| Elementary school teachers invest a lot of effort into | | | | jumping up and down 25 times, or eating a bowl of |
| teaching students about the concept of time. Think of | | | | cereal. |
| all there is to learn about time - seconds, minutes, | | | | Provide an estimate. Have your child estimate how |
| hours, days, weeks, months, and years. Let's not forget | | | | many minutes they think it took to complete the task. |
| about the concept of past, present and future, as well | | | | Share the results. Help your child to see how close |
| as before and after. | | | | their estimate was to the actual time it took. Repeat |
| Teaching children about the concept of time enables | | | | this activity while performing a variety of tasks. |
| them to be more responsible and independent. For | | | | Estimating and verifying time will help your child to |
| example, with knowledge of time, children grasp what | | | | better gauge time. Consider providing your child with a |
| is meant when mom is yelling "be ready in 10 minutes!" | | | | non-digital watch for tracking time. |
| It also helps them understand how much time must be | | | | Use a calendar. Children enjoy hearing about times |
| set aside daily to tackle homework. | | | | past, such as stores about their parents' |
| Although mastering the concept of time doesn't | | | | misadventures. They also like to envision upcoming |
| generally develop until the later elementary years, there | | | | events, such as birthdays and holidays. Help your child |
| are ways you can encourage your child to understand | | | | map out events on a calendar. Doing so will teach |
| time better as follows: | | | | them about sequential events - about the past and the |
| Time a task. Have your child select a task to complete | | | | future. |
| and time it. This could involve drawing a picture, reading | | | | These activities will help your child to be competent |
| a page from a book, completing a math problem, | | | | with understanding time on a clock and a calendar. |