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DD is a delight, bright and very personable. While she does have a learning disability she tries extremely hard. This week I had an awakening about how difficult it must be for some children to learn.
She is in 4th grade and now studying some time problems in math. Example: The class arrives for a concert at 3:15 and it has taken them 2 hours and 45 minutes on the bus to travel to the concert. At what time did they leave? After some frustration I finally found a cardboard clock with movable hands from a game we used to play. Hands on is always better but she still couldn't grasp what was happening to the clock.
Then it hit me!! How many clocks with a dial and hands has this child actually seen or even studied? Aren't most of the instruments we use to tell time digital these days? I remember doing some clock work with the kids when they were even preschoolers but unless somebody uses something every day they soon forget.
The short version is that she had a hard time thinking in terms of units of 60 instead of 100 like most math. She wanted 1/4 hour to be 25 minutes instead of 15. Makes sense to me!
After I broke it down to the very basics of each hour is 60 minutes, each number on the clock is 5 minutes apart for minutes yet 1 hour for the whole clock she was better able to grasp it. We had half hour review this morning from 6 to 6:30 and she left for school with a skip and a wonderful sense of confidence.
I'm wondering if other parents have faced something similar with their kids who have had little exposure to a faced clock with hands?
While it might not help you teach your child to read and understand time.... this should at least make you smile and get over the frustration factor.
Oh man that is so funny. It's a wonder any kid today can tell time.
Sent it to her teacher and her siblings. Know they will all enjoy it. Thanks so much for sharing.
Oh man that is so funny. It's a wonder any kid today can tell time.
Sent it to her teacher and her siblings. Know they will all enjoy it. Thanks so much for sharing.
Most actually can, it's people my age who usually have no idea what time it even is that is the issue.
The school I worked at before I used to do homework with children all the time. It's a skill still needed but yes digital clocks are everywhere. If you explain the basics a child can later look at a clock and understand what an hour and half later.
I always drew a clock like a pizza. And let the child see it as a circle first divided into a half.-30 mins. So a line horizontal is 30. And a line vertical is 30-mins. Then showed them with both lines that theses four slices are quarters. Explained how you can say quarter after or before.
Then continued all the lines for each number. I maded them memorize the numbers around the clock. Then match the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 to the 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ect. Explained no matter where you are on the pizza if move 5 mins it 5 after the number the hour hand is pointing to. If it's 3:15. And I wanted and 1hr and 45 mins after that time. I would ask them now if you add 1 to 3:15 what is that? Then of course it's 4:15. I would tell them we have our hour after. Now from there count 45 mins. Many got it. I'm a visual learner too. So I think it helped most.
My oldest is only three, but we have a beautiful wooden cuckoo clock in our dining room. Right now he knows how to count the cuckoo sounds to tell the time (at least the hour). Only difficulty is that the numbers are roman numerals, but I'm hoping simply having a clock will help him grasp the concept (and have him USE the information repeatedly).
I also wonder if I am one of the few who wear and use a wristwatch (not digital).
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