telling time on a "real" clock...help please

[ProudGrandma]

I have 3 children who at one point and time in their lives, knew how to tell time on a "real" clock...but we, like probably most every other home in the country, have mostly digital clocks and watches....so my children have all lost this skill. (they are 8, 11, and 12)

 

I feel like I need to collect all digital clocks and watches and MAKE my kids relearn this skill....is that too drastic? Or is there a better/different way to approach this??? I feel like this is one of those things if you don't use it, you lose it...and that is simply not good.

 

thoughts for me?????

[Freckles]

I think it is a very important skill. I would at least have some lessons on telling time on a clock with hands. I would start with skip counting by 5's and really explaining the "map" of a clock. Good luck!

[Cosmos]

I suppose if they never see an analog clock, they may lose practice. But I'm surprised to hear that's the case.

 

Despite living in the digital age, most of the clocks around us are not digital. At home we have two big wall clocks -- on in the kitchen, one on the porch. We never bother resetting the digital clocks on the microwave and stovetop when the power goes out, so the analog ones are the primary ones at home. Around town, the clocks on town hall and in the library, gym, and church are all analog. If your kids go to school, they probably have big analog wall clocks there too.

 

I don't think you need to ban the digital ones so much as make sure there's a prominent analog one as well.

[ProudGrandma]

no, not evey clock in our home is digital...however, since many of them are, my kids look at the digital clock when they want to see what time it is...they have digital watches, so when we are out and about...that is the clock they look at.

 

And when an analog clock is the only options, they have to sit and think about what time it is...it's not an automatic thing.

[Ellie]

Buy them each a wristwatch that is analog. Put up an analog clock on the wall in your kitchen or school room and refer to it often and repeatedly. They'll get it. :-)

[Cosmos]

no, not evey clock in our home is digital...however, since many of them are, my kids look at the digital clock when they want to see what time it is...they have digital watches, so when we are out and about...that is the clock they look at.

 

And when an analog clock is the only options, they have to sit and think about what time it is...it's not an automatic thing.

 

Maybe that's where we're lucky. We all hate to wear watches, so we're always looking at the wall clocks everywhere we go. Never thought I'd see a plus to that. :D

[RootAnn]

Our math program covers it every.single.year until maybe 4th or 5th?.

(The only digital clocks in our house are microwave/stove/alarm clocks. All the rest (including wristwatches) are analog. I buy 'em a wristwatch as a reward for mastering telling time (analog) to the nearest minute.)

 

There are plenty of free worksheets available if you want to add a weekly drill into their school schedule.

[Dana]

We got rid of the digital clock in our living room and in our school room. We bought an analog wall clock and put it up in the school room. Having the analog clock has been a good thing for us & made a difference.

[Farrar]

My kids had forgotten too. And it took them about five minutes to relearn. So... an important skill and some of these ideas are good, but if you just check in on it every so often, I don't think it will be too onerous.

[Tracy]

It is definitely an important skill. My dh is a high school teacher. The schools have all analog clocks, but most of his students cannot read them. I think it is short-sighted to just put up analog clocks and think that they will just get it, because this does not seem to work for a large group of kids (at least based on my dh's experience). I would not spend a lot of time on it, but I would spend a few minutes each day working on it.

[RoundAbout]

I just bought a $5 wall clock at Target and hung it up In my son's room. I ask him the time a few times a day. Easy peasy.

[Arcadia]

We just revise everytime we pass by a clock tower. The nice thing is that some clock towers has the numbers in Roman numerals so we can revise that at the same time. My watch is analog with no numbers. My kids are tickled I can tell time correctly.

[Ruby Rose]

This reminds me way back when my parents made me get an analog watch and learn to tell time before they would get me a digital watch.

[Ruby Rose]

It is definitely an important skill. My dh is a high school teacher. The schools have all analog clocks, but most of his students cannot read them. I think it is short-sighted to just put up analog clocks and think that they will just get it, because this does not seem to work for a large group of kids (at least based on my dh's experience). I would not spend a lot of time on it, but I would spend a few minutes each day working on it.

 

Ok this is crazy! What a shame.

 

The only analog clock we have in the house has Roman numerals and the kids seem to have adapted well to it. I think it helps them realize positioning so they should eventually be able to read a clock without numbers. ;)

[Alessandra]

We have ikea wall clocks -- less than $5, I think.

 

Also, Math Mammoth has a Blue Series workbook just on clocks, downloadable if you need it right away!