Problems with clocks

[Madsometimes]

My seven year old daughter has a real mental block with clocks and telling the time. She is still at the recognizing o clock and more or less half past but no further. She's in Y3 and I know she is getting behind on time but whenever I go through it with her using a teaching clock her head spins.

Does anyone know of any good books or fun ways that I can go through this with her?

Just letting you know that time is very difficult for most children, she sounds fine to me. If she has that basic knowledge reinforce the 'past' and 'to' terminology. Make a clock wiht a paper plate??? Colour the 'past' half one colour and the 'to' half another?? Add details as she's ready maybe?

Lots of kids have terrible difficulty telling the time. It has recently clicked with dd2 but she is in year 4. There are lots of fun things on-line to help
"Look atwww.oswego.org/ocsd-web/games/ClassClock/clockres.html" Great little teaching clock with digital and analogue clocks.
ALso if you go on www.topmarks.co.uk and type clocks into the search box it will come up with lots of activities she might enjoy about time telling. This is a fab search engine I use it all the time not just for maths but any school subject.
Good luck!

Thanks so much for your comments. Topmarks is going on my bookmarks, and we have already been playing some of the games on it. My daughter was so thrilled when I told her that another mummy, who does not know her or me has been helping her.

She thinks that is so amazing. Of course, she's right

Telling the time is so tricky isn't it becuase there is so much information on the clock. WHen teaching to my SEN set I had to be really careful about the wording I used and give them a step by step method of how to decipher the clock. Maybe you might like to try it:

1. Remind her that the numbers on the clock only go with the little hand they have nothing to do with the big hand - so saying things like - 'when the big hand points to the 6 that means half past' is just confusing for them
2. Look at the little hand FIRST - which number is it pointing to e.g. it is near the 6. This means it is something to do with 6 o clock.
3. Now explain that the numbers for the big hand are not written on the clock, you have to imagine they are there, BUT you can, however see the little marks on the clock for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc so you just have to count
4. Look at the big hand and count the little marks round starting from the top. This is obviously easier if you are still in the past region.
5. SO if the little hand is near the 6 and the big hand is pointing to the 35 that means it is 35 minutes past 6 o clock.
6. FOr the 'to' region do the same but at the end say - how many minutes left until 7 o clock? - count round back up to the top with your child, should get 25 minutes left to go until 7:00pm i.e. it is 25 minutes to 7.

Hope this helps and good luck

Have a look at the 'Perform Time' book by David Sharp, dealing with all aspects of time. www.powerof2.co.uk/performTime.htm

My dd couldn't reliably tell the time til year 6!Her teacher said this wasn't uncommon and not to worry about it - it would suddenly click. And it did.

Thanks everyone. I remember having terrible problems with time myself. I wouldn't worry about it apart from the fact that she hates being left behind at school work.

Her problem started in Y1 when the children had to look at clocks reading "o'clock" or "half past" and work out an hour later or earlier. Her classroom had only one teaching clock between 30 children and it was not on her table. She couldn't do the worksheet, and from that point onwards decided she was unteachable! (If the teacher had told me I would have bought a job lot of clocks from early learning, but only found out afterwards).

Getting 5 year olds to manipulate time, some of whom lack confidence in reading numbers?! The national curriculum bugs me in so many ways I could rant on...

Glad it helped. I have recommended top marks on about 10 posts!

My DS is also 7 and his teacher says that half the class can tell the time and half can't. It is one of the things they are concentrating on this term. I am sure that your DD is not alone and will get it with practice.

There are games by Orchard that can help and are good fun. this one or this one

How about buying her a watch for Christmas. The ELC do one with the minutes on as well as the hours