ask your child to indicate a time on the clock (half past three or half past seven) and say it out loud. Experts believe that it is enough for children under the age of 7 to tell the time with an accuracy of half an hour, so do not ask too much of your baby. Better fix the result.
Step 3.
The next step is to study the minutes or “quarter of an hour”… Repeat the counting with the child after 5 (5, 10, 15 …) to determine the value of the minute hand on the clock. Exercise regularly, give him tasks to find the time you named on the clock. Soon, the child will easily tell the time to the nearest minute.
Step 1.
An excellent completion of your training will be a watch that you make with your child with your own hands. They can simply be drawn on a regular sheet or paper plate. Give your child lots of crayons and place a clock in front of him. By independently drawing numbers and arrows, the child will quickly remember all the meanings.
Step 2.
Go gradually from a toy model to a real watch, just make sure that the numbers are clearly visible. Ask your child more often: “What time is it?” – and praise him for the correct answer.
Step 3.
Try to get your child to pay attention to the time without you asking. Ask him: “When did you wake up?”, “What time did you come from school?”, “When will your favorite fairy tale begin?” So the child himself will begin to memorize his daily routine by the hour.