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Do your kids know analog clock time? Are you sure?


Ginevra
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Half the clocks in our house are analog, including one in the 7yo's bedroom.  He caught on rather quickly.  24-h time took him a bit longer because of the two steps needed (time, then add or subtract 12 hours to get the correct hour).

 

In addition, it's also a wonderful intro to fractions, multiplication, and using numbers outside the math classroom.  Why wouldn't we teach it?

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We'e made a point of getting our boys analog watches rather than digital ones.  One of my children loves clocks and watches and secretly longs to be a watchmaker. :-) The other one has never bothered to even learn how to set his analog watch and always hands it off to his younger brother to do so.  He can certainly read a clock, but he's always pressing or pumping the button on his watch and his watch is never accurate, so I don't know how much good it's doing him.   However, he's learning to tell time in Spanish, and his Spanish books have pictures of traditional clocks, so I know for sure he knows how to read one. It's fun in Spanish, too.  Instead of saying 10 till 9 you say it's 9 minus 10.

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Well yeah, but they have batteries which die after a while without electricity to charge them. 😄

 

 

If the power is out long enough for _all_ my electronic devices to die, then I've got bigger worries than knowing the exact time (for one, during a power outage I'll turn off some of the electronic devices to save batteries so they'll last longer). And again, the car's clock should last a loooooong time, since I keep the tank at least half full. And if things get really desperate, we have a hand crank radio that presumably will have somebody announce the time every once in a while, but I can't imagine the exact time mattering all that much if we're down to that.

 

Wrt 24 hour clocks, mine can do those too - iirc, the iPads have 24 hour clocks on them, and the kids like using those to see what time it is. And for bonus points, they can also tell you what time it is in CET and CST (where their grandparents live - so it's good for them to know what time to NOT call those time zones). 

 

ETA: what we do need to work on more is guesstimating the time by looking at the sun. We've talked about it some before, but they still need me to talk them through the reasoning (and I'm not talking advanced telling time - more like telling the difference between noon and 5pm).

Edited by luuknam
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FWIW I have never heard anyone here say "10 of 9" or use that format, even elderly people. You get half-past, quarter-to, 10 after, and so on.

Common phrasing around here. Although my literal college man still wants to know why I don't just say 8:50 instead.

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My oldest and youngest can read analog clocks, my middle struggles with it.  He has had plenty of practice, but it is still hard for him.  I think it may be because of his dyslexia.  He will walk across the house to loot at the microwave or stove for the time when the wall clock was right next to him.

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My kids haven't been phased by Roman numeral clocks.  Really, once you know where the numbers are on a clock, it doesn't matter how those numbers are written...or if they are left off completely.

 

Wendy 

 

I used to wear a Goofy watch (friend of Mickey Mouse) that ran backwards (counter-clockwise). Drove other people crazy...

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It is common here. What is the difference between saying 10 after and 10 of? (I know there's time difference, but if they say 10 after instead of 8:10, why not 10 of instead of 8:50? Seems inconsistent.)

 

My impression was that "10 of means ten to, not ten after.  But, I may be misunderstanding.

It's very common phrasing here, in the mid-Atlantic, but generally with older people. It does mean the same thing as "ten till nine."

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My impression was that "10 of means ten to, not ten after. But, I may be misunderstanding.

 

Yes, it does. 10 of 9 is 8:50. 10 after 9 is 9:10. My question was to the poster who said she hadn't heard people say 10 of, but did hear them say 10 after. Why would they say one, but not the other was my point.

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Yes, it does. 10 of 9 is 8:50. 10 after 9 is 9:10. My question was to the poster who said she hadn't heard people say 10 of, but did hear them say 10 after. Why would they say one, but not the other was my point.

 

 

Because they say "10 to" or "10 till".

 

(I'm with Arctic in the "10 of 9" = the Borg crowd)

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Mine know the concept and the oldest can because we have analog clocks in the house. Also we use Singapore standards. I think in terms of usefulness 24 hour time is pretty important.

 

I know it's crazy but as someone who struggles with time management I find it easier to visualise time on an analog clock. Is that weird?

 

Not weird--I think we underestimate how powerful an analog clock is for that. 

 

Yes, my kids can tell time on analog clocks, including elapsed time.

 

If anyone is struggling with teaching time, I highly recommend the method in MUS Primer. It's outstanding!!! 

 

Maybe lab equipment and the like is all changing to digital, but in school we had to use vernier scales and vernier calipers, and those are similar to learning an analog clock.

 

Both my kids have learning issues, but we felt it was worthy anyway. My kid who has the hardest time with steps and procedures actually had the easier time learning the analog clock than the other. 

 

My kids can't count change back the traditional way. I tried with my first, and he wasn't ready. I just kind of forgot after that. I should probably do that. :-) I remember cranky older people grumble that grocery store cashiers (of which I was one) didn't count back change the traditional way, but they failed to understand that the total they were paying disappeared from the display. I did just fine when the electricity went out and I had to count back change manually, TYVM. These days, I'm just happy if the clerk realizes it's much easier to not dump your change all over the floor if they hand you the coins first, and then put the bills on top. Grrr. 

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I know it's crazy but as someone who struggles with time management I find it easier to visualise time on an analog clock. Is that weird?

Our pediatrician said there's a study that recommends those with ADHD use an analog watch rather than rely on digital time because it helps them see concretely the time so they can better manage it. I have not searched for the study, though.

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To me, that's the same thing! To/till/of - tomato/tomato

 

What's the Borg thing?

 

 

Think Seven of Nine:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_of_Nine

 

And it's okay that you think to/till/of is the same thing, but I never hear anybody say 'of' for time before an hour. They all say 'to' or 'till'. Google tells me it's maybe a NE thing to say 'of'? 

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Don't things go away at some point? We don't use sundials anymore. Maybe the end is near for analog clocks?? I know we have several but, like a previous poster, I never change the battery or change the time. They are just decorative. I recently bought an analog clock with no numbers. My kids were totally confused!

Edited by Moxie
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Don't things go away at some point? We don't use sundials anymore. Maybe the end is near for analog clocks?? 

 

 

Yes, things go away at some point. But analog clocks aren't there yet, and I don't think they'll be there in a decade either. I suspect they'll linger for at least several more decades - now, they might become uncommon enough at some point that you could get by without being able to read them, but, for them to become as uncommon as sundials is still quite a ways off imo. 

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Think Seven of Nine:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_of_Nine

 

And it's okay that you think to/till/of is the same thing, but I never hear anybody say 'of' for time before an hour. They all say 'to' or 'till'. Google tells me it's maybe a NE thing to say 'of'?

Me either. I grew up in the Midwest and now live on the west coast. I've only ever seen 'of' in books, everyone says 'til.
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I taught all my kids, but my oldest dd does not understand when you say "it's 10 of 9". She does not know that that means it is 8:50. I don't know if they remember how to tell time on an analog clock because all of our clocks are digital, except for my watch. However, I just bought a wooden circle to make an analog clock for our family room.

 

Youngest dd wanted a new watch. I would only let her buy an analog one. She was excited to use her gift cert for it, but seems disappointed with it and wants a digital one.

To be fair, I'm 42 and have never heard, "Its ten of nine" before.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Well yeah, but they have batteries which die after a while without electricity to charge them. 😄

Am I missing something? Analog clocks and watches have batteries too, right? My digital watch isn't going to die any quicker without electricity than my DD's analog watch.

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Am I missing something? Analog clocks and watches have batteries too, right? My digital watch isn't going to die any quicker without electricity than my DD's analog watch.

Some analog watches you have to wind. It is not as common anymore but you can still find them.

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Yes, it does. 10 of 9 is 8:50. 10 after 9 is 9:10. My question was to the poster who said she hadn't heard people say 10 of, but did hear them say 10 after. Why would they say one, but not the other was my point.

 

Yes, we say 10 to.  I don't think anyone is deciding not to say the other, any more than they are decising npt to speak Swahili - we just don't say that.

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Am I missing something? Analog clocks and watches have batteries too, right? My digital watch isn't going to die any quicker without electricity than my DD's analog watch.

 

 

Some analog watches you have to wind. It is not as common anymore but you can still find them.

 

Not only wind like a watch, many work by weights, that is why grandfather clocks are tall, and cuckoo clocks have pinecones hanging off them.

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Yes, things go away at some point. But analog clocks aren't there yet, and I don't think they'll be there in a decade either. I suspect they'll linger for at least several more decades - now, they might become uncommon enough at some point that you could get by without being able to read them, but, for them to become as uncommon as sundials is still quite a ways off imo. 

 

I think there is a difference too - sundials are inconvienient for many reasons, but that isn't reakly the case with analogue watches.  And many people prefer them to digital -- with a sundial, even of you like them, you can't really use them the same way.

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I'd say that a majority of places we go have analog clocks.  We still have several in our house.  Plus, most inexpensive watches of decent quality are still analog.  Those seem to be cheaper to buy and less likely to break in the long term.  It is pretty rare to have a digital clock out in public.  My kids usually learned by 7 or so.  It was often included in their math curriculum.  But, I also had purchased wipe-clean cards for them to practice on. 

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We use the "of" here in the Northeast, or at least my little corner of it.

 

Most public buildings I've been in including schools have analog clocks and only analog clocks. The only exception is really on athletic scoreboards. When learning a foreign language we've always encountered a unit on telling time that incorporates analog clocks.  If students can't do that in their native language they will definitely have a tough time in the foreign language (or have to quickly figure it out). 

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We use the "of" here in the Northeast, or at least my little corner of it.

 

 

We do that here, too. (I'm north of Boston, on the NH line.)

 

I have always said "ten of", "quarter of", "five of", etc... If you asked me what time it is right now, i would say that it is 10 of 2. (It is 1:50pm.)

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Both my kids can read analog clocks, although DD might be more likely to read 8:50 as "a little before 9" versus "eight fifty" or even "10 to 8." She would definitely say quarter till or quarter after, though. There have always been analog clocks in our house as well as at all their activities.

 

I actually prefer analog clocks for the reasons mentioned upthread — it's easier to visualize time. My dad once commented that he found it strange that if you ask someone what time it is right after they've looked at their watch, they will usually look again before they tell you. I think that's because with analog clocks you often don't consciously think "it's 8:45," you just visualize that you have "a quarter of a circle before we leave" or whatever. Your brain just knows what that wedge-shaped piece means in terms of time without having to think of it in words.

 

I have an analog watch with no numbers on it. The "second hand" is a tiny figure of Sisyphus pushing a boulder around and around the watch face.  :laugh:

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Yes, we say 10 to. I don't think anyone is deciding not to say the other, any more than they are decising npt to speak Swahili - we just don't say that.

 

To me, of and to are the same thing. So, when it was said that people don't say 10 of (or 10 to), then I am thinking they say _:50 instead, but do say 10 after. Hope I am explaining myself well, not meaning to be argumentative.

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