For parents, they may come around too quickly, and for teachers perhaps not quickly enough, but here we are again in the school holidays.  Another break from learning might seem like a good idea to worn out kids, but many parents will worry that their children will forget what they have learned over the last term.  Time teaching is one of those skills – once grasped it is easy to retain, however, if your child is still in the learning phase, or is struggling with the concept of an analogue clock in this digital world, then these school holidays are the perfect time to top up learning.

But just because we said learning, it doesn’t mean it can’t be fun!  After all, early years is all about learning through play, so here are our top tips to make teaching time fun this school holiday:

4 Top Tips to Make Teaching Time Fun

• Use a colourful clock or watch that will appeal to young learners – our EasyRead Time Teacher clocks and watches come in a variety of colours and feature our popular ‘past and to’ time teaching method which is a proven way of learning to tell the time quickly and easily. You can choose from clocks for the bedroom wall, alarm clocks to help sleepy heads get up in the morning or watches with colourful straps to help young learners keep track of the time.  If you’re not sure which product best suits your children, our helpful team are happy to advise – please call us on 01684 566832 for more information.
• Make time teaching into a game – you might think this is easier said than done, but with our tell the time snap game, children can practise their time telling skills without really realising it. Everyone loves a game of snap, so this is something the whole family can join in with!  Or why not try making your own game of snap?  Simply set your EasyRead Time Teacher clock to different times and take a photograph of each time, print out and cut into the same sizes and stick onto cardboard squares (cut from an old cereal packet or shoe box) for added strength!
• Tie the time in with your children’s favourite activities – we all know the effort that goes into planning a school holiday and what you will need to organise to keep children entertained, so why not get them involved by setting a timetable? Ask children to make a chart of what you will do each day, with the times written by the side (or draw a clock face and let them add the hands).  Then you can ask them to check their clock or watch and let you know when it is time for lunch, time to visit friends, to go to the park or to eat some left-over Easter egg!
• Make a human clock – ok, so this one requires a room full of children, which is not every parents’ idea of fun during the holidays, but if you happen to get together with friends and want a fun yet educational activity, try this. Ask the children to sit or stand in a circle, with each child representing a number on the clock from 1 to 12.  Children can then take it in turns to be the second and hour hand, lying on the floor and pointing to the numbers.

 

By making learning fun, you can keep your children engaged with learning to tell the time even when they are not at school.

For products to help with teaching time please click here.