Anyone who has ever tried to get someone under the age of eight ready for school knows that children have no concept of time. That may have something to do with the fact that many children, even my sophomores, still have trouble reading an analog clock.
Telling Time for Kids – Learning the Clock
When I try to teach my son, I realize that the mathematical ideas behind telling time with a small and a large hand are actually complex. I wonder how I ever figured it out.
To help caregivers in a similar situation, we’ll outline the basic concepts of reading an analog clock, since digital clocks and smartphones have taken many of us out of the practice. We’ll also share some fun ideas for how to teach this skill to kids.
Each hour has 60 minutes, which are represented on most analog clocks by small lines around the clock. Every fifth line has a number, starting with one and ending with 12 at the top. These numbers represent the hours of the day.
