I was browsing around a bit and came across a fun site for helping kids learn how to tell time. There is a step by step lesson and then a program that you can run for practicing. I thought it was pretty cool. Bones and I had some fun with it this morning. I'm hoping if I start him on "time" early he might be ahead of the game and I won't have to constantly nag him to get him ready to go places on time. (OK, go ahead and laugh--I know that is wishful thinking.) 
Kids always seem to know how to tell when it is time to go to a birthday party or to the park or the ice cream store but they can't quite seem to remember how to tell when it is time to go to church or school. I was told once that time has very little meaning for young children. For example, if I tell Andrew, "wait a minute", he will have no idea what 1 minute really means. However if you equate minutes with music (songs) then he can comprehend better how long you want him to wait. You could say, "Andrew, I need you to wait a minute--that's about 2 songs. Can you wait for 2 songs? Then I will be ready." Sometimes in my impatience I forget this trick and I get frustrated because I never "waits" like I want him to but usually if I remember the song trick he does much better. You can also try it if you are trying to get them to get something done in a certain period of time. ie. instead of saying, "Can you clean your room in 15 minutes" you say, "Hey, can you get your room clean in 5 songs?" then put on a familiar CD and let em go. It works with the bigger kids too. Even though they can tell time now, they still prefer to mark clean-up time with songs. You could even establish a whole morning routine to a particular CD. 1 song to wake up, 1 song for getting dressed, 3 songs for breakfast, 1 song for teeth brushed etc. etc. I've never tried that but I think I just might give it a go.
Kids always seem to know how to tell when it is time to go to a birthday party or to the park or the ice cream store but they can't quite seem to remember how to tell when it is time to go to church or school. I was told once that time has very little meaning for young children. For example, if I tell Andrew, "wait a minute", he will have no idea what 1 minute really means. However if you equate minutes with music (songs) then he can comprehend better how long you want him to wait. You could say, "Andrew, I need you to wait a minute--that's about 2 songs. Can you wait for 2 songs? Then I will be ready." Sometimes in my impatience I forget this trick and I get frustrated because I never "waits" like I want him to but usually if I remember the song trick he does much better. You can also try it if you are trying to get them to get something done in a certain period of time. ie. instead of saying, "Can you clean your room in 15 minutes" you say, "Hey, can you get your room clean in 5 songs?" then put on a familiar CD and let em go. It works with the bigger kids too. Even though they can tell time now, they still prefer to mark clean-up time with songs. You could even establish a whole morning routine to a particular CD. 1 song to wake up, 1 song for getting dressed, 3 songs for breakfast, 1 song for teeth brushed etc. etc. I've never tried that but I think I just might give it a go.
1 comment:
That is a common problem in our house to, but what a great idea to fix it!!!
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