Teach your child to watch the time using a clock. How to teach a child to tell time

For many children, the clock face presents a certain difficulty. How to teach a child time by clock? Perhaps some of our recommendations will help you and your baby master this difficult activity more quickly.

It is necessary to navigate in time. But the learning process is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. The clock has two numbering systems (1-12 and 1-60), which is difficult to comprehend at a young age.

Where to begin?

It’s worth starting to introduce a child to watches from the age of five; he already begins to imagine what the sequence is, when today replaces yesterday, followed by tomorrow, that morning follows night, etc.

It’s worth purchasing a watch without glass, or making one yourself with your baby. The watch should have a large dial and hands that can be rotated and removed.

The main point to consider before starting your studies: Your baby should be able to count to 60.

Understanding will come easier if the child knows and understands the principle of multiplying by five. A minute hand that indicates 5, 10, 15, 20 minutes will make it easier to navigate time and show how many minutes have passed after a certain hour.

Let's start learning. Hour hand

Explain to your child that there is an hour hand and a minute hand on the dial. Once the child understands this, remove the minute hand and explain how the hour hand works, showing one three o'clock, six o'clock, etc.

Next to each number, you can draw an action that the baby usually performs at this time. For example, the number 8 is next to washing, 12 is next to lunch, etc.

This training may take you several months. Don't rush things! Let the baby understand the principle of time. Then you can start teaching the concept of the minute hand.

Studying the minute hand

Explain to your child that the hour hand moves faster around the hour circle; it is longer than the hour hand. The minute hand travels the entire circle in 60 minutes, and then the hour hand moves to another number, the next one.

To determine minutes, write small numbers from 1 to 60 around the clock face. Tell us that the divisions between the numbers are 5 minutes, and the hand goes through a full circle in 60.

When your baby masters what minutes are, explain to your child how 30, 15 minutes, and an hour are counted, and then ask him to tell it to you. Ask him to count 6 minutes, 17 minutes, using the divisions of the hour scale.

The learning algorithm could be like this:

  • We introduce the child to the structure of the dial,
  • Introduce the concept of an exact hour,
  • Let's introduce the concept of half an hour,
  • Let's introduce the concept of five minutes.

Try to ask him questions about time throughout the day, remembering this quite often: “What time is it now? How many minutes have passed since this or that event?” After all, without training, this skill cannot be developed so easily.

Take a paper plate and let the child put minute notches on it and write the main indicators of time - 12, 3, 6, 9. You can draw lines from the center of the circle to these numbers and color the resulting segments in different colors. Then, using pencils instead of arrows, show the time you set.

Ask your child often: “What time do we go for a walk?” , “How long until bedtime?” etc.

You shouldn’t force things, thinking that it’s time for the child to learn the skill of timing. Do this gradually, by the way, or when he himself starts talking about this concept.

Video - Learning time by the clock. Let's get acquainted with the clock. Cartoons for little ones

Knowing how to use a watch is an important skill. It helps to rationally use and plan time, learn organization and consistency. But teach a preschooler understand by the hour -the task is not easy. How to explain to children what time is, at what age can they start learning about watches, what life hacks will make the learning process fun?

When to start training?

It all depends on how ready the child is to perceive and master new information. It is best to wait until the baby himself begins to ask relevant questions (“when will it be nine o’clock in the evening?”, “Is one hour long?”). Or teach your child casually. For example, when mentioning an event, be specific (“we’ll go for a walk in an hour,” “we’ll go to bed at exactly 10 o’clock”). In order for learning to be beneficial, it is necessary to take into account the age characteristics of the child.

By the age of two, a child begins to understand the words “soon” and “later” well, and by three years he can usually operate with concepts such as “yesterday” and “tomorrow.” At first, children confuse these concepts, but they grasp the meaning accurately.

By about three years of age, the child develops an awareness of the stability of his daily life, anticipation of familiar events. At this age, the baby can adequately respond to the phrase “I’m leaving, but I’ll come for you in the evening,” but the concept of “a little later” remains too abstract for him.

By about five years of age the child begins to realistically imagine some prospects for his life and is able to plan upcoming events.

By the age of six or seven, it is advisable to introduce the child to the dial.But on the question ofhow to teach a child to tell time using a clock, no need to rush.Learn to understand time using a clockIt’s not always easy even for elementary school students, not to mention preschoolers.

What should a child know before starting to get acquainted with watches?

When teaching a child, it is necessary to maintain consistency, to move from simple to complex. First, introduce the child to basic concepts using the association method (give specific examples from the child’s life).

Day and night. Tell your child what time of day is light and what time is dark. You can create a game poster or cards on the topic “Daily Routine” (choose pictures depicting common actions, such as waking up, lunch, sleep, etc.). Children grasp the meaning faster when they are given examples from their lives (“we do exercises in the morning, we walk outside during the day, we read in the evening, we sleep at night”).

Past, present, future (yesterday, today, tomorrow). Say, for example, “yesterday we went to the theater,” “today we are going to the pool,” “tomorrow guests will come to us.” Ask your child to place in order the cards with the image of a chicken, an egg and a hen. Look through your family photo album, remembering past events.

Seasons, 12 months. Tell your child , what is remarkable about each season, how nature changes, what people do in each season. Don’t forget to remind your child that “in winter we will decorate the Christmas tree”, “in June we will go to the dacha”, etc. Read together “Twelve Months” by S. Marshak and “Titmouse’s Calendar” by V. Bianki.

Days of the week. Tell them that each day of the week has a “name.”Talk to your child about events that happen in his life on a weekly basis, for example, “every Monday you go swimming,” “every Sunday you visit your grandmother.” The poem “Week” by S. Mikhalkov and the book “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by E. Karl will help the child remember the days of the week.

It will be easier for a child to navigate the clock if he can already count to 60, knows the multiplication table, knows how to divide (he is familiar with the concepts of “half” and “quarter”), has the skill of counting in fives, visually recognizes numbers from one to 12, understands spatial relationships("before" , « before" , « after" , « between").

But even if this knowledge is not there, and the child shows interest in watches, do not be afraid to give the baby what interests him! Playful activities can be a fun way to spend time and bring a lot of benefits.

Cartoons that Help your child understand the time by the clock , distinguish between seasons, the concepts of day and night:

“Fixies. Watch"

“Learning time by clock with Luntik”

“Mulle Mek talks about watches”

“Little kids. Tree" (cartoon about the seasons)

“Little kids. Fishing" (cartoon about what day and night are)

“All Year Round” - miniseries of 12 months

Tatiana Petulko

Hello dear readers. Today I will tell you how we learn time on the clock in an easy, interesting way. My child has been raving about telling the time on a clock for the past eight months. It all started with the fact that I began to warn him about the end of his games (businesses, activities) five minutes in advance. Based on information from teachers and psychologists, my baby was not yet ready to understand time and I delayed these lessons as much as I could. But seeing my son’s genuine interest in watches, I decided to try to explain. My son, who is now 3 years 8 months old, can tell time no worse than I can. I hope you find our games and learning activities suitable for use with older children.

Photo source: i.huffpost.com

A child's genuine interest is the key to success in learning

The age of three has passed the red line for my son’s character. It felt like the three-year crisis began the next day. I had to rebuild, adapt, and even “break” myself in some ways. To avoid vagaries due to the end of the game, I warned about this five minutes in advance:

- Alexander, in five minutes we will eat, finish the game, please. (one example)

Of course, I understood that the child does not have a developed sense of time, that five minutes is an empty phrase. But after repeating this several times, I heard the question:

- Mom, how long is five minutes?

I took my son to the digital watch and showed how much time there was on it, he himself calculated how much it would be if he added five to the minutes given at that time. But the child did not return to the game, he stood and watched as the numbers changed. And when five minutes had passed, he calmly came to me and we began to do what I wanted at that moment.

This picture was repeated several times; as soon as I warned about five minutes, Alexander stood in front of the clock and watched it. Then he developed a favorite phrase, “in five minutes,” which he mostly used with his dad, who was calling him to do something right away. For example: “Alexander, let’s go home,” and in response: “We’ll go in five minutes.”

The son began to be interested in all the clocks, as well as the time at which something constant should happen. Not understanding what time it was, but feeling that it was already late, he asked me:

  • Why hasn't dad returned from work yet?
  • Is it time to watch an evening cartoon?

In general, I think it’s clear that the child’s interest in watches and telling time was great, but I kept dragging my feet on this topic. I understood that telling the time on a watch does not mean being able to feel it.

Is it possible to learn time on a clock at an early age?

I absolutely remember that my grandmother taught me to tell time at the age of 6. My husband says they were taught this in first grade at school. Now in many kindergartens in the Dominican Republic, as in Russia, I don’t know, they teach this at the age of 5.

What did I see when I finally decided to give the knowledge that was so interesting to my child? That he did an excellent job of telling time using a clock at the age of 3 years and 8 months. Today he can answer what time it is, just like you and me. But what about the understanding of time itself, which cannot be touched, and if you play too much, you may not feel it? We work with this according to the daily routine, verbal instructions, and so on. In order for a child to develop a sense of time, he needs to go a certain way, and we are not in a hurry.

Materials with which we study time

Let me tell you how we managed to figure out this issue. We teach time using some materials, some of them are purchased, others I made myself and will let you download. Something can be replaced, I will try to give my recommendations.

One of the main parts of our knowledge of time was Galina Petrovna Shalaeva’s book “Clocks and Clocks”. I will describe our classes in detail so that it is clear what path we followed in our training. I think that resourceful mothers will be able to organize this process without this book. Although I will still note that we really liked it and will suggest that it can be downloaded on Ozone.

First we found out what kinds of watches there are and why we need them. Literally every type of watch is presented on the page, the text is large and clear:

  • Wrist;
  • desktop;
  • street;
  • station;
  • clock in the stove;
  • on buildings;
  • electronic;
  • alarm;
  • with a cuckoo;
  • floor;
  • floral (these are flowers in Moscow on Kutuzovsky Prospekt);
  • underwater;
  • airport hours;
  • wall;
  • sand.

We took out all of my mother’s and father’s watches, the child was simply stunned by their number and shine, he looked like a little crow. We walked around the apartment and looked at what watches we had. It turned out that there were wall-mounted, electronic, alarm clocks, sand clocks.

If you don't have a book like this, you can print out pictures of the missing watch. Then explain to your child about each type in your own words. Or purchase a copy of the book online, it is available in many online stores.

What is day and night: download the book

While reading the book, we talked about what a day is, what do they consist of? From night and day. No wonder they say: “Day and night - a day away.” There are 24 hours in a day. During this time, planet Earth makes one full revolution around its axis. We've already gone through this when... Alexander read a poem on the topic, compiled into a book I made on Doman.

You can download it for free via this link. Before downloading, review its content to see if it is suitable for your child’s age. If you are not familiar with the Doman method, let me clarify that the book was made for reading practice for preschoolers. There is text on one page and a picture on the other. For printing, use the 2 pages on 1 sheet function.

We read Shalaeva’s book gradually, on the first day we read about what kind of watches there are and looked at the available ones. On the second day about the dial and hands. And when we got to the definitions of “exactly one hour”, “half an hour”, our main assistants were our watch with rotating hands and the Kumon workbook “Learning to tell time. An hour and half an hour.”

Each lesson in the notebook was displayed on our watch. Thus, the child does not just draw arrows on the dial, but practices setting them independently.

A detailed description of the workbook can be read in the article.

Studying the dial: hour and minute hands

We learn the time on the clock starting from the dial. From the book we learned what a dial is, which minute hand and which hour hand, how the hands move.

Using the text from the front page of the book and a watch with rotating hands, which we will talk about below, you can explain the dial to your child.

We tell you that the circle in the center of the watch is called the dial. There are numbers on it. The clock has two hands. One is short, thicker, moving slowly. When she makes one circle around the dial, twelve hours have passed. This hand is called the hour hand.

Hour hand
Hour after hour goes by,
Without haste, without falling behind,
And he takes us with him.

The clock has one more hand - the minute hand. It is longer, thinner than a sentry and moves faster. To show one hour, the minute hand must move through all 12 digits, while the hour hand only moves from one digit to the next.

Minute hand -
You are the sentry sister.
Minute hand -
You are long and fast!
Counting down the minutes -
This is no joke!

Here our purchased watch with moving hands came in very handy. It’s one thing to look at pictures in a book, and another to set the arrows yourself. This model is two-sided: on the one hand you can teach hours and minutes, on the other hand you can draw the hands yourself. This allows an adult to understand how much the material has been mastered.

There are similar options Here.

If you are teaching with a small child, I highly recommend paying attention to books with clocks. They have text with pictures that will captivate your baby and a built-in clock with moving hands.

A fairy tale about the hands of a dial

Children learn information well through a fairy tale, so let's teach time with this wonderful mini-fairy tale. It’s better to tell the story from memory, holding a watch in your hands and showing all the characters’ actions.

Once upon a time there lived a clock king. He ruled his round watch kingdom, where twelve watch subjects lived. The king was serious and distrustful - he was very worried whether all his subjects were in place, whether anyone had left for another kingdom.

Two assistants served the king - the arrows Tik and Tak. Tick ​​was tall, thin and nimble. It was not difficult for him to run around all the inhabitants of the kingdom in one hour. So - short, plump, leisurely. He slowly, breathing heavily, walked from house to house and spent a whole day or twelve hours on his work. Tik and Tak sometimes met, but not for long - Tik could not wait to be the first to report to the king that everything was in order, so after shaking Tak’s hand, he quickly ran to the palace.

Physical education lesson about arrows

While doing physical education, perform all the movements mentioned in the poem. Learning to tell time doesn’t happen right away; it’s a rather long process. If you conduct this physical education session several times, your child will definitely learn the poems by heart. Ask him to say the words with you.

Following the hour hand,
Slowly, let's go with you.
Tick-tock, tick-tock -
We are going step by step!
Tick-tock, tick-tock
Step-step, another step!

Now, let’s speed up our pace and run after the minute hand. We run in a circle and say:

Behind the minute hand
We're running fast
We're in a hurry
We're in a hurry!
Minute hand
We want to catch up.
Just a minute, just a minute,
Just a minute again!

Now, together we wave our right hand clockwise and say:

Let's wave together
Right hand
We are in the clockwise direction!

Let’s hold hands again and slowly walk counterclockwise, saying:

Counterclockwise
We are starting to move
Now you and I know
This is the direction!

Discussion of questions for understanding time

  1. How many hours are there in a day?
  2. What two parts can a day be divided into?
  3. What four parts can a day be divided into?
  4. What time of day is the lightest?
  5. What time of day is the darkest?
  6. Tell me what you do in the morning, afternoon, evening and night?

Alexander handled all the questions perfectly, which surprised me. I rejoiced at his answers like a child.

A very important part of our life was the daily routine that we always followed. But now, when we study time, it hangs clearly on our wall. The poster is very large on two sheets of whatman paper, I walk around and admire it.

To make the poster with my own hands, I took photographs of my son at the moments that are displayed on it. As you understand, the child perfectly associates the actions taking place with himself:

  • Wakes up: drinks milk;
  • washes his face and brushes his teeth;
  • has breakfast with his favorite porridge;
  • ready to go to kindergarten;
  • has lunch after kindergarten;
  • quiet time: drinks milk;
  • dinner;
  • bathing;
  • wearing pajamas: milk, fairy tale, kiss.

Learn time on a clock using cartoons

At this stage, wonderful cartoons came to our aid. I think that all children love and know Shishkin’s school; it is their cartoons that explain this topic more clearly.

Shishkina school Determining time by clock: part 1

Shishkina school Learning time on a clock: part 2

Alexander and I also learned this short and rhythmic song about the clock “Tick-Tock”.

Watches made from natural materials: creative work

Creative activities include completely unplanned watches made from natural materials. We walked through the park, where Alexander raised two sticks and began to set the time with them.

- Mom, look, it’s seven o’clock, and this is four!

Arriving home, I took out the available materials: acorns, cones, straw, acacia seeds and the same sticks the child found. The polystyrene foam was indeed a little damaged, but we weren’t doing work for an exhibition. Alexander helped fasten the acorns and put the materials in place. I myself applied hot silicone, and he pressed the materials where needed.

Learning time on a clock with Roman numerals

When we were studying according to Galina Shalaeva’s book, we came across clocks with Roman numerals and even no numbers at all. I am sure that this was done on the last pages of the book in order to check if the child was able to remember the location of the numbers on the dial. But Alexander immediately became interested in what these numbers were and why they were different? We had to get the book “Numbers and Numbers” from the “Why? From what? Why?”, in which this question is explained quite clearly.

This is the explanation that came out of Kiusiner’s sticks. The most interesting thing is that Alexander grasped the essence of my explanation immediately. When I laid out 4, 5, 6, I explained to him that the stick is on the left when the number is smaller and the stick is on the right when it is higher. Alexander was eager to try it himself, so I put in ten, and he himself put out nine and eleven. I’ll tell you a secret that I’ve met adults who were confused by Roman numerals, but it turns out that they are so easy for children.

Well, don’t stop at explaining without practice. Again, unplanned, we ended up with a clock like this with Roman numerals. During the evening the child laid out their different models.

This is how, dear readers, we learn the time on the clock. I hope that in my article you found the information you needed. The most important thing is, of course, to have the child’s interest in this issue. And if you saw it at an earlier age than the usual explanation of the clock, then do not be afraid to give the baby what interests him so much. My child is proof of this. I would be glad if you share the article on social media. networks using the buttons below.

Nowadays, parents are trying to teach their children the skills of telling time early, starting at 5-6 years old. However, the learning process at this age is often not easy for young students, and the most that can be achieved is the child’s understanding and definition of the hour category. How to teach a child to tell time effectively, what needs to be done to make this skill easy for him to master?

When starting training, you need to take into account some tips, which we will talk about today in our article.

At the age of 5-6 years, not all children confidently operate with mathematical counting up to 60, and what is also important - the category of multiplicity, the understanding of which (numbers that are multiples of 5, five minutes) is necessary for the successful development of calculations with minute intervals.

But the child’s education, which began at 7-8 years old, according to the observations of parents and teachers, proceeds much simpler and fits into 5-7 lessons. At this age, the student quickly and easily grasps the main points and after a couple of weeks begins to freely determine time. Therefore, it is better to wait a little and start classes when you notice that the child has a need to tell time.

Preparatory stage. General concepts

How to teach a child to understand time? In order for him to quickly and easily learn to tell time, it is necessary to form in him a clear idea of ​​the time of day, and, if possible, link this idea to the digital representation on the watch dial.

Discuss with your child the four times of day - “night”, “morning”, “day”, “evening”. Tell us how his daily routine relates to these concepts, what time of day he wakes up, eats, goes for a walk, etc.

Show me your watch. It is desirable that the dial be large, white, without distracting patterns or difficult-to-remember Roman numerals.

Tell us about the properties of two hands, the long one indicates the minutes, the short one indicates the hours. Explain that this property is constant for all clocks.

In the future, for lessons on teaching time, you will need to make several mock-ups of dials yourself, so that, if necessary, you can write or stick something next to the numbers.

Clock layout. You can make it from a white disposable plate, the arrows from pieces of cardboard, securing them in the middle with a small screw. Sign the numbers with a marker, leaving a small space for notes next to the number if necessary. Take care of the markings (five divisions) between the numbers, this is important. The markings should be clear and large, the child will count them.

The main stages of a child's education

Learning to determine the exact number of hours

At this stage, it is necessary to achieve a clear understanding of the hour category from the student. To do this, set the training dial to some time, say three hours. At the same time, make sure that the minute hand is at twelve. Focus the child’s attention on the fact that the position of the minute hand at the number “12” means “exactly” so many hours. By moving the hour hand, practice determining the correct number of hours. If you were able to clearly explain the concept of “watch” to your child, then you can safely move on to the next stage.

We learn to determine the minute intervals of an hour - 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 minutes

It is at this stage that the child’s understanding of the category of multiplicity will be relevant. Set the time on the dial - an even number of hours, say two hours. Then offer to count the number of small lines from the number “12” to the number “1”, draw his attention to the fact that there are 5 of them. After this, draw the number five on a small piece of paper and place it next to the number 1, but so that it did not merge with the unit! Explain what this means - five minutes past three. Repeat the procedure several times (counting five minutes, the result is the name of the time).

Try to make it easy for the student to understand that two intervals of 5 are 10 minutes, 3 of 5 are 15, and so on.

Make sure that the child does not guess the time, but thinks logically. Then he will form a clear picture of the definition of minute intervals.

Learning to explain half an hour

This can be explained quite simply by covering half of the dial (vertically) with a piece of paper or a cut out semicircle. Emphasize that the concept of half an hour is equal to “30 minutes”; practice defining half an hour differently – “half past nine” or “thirty minutes past three”. Reinforce these skills.

At this stage, it is also important that your student develops the concept of the first half of the hour - before 30 minutes (the beginning of the hour), and the second half - after 30 minutes (the end of the hour), since it is impossible to teach a child to tell time without these basics. This will help the child decide on the arrangement of minute intervals: it is now “five minutes past one” or “five minutes to one.”

There are alternative methods to explain time to a child. This is a representation of time intervals in digital equivalent, when people say, calling numbers, “now 15-20”, “18-40” and so on. However, few children aged 7-8 years can confidently calculate in fives up to 55 minutes, therefore, when choosing a way to teach your child to understand time, be guided by an understanding of his individual characteristics. If a child does math without problems and enjoys it and loves counting problems, then the second method may be more suitable for him.

Important points

Try to ensure that the student perceives not only the digital values ​​of time intervals, but also their alternative names in words.

Half: half past ten = nine thirty = thirty minutes past ten.

Quarter: quarter to five = fifteen to five.

Nine twenty (9-20) = twenty minutes past nine.

Remember that the ability to navigate time is a rather complex skill; do not require your child to quickly master the material. Actively consolidate and repeat the acquired knowledge, and very soon you will be able to hear the answer to your question about “what time is it?”

Educational cartoon on how to teach a child to tell time:

Time for a child is an abstract quantity. Small children do not differentiate time at all; for them, any state is infinite. As the child grows up, he observes the change of day and night, seasons, and certain landmarks appear on his personal timeline: birthday, New Year and other fixed holidays.

Understanding clock time is a necessary skill for all people. And although most of us have constant access to an electronic watch, mobile phone, or computer monitor, most parents are still convinced that the child should understand the traditional analog clock.

Where to begin

At the age of 3-4 years, it is time to introduce the child to the concepts of day and night, morning and evening, to analyze their fundamental features and the order of alternation. In order to reinforce these concepts, you can use special aids: cubes for the little ones or cards for older children.

You can start teaching a child to tell time from the age of 5-6, when he already understands what a sequence of events is. He knows what the past, present and future are. He understands that after day comes night.

In order for a child to be able to understand time using mechanical and electronic watches, he will have to master counting to one hundred. Some children can count to one hundred by age 5, while others master it by age seven. This is all considered normal. However, without this skill, understanding the mechanism of time movement is impossible.

The child’s main skills in mastering time should be:

Visual recognition of each number from 1 to 12;

Ability to write these numbers;

Counting skills in 5s (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30).

If your child already knows, understands and can do all this, you can begin to study the concept of time.

How to explain to a child what time is

What is clock time for children? A certain number that adults name when looking at their watches. And if there are no clocks in the house and adults use phones instead, then the child does not understand the abstract concept of time at all.

In the process of teaching a child to determine time, it is important to help him master this concept and feel its length or intervals using specific examples.

So, start with simple claps, each of which is equal to one second. Clap with your child to the beat of a clock that has a second hand. At the same time, explain that now you are clapping your hands in time.

Later, start paying your child’s attention to the length of time he plays or watches a cartoon. For example, one episode of your favorite animated series lasts 20 minutes. Voice it out. Or track the time your child spends getting dressed.

Next, you need to explain to the child that our day is a day with 24 hours. 12 of them he rests and sleeps. The remaining 12 hours are given to complete all important tasks: breakfast, lunch and dinner, playing with friends in kindergarten or preparing for school, and so on. And each of these activities requires a certain amount of time.

Such simple exercises will help the child navigate time periods and understand that each action requires a certain amount of time.

What to teach

For clarity you will need children's toy watches that are for sale in Melitopol toy stores. The watch should have a large dial and movable hands. It is advisable that the clock indicate the numbers corresponding to the minutes - 1 - 5 minutes, 2 - 10 minutes, etc.


The dial can also be cut out according to the template and glued to cardboard. Having made slits on the dial, the values ​​of time intervals are indicated on the cardboard, which the child can spy on if necessary.

Stages of training

Explain to your child that a watch consists of a dial, numbers and hands - minute and hour. The minute hand is noticeably longer than the hour hand.

When he remembers this, leave only the hour hand and numbers. Show how slowly the arrow moves. Explain that if the hand is on the number one, it means one hour. If a little further, it means a little more than an hour. Work out the full time - this makes it easier to move on to studying the minutes.

Next, move on to mastering the minute hand. The child must understand that it is longer than the clock and moves faster, that is, it moves to the next number sooner. Draw small numbers throughout the clock face to indicate the minutes from 1 to 60. Explain that the division between two numbers includes 5 minutes and that the minute hand travels a full circle in 60 minutes, or one hour. Give your child tasks to show you by moving the arrow 10 minutes, 15, 20.

Introduce concepts such as a quarter of an hour, half an hour.

Now tell me how to determine when one minute has passed. Show how 7 minutes will look on the clock and how 8 will look like.

Write or draw his daily routine with your child. Opposite the event, draw a clock face with the image of time. For example, a child wakes up around 7, has breakfast in kindergarten at 9, etc. First, draw just a few pictures. Don't rush the time. But constantly ask your child what time it is.

Practice moving the arrows. Set the game dial to different hour values ​​and ask your child to name the numbers they landed on. Use the simulators from the training notebooks.

Your favorite characters in educational videos will also be able to help you figure out the clock.

Learn to tell time using an electronic clock

A child can recognize readings on an electronic watch more accurately. Compare the meanings of clocks with hands and electronic clocks. It may be interesting for your child to wake up with an electronic alarm clock or set a timer on electrical appliances under the supervision of an adult.

To consolidate the result, offer your son or daughter motivation. For example, say that we will eat candy at a certain time - 3:45. When the clock shows this time, let the child call you. Also, go for walks and go to bed at regular intervals. This mini-exam will be a fun and useful pastime. And it will definitely bear fruit.

The main thing that needs to be conveyed to the child in the process of teaching him to determine time is the fact that time goes on constantly, it does not stop for a moment. An hourglass is a great illustration.

Understanding this process will not only help you more clearly navigate hours and minutes, but will also lay the foundation for a person’s caring attitude towards time, will help you plan your affairs more effectively in the future, and therefore achieve greater results in any chosen task.

Based on Internet materials.

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