Time and Left-Right
Games for Children by Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
1 - Left-Right Game
-Draw
a line down the center of a paper plate
-Write
“left” on the left side and “right” on the right side of a paper plate. Tape a piece of paper each word and lift the
paper up and read the words to the preschool child
-Show
a preschooler the plate and say, “This is the ‘left’ side, and this is the
‘right’ side” as you lift up the pieces of paper that cover these words
-Then,
ask the child, “Which side is the left side?”
-This
teaching activity appears to be easy for adults, but it takes children awhile
to learn this skill. (The Swiss
psychologist Piaget writes about how long it takes to develop a child’s
short-term memory in several of his books.)
-After
this, sing the song “Hokey Pokey,” which features putting your “left arm and
your left arm out and shaking it all about” verses
(The
Hokey Pokey reinforces left and right skills and teaches children body parts.)
2
– Clock Game – Hours
-Make
a clock with the paper plate
-Number
the plate with the numerals 1 – 12
-Make
two hands for the clock dials and attach them to the paper plate with a brad
-Put
the long hand on 12 and the short hand on 1.
Tell the child that 1 o’clock looks like this and why.
-Move
the short hand to 2 and ask the child, “What time is it?”
-The
child might respond, “It is 2 o’clock.”
Ask the child, how she or he knows that.
-If the child answers incorrectly, say something such as, “That’s not quite right, but I would like to know how you thought that was right.” Let the child give you their reasoning and then show them how to find the right answer.
-Go
through all the numbers on the clock several times. Learning to tell time is a very hard skill to
learn.
3 – Clock Game –
“Quarter Past” Time
-Use
the procedure above to teach children to know how to say things such as, “It is
a quarter past two.” Make sure to move
the clock hands, so you can play this game accurately.
4 – Clock Game – “Half
Past” Time
Use
the procedure in Step 2 to teach children to know how to say things such as,
“It is half past two.”
Make
sure to move the clock hands to the correct position.
5 – Clock Game –
“Quarter to” Time
Use
the same procedure as in Step 2 to teach children to know how to say things
such as, “It is quarter to 5.”
Make
sure to move the clock hands to the appropriate position.
6 – Clock Game –
Minutes – (17 Minutes Example)
Use
the procedure in Step 2 to teach children how to say, “It is One seventeen” in response
to a questions such as, “What time is it?”
7 – Clock Game –
Military Time – (1 – 12)
These
numbers are read the same as 1 – 12 am.
NASA
uses military time.
8 – Clock Game –
Military Time – (12 – 24)
You
have to add “10” to each number after noon to come up with military time.
Military
time after noon is made in the following manner:
10
+ 1 = 11
10
+ 2 = 12
10
+ 3 = 13
10
+ 4 = 14
10
+ 5 = 15
10
+ 6 = 16
10
+ 7 = 17
10
+ 8 = 18
10
+ 9 = 19
10
+ 10 = 20
10
+ 11 = 21
10
+ 12 = 22
You
can quiz your child on this daily and play Black Jack or “21” as it is called
to give your child the ability to add quickly and accurately.
9 – Clock Game –
Military Time – Pronunciation
0100
= O One Hundred
0200
= O Two Hundred
0300
= O Three Hundred
0400
= O Four Hundred
0500
= O Five Hundred
0600
= O Six Hundred
0700
= O Seven Hundred
0800
= O Eight Hundred
0900
= O Nine Hundred
1000
= 10 Hundred
1100
= 11 Hundred
1200
= 12 Hundred
1300
= 13 Hundred
1400
= 14 Hundred
1500
= 15 Hundred
1600
= 16 Hundred
1700
= 17 Hundred
1800
= 18 Hundred
1900
= 19 Hundred
2000
= 20 Hundred
2100
= 21 Hundred
2200
= 22 Hundred
2300
= 23 Hundred
2400
= 24 Hundred
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
