5 Tips for Teaching Your Child to Tell Time

I was asked and compensated by TIMEX to write this post.

5 Tips for Teaching Your Child to Tell Time

As a parent, I know that there are things that I will have to teach my child and there are things that they will learn in school. Telling time is something that my kids learn in school and then we reinforce it at home. Telling time seems like one of those lost skills like cursive but neither skill should be lost on our children. With the way we have moved to a completely digital society, I see less and less watches as we move more towards getting the time on our cellphones. Here are our 5 Tips for Teaching Your Child to Tell Time.

5 Tips for Teaching Your Child to Tell Time

1. Put clocks around your home.

We have several clocks hanging around our home and only a few are digital. We started teaching our kids to tell time at a young age by telling them what time it is and pointing it out on the clocks.

2. Have your child make their own clock.

Each of my child made their own clock by cutting a piece of paper in a circle, writing in numbers and attaching hands that move. These clocks are an invaluable way to teach time. This handy clock makes a fun game while making dinner. My daughter sits at the table and I give her times to put on her clock.

3. Get your child a watch.

When each of my children started Kindergarten, we bought them their own watch that we let them pick out as well. Letting them get a watch with their favorite characters or in their favorite colors gives your child more buyin. My kids loved their watches and this helped them to learn a little quicker.

4. Write family schedule and include times.

This is another way we make the kids tell time as much as possible. I ask my youngest to show me on a clock

5. Use the TIMEX Time Machine App

Add the TIMEX Time Machine App to your phone today and surprise your child. TIMEX has released this fabulous free app that takes children traveling through time in their Time Machine! In each of the three levels, kids use their spaceship to reinforce time words, digital/analog times, as well as adding time!

About the TIMEX Time Machine App

As your child practices telling time, they will also strengthen basic math skills, such as skip counting, addition, and subtraction. Telling time also supports the valuable life skill of time management. This tool will help your child further understand time-telling and time management at home. As children practice telling time, they strengthen basic math skills, such as skip counting, addition, and subtraction. Telling time also supports the valuable life skill of time management.

Playing on the TIMEX Time Machine App

With two different modes and three levels of play, your child will learn to tell time plus the app reinforces the general concepts such as clockwise, counter-clockwise, function of clock hands, telling time, and A.M. and P.M. “Learning mode” and “Practice Mode” serve as both general learning tools for telling time, and also a tutorial for the games included in the app.

LEVEL 1: Time Stopper – The clock hands are spinning, and the player is given a digital time. The player must tap the clock at the specific point when its hands are positioned to match the indicated digital time.

LEVEL 2: Counting Time – Players see a clock with a certain amount of time shaded in (for example, a quarter hour, half hour or five minutes). Using the buttons at the bottom of the screen, they must add up enough minutes to equal the shaded amount without going over.

LEVEL 3: Rocket Time – Time, in the form of clock faces, is falling from the top of the screen toward the player's Time Machine. The player must move their machine to catch the clock that matches the time shown at the top of their screen.

Get the TIMEX Time Machine App today

Download this Free Timex Time Machines App from the iTunes App Store and Google Play today. Empower your kids to have fun through learning, by seamlessly blending digital free-play with a variety of interactive lessons tailored for kids age 6 through 9.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Timex. The opinions and text are all mine.