Using this Telling Time Clocks Mini Pack, students learn about Telling Time through ten fun worksheets and three activities.
Morning, noon and bedtime too
Preschoolers aren't reading clocks yet, and that's just right. At this age, telling time means understanding the order of the day: morning, afternoon and night, and words like before, after, first and next. Kids notice that a clock has numbers and hands, and that grown-ups look at it to know when it's time for lunch or the bus. Some kids start to recognize that when the short hand points to a number, it's that o'clock. Mostly, they're building a sense that time keeps moving in a pattern.
Keep it tied to their own day. These moves turn time into something little ones can see and feel.
Post a row of photos showing your day: circle time, snack, outside, story, home. Move a clothespin along the row as you go. Ask, "What comes next?" Kids learn the order of the day and feel safer knowing what's coming.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withTelling Time Clocks Mini PackWorkbooksOpen it →Let kids handle a toy clock or a mini clock page and turn the hands themselves. Point to the short hand and say, "When it points to 12, it's lunch time!" Clocks to color and hold, like this mini pack, are perfect for little hands.
Why it works: kids understand an idea best when they touch it, then draw it, then write it, the order the U.S. Department of Education recommends for elementary math.
Try it withTelling Time Clocks Mini PackWorkbooksOpen it →Show two picture cards, like putting on socks and putting on shoes. Ask which comes first. Kids act it out to check. These quick talks build the time words they'll use for years.
Why it works: playful practice with a clear goal keeps kids practicing longer, and simple learning games have been shown to build real skills (Ramani and Siegler, 2008).
Not on a clock, usually. Preschoolers learn the order of the day, time words like before and after, and that clocks help us know when things happen. Reading a clock to the hour usually comes in kindergarten or 1st grade.
Morning, afternoon, night, today, tomorrow, yesterday, before, after, first, next and last. Using these words every day helps kids understand how time moves.
Use a picture schedule of their day and talk about what comes next. Point out the clock at key times: "It's 12 o'clock. Time for lunch!"
Yes! Moving the hands on a toy clock is a fun way to explore. Keep it playful and focus on the short hand and the o'clock times tied to their routine.
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