As a homeschooling parent, you might be wondering how to teach telling time in this day and age.
As our kids grow up in a world of digital clocks, teaching them to read analog time might seem difficult or outdated. But it’s neither.
Learning to read analog time can be important for helping children understand the concept of time and how it works.
The ability to tell time comes second nature to adults, but for kids, it can be a bit of a challenge.
That’s why we’ve put together some fun and interactive activities below that teach children how to read time on an analog clock.
Check out the list below to discover a range of creative ways to guide your child in mastering the art of telling time.
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17 Ideas for Teaching Time to Kids
1. Clock Worksheets
Free online telling time worksheets offer a convenient way to enhance kids’ time-telling abilities. These printable resources provide various activities, from reading analog and digital clocks to solving elapsed time problems. These worksheets make learning interactive and adaptable, allowing children to grasp time-telling concepts at their own pace. You can print out some worksheets (check out our guide to the best homeschool printers) and give your kids al the practice they can handle.
Click here to download our free time telling worksheets.
2. Using a Play Clock
One of the easiest ways to start introducing telling time to your child is to invest in a play clock. Some of these clocks are simple plastic clocks that children can manipulate. Other play clocks come with time cards to help children practice setting the time. Before using the toy clock in any lesson or activity, let the child play around with it. You can point out the parts of the clock so that children know what the parts are called. Then, have them watch as the numbers change when they move their hands on the clock. Invite your child to use this toy clock multiple times for a week or two so they get comfortable with the idea of using the clock.
3. Clock Craft
Exploring the concept of telling time integrates into the mathematics segment of your homeschooling curriculum. Consider engaging children in a creative clock craft to incorporate hands-on learning. Begin by providing a paper plate as the canvas for their clock face, encouraging them to draw inspiration from their toy clock and a clock in your home. This activity enables them to fashion movable clock hands using construction paper, securing them in place with a paper fastener for easy manipulation. Allow them to decorate the clock once they have finished making it. Then, use this clock to practice telling time.
4. Digital vs. Analog
It is essential for students to learn how to tell time using both types of clocks in our world. You have a mix of digital and analog clocks throughout your home. Take a tour of your home and point out your different clocks. Alternatively, you can have children try to find them on their own through a clock scavenger hunt. For a clock scavenger hunt, provide children with a list of clock locations in your home. Encourage them to locate each clock independently, observe the time displayed, and record their findings on a worksheet. This activity helps get them moving and makes learning fun and interactive.
5. Color Code a Clock
You can grab a cheap clock for less than $10 off Amazon for this activity. Use markers to block off each hour of the clock on its face. This will help children see where the blocks of time are for each hour. Throughout the day check back with the clock. Ask your child to tell you about the time. At first, they will tell you about what numbers the hands are pointing to. As time progresses, build on their knowledge by introducing the minute hand.
6. Daily Routine
Children and some adults, love routine. Children will learn best when they can relate to the topic of learning. To get children engaged in learning to tell time, incorporate it into your conversation about the daily routine. You can use the color code activity above to mark off different parts of your daily routine with color coding.
7. Referring to Time Throughout Daily Activities
In addition to the daily routine activity, be sure to point out to children when you use language about time. Some examples could be about the class time, how many minutes are left during an activity, or a countdown until you leave to go someplace. Making children aware of how often we use time will help build their interest in telling time.
8. Cooking Clock
Incorporating telling time and cooking is an excellent way for hands-on learning. Choose a specific cooking activity that involves timed tasks. For example, prepare dough for pizza, prepare the pizza, and cook the pizza. Timed tasks within the recipe include time for the dough to rise and time for the pizza to cook. You can use any other recipes if pizza isn’t your dinner of choice. This activity is also a great bonding experience with your child.
9. Time Song
Break out the instruments for a music-themed activity about telling time. As homeschooling parents, there are so many ways to incorporate electives within your child’s day. Use a catchy song or tune to remind kids about the hours or minutes on a clock. An example could be “Numbers in a circle, one to twelve, Let’s learn to tell time, oh so well! Oh, the big hand points up high, Showing the hours as they pass by. The small hand dances in a race, Marking minutes at its own pace”
10. Online Interactive Games
Using interactive online games to teach kids how to tell time adds an engaging twist to learning, making it enjoyable and effective. These games often feature animated clocks and interactive challenges that help children practice reading analog and digital time formats. By incorporating playful elements and immediate feedback, these games help kids build confidence and a strong foundation in time-telling skills while having fun. Check out these time telling games from Education.com.
11. Clock Story Time
Adding variety to your time-telling lessons can be as simple as selecting storybooks that weave in captivating tales of time. Reading these stories alongside your children allows you to highlight sections where time-related concepts are explored. As you journey through the narratives together, your discussions on time within the stories can seamlessly connect with real-world applications, making the learning experience both enjoyable and practical.
12. Time Capsule
Who doesn’t love a time capsule? Have children collect items in their home to make a time capsule. You can place these items in a shoe box. Choose a time in the future when you will open the capsule. This is an excellent time to rope in some history and discuss how things change over time. You can also make it science-based and talk about how people change, how trees grow, or how rust forms.
13. Time Travel
Embark on an exciting time travel adventure that immerses them in setting clocks to different global time zones. Begin by selecting diverse locations on a map or globe, and enhance the experience with an educational video explaining worldwide time variations. Use a global clock tool to determine corresponding times in these locations as a model for students to recreate these time differences on a worksheet or their toy clocks.
14. Time Bingo
Create a Bingo game with different clock faces representing various times, and have them match the times you call out. You can also find clock bingo cards pre-created online. This dynamic activity helps children recognize time by responding to verbal cues instead of solely relying on visual analysis of the clocks.
15. Flashcards
Create flashcards with various times written in both analog and digital formats. These flashcards offer a tactile and visual learning experience, allowing children to practice reading time in different representations. You can also engage them in a game where they match the analog and digital times, which helps reinforce their understanding and fluency in time-telling concepts.
16. Time-Based Chore Schedule
Create a chore schedule that includes specific times for different tasks. This not only helps them understand time but also promotes responsibility and build life skills. As they engage with their chore schedule, they’ll get used to the rhythm of time. This helps enhance their ability to plan and manage their activities efficiently. This practical approach blends time-telling skills with life skills, allowing them to navigate their days with an awareness of passing time and the tasks at hand.
17. DIY Sundial
Have kids construct a sundial using a stick and a paper plate. As they construct the sundial, introduce how this ancient device uses the sun’s movement to track time. This is an excellent opportunity to discuss how the sun indicates time. Have them place their sundial in a sunny spot outdoors and observe the shadow’s movement over the course of the day. Have kids mark the positions of the shadow at different times of the day. This is a fun and easy STEAM art project.
Get Our Free Time Telling Worksheets
Need some help figuring out how to teach telling time to kids?
Click here to download our free time telling worksheets.
A Final Word on How to Teach Telling Time to Kids
This list of activities is meant to get you started teaching children how to tell time.
Homeschooling offers endless opportunities to seamlessly integrate learning into your daily routines. Whether through creative crafts, engaging games, or practical applications, these methods help make time-telling an enjoyable and integral part of your homeschooling experience.
Have any questions about how to teach telling time to kids? Leave a comment below so we can help you out.
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