Introducing the Concept of Time To Children

Teaching Complex Concepts to Young Children
(Ages 1.5 through 6)

I find that even though most young children aren't expected to learn or understand lessons and activities that are not introduced until at least kindergarten, it's good to expose them to the material to help build an interest and awareness.  With a positive experience of being exposed to something complex, a child is often likely to better understand and appreciate the concept when it is expected of them to learn.  For example, most of us don't expect children of ages 1 or 2 to be able to read a clock, however if we offer the child clocks and other items for telling time, they just may build a curiosity and interest that will further their understanding.  Children may even show readiness to learn more!

The Time Basket

Below is a basket full of items I offered my Montessori students (ages 1 through 3) to start thinking about how time is read.  This basket has brought so much joy to the kids that I was encouraged to start adding new items and presenting more lessons!  I got the idea from another Montessori teacher whom I worked with in an ages 3 through 6 classroom, and it was a hit for the older kids, too.

"The Time Basket"

Found in the basket are random items I have been collecting to help teach about time.  During circle times, we have talked about how time passes into night and day, which is why I have collected some cool crescent moon plates and a model of a sun.  Other items that can be added or rotated include a one-minute sand timer, clocks, watches including digital watches, and pictures of clocks showing time passing from one o'clock through 12 o'clock.  The children are free to take this basket and explore during our work cycle.

Sand Timer Lesson

When I present this lesson at circle time, I point out the wall clock and take note of how quickly the second hand timer moves around the clock.  The kids watch how the second hand makes one round on the wall clock while the one-minute sand timer is going.  Beforehand, I ask my students to sit quietly and listen closely during the minute (and yes, toddlers are fully capable of this with the right kind of encouragement!).  Afterwards, each child takes turns sharing what they heard as the time passed (e.g. cars from outside, children from other classrooms, the classroom pet, etc).  My students absolutely love sharing about what they heard.   Once, a child told me that he could actually hear the sand timer, which was a little hard for me to believe, but I told him that he must have far better hearing than me! 

We recently purchased a two-minute sand timer and a three-minute sand timer  to add to the basket as my students continue to show interest.

If you are a teacher reading this and would like more advice on encouraging the kids to sit in silence while using sand timers, please contact me as I am happy to share a few pointers and tricks.  

Have fun with it!

~Angelique