Wooden clock

Wooden Clock

Why? to introduce him to telling time. Played with this clock previously but not progressed much. That’s ok cos at the moment, other objectives take a higher priority.

Past/current objectives in terms of introducing teaching time:
- Items you’d find on a clock – numbers & 2 hands, one long & one short
- Hands move clockwise (not anti clock wise)
- Placement/location of numerals – 12 always at the top, 6 directly opposite at the bottom, 3 to the right, 9 directly opposite on the left.
- Short hand indicates hour. Long hand shows minutes.

I bought this cos I can do more than just teach time with it. Fine motor - Clock's hands can be moved of course, but also the numbers can be removed & replaced (magnetic). Attractive without it being distracting in the sense that the design/colours draw your attention to the numbers & hands which should rightly be the focus. Background is kept plain. No fancy gadgets. Other products in the market tend to have distracting/loud cartoons.

You can also use it to reinforce colours, numbers, shapes & practice hand eye coordination.
Today (Sunday 28 June 2009) while playing with him, I found new uses – as stacking blocks & for teaching patterns/sequencing.

Pattern/sequencing is an important math skill. Previously he could do 2 item patterns being repeated. E.g. blue, red, blue, red…what comes next? blue, red. He didn’t get it with 3 item patterns. E.g. car, bus, train, car, bus, train…what comes next? Car, bus, train. Today, I tried teaching 3 item pattern using those blocks. But this time, I put each “group” close together before placing the next group….see photo (to be uploaded later, sorry)…and the result? He got it! Hooray!

Another way to play with it is to teach him the number line (early maths skill). E.g. remove & mix up the number pieces & have him arrange it numerically. You can also then remove a few pieces & ask him what numbers are missing.

The toy is a Tesco own brand item & given the quality & the many ways to play with it, it’s good value for money.

Other ideas if you want to take teaching time further:
- Ladybird book: First Skills series, "Telling the time"(Bought at warehouse sale)

- Start with “on the hour” times. E.g. one o’clock, three o’clock instead of say, 3.15

- Create awareness of time as measured by the clock & relate it to his activities. E.g. serve lunch at 12noon & point out the time on the clock or Evening walks at 7 o’clock. He learns faster if he is able to relate things or concepts to his environment.

- Later on, when introducing minutes, sneak in a lesson when you’re giving him 5 minutes more for playing before it’s time for his shower. Show where the long hand is & where it will be when 5 minutes is up.