My 7-year old has been working on the concept of time for several months now. She completed a workbook on telling time, which included concepts like AM, PM, night, day, days of the week, days of the month and what time we do things (go to bed, eat, etc.) She can figure out the time on an analog clock with a few reminders (count by fives, this is the minute hand, this is the hour hand) but as far as the CONCEPT she just doesn't get it. She confuses months with days of the week. (What day is it? It's January!) She forgets the seasons. (What season is it? Christmas!) She doesn't get "time" at all. She asks if we're leaving for grandma's at "midnight" She says "last week I rode my bike" You mean last SUMMER? But she really thinks it was a week ago, not two months ago. We've shown her calendars, clocks, books on the seasons, made her draw out the seasons, made her fill in her own calendar. We go over the day, the date, the day of the week, the year, the month EVERY DAY for the past TWO MONTHS. I'm truly at a loss. We are beyond frustrated. Any ideas?
Sounds like she's just not ready. My twin boys are 8.5 and still need help in that area. I didn't learn how to tell time till I was 8, and at that, I wasn't that good at the concept, and application of the knowledge. So don't freak, just yet. Give'r another year or two. I think you are doing what you can.
OK, I feel better Maybe just move on until she's ready. I guess I just needed to hear that it was OK to not quite get it!
I would just take a break from it for awhile. Sometimes when I try to show my kids something, it seems like they're just not getting it. So I'll back off and revisit it another time. After once or twice of going back to it, they suddenly seem to 'get it' without any major frustration.
Maybe you actually need to spend MORE time on it- but one part at a time, and be sure she gets it before you move on to the next part. A 7 yr old should at least know what day it is and the month we're in. Do you do the date each and every day? Start there- it'll be a constant reminder! Make a display with the days, the months, the numbers for all the days, and the year. I did one that started with yesterday. Yesterday was Sunday, December 21, 2008. Today is Monday, December 22, 2008. Tomorrow will be Tuesday, December 23, 2008. I used these themed displays to help Jeannie get that the days changed- I had these paper flower pots taped on a window sill, and each pot had a day of the week written on it. Each day, Jeannie moved the flower to the next pot AFTER we did the date as above. We did this even on the weekend, so she wouldn't lose track. I also used a frog and 7 labeled lily pads, a kitten and 7 labeled dishes of milk, a dog and 7 labeled dog toys, and I forget what else. These were made out of coloring sheets I got online and colored and cut out. There were others, but I forget right now. Here's some songs I used- Days of the Week (Addams Family theme) Days of the week-snap, snap Days of the week-snap snap Days of the week Days of the Week Days of the Week-snap, snap There's Sunday and there's Monday. There's Tuesday and there's Wednesday. There's Thursday and there's Friday. And then there's Saturday. Right now it's Monday afternoon, right now it's Monday afternoon, right now it's Monday afternoon, December 22, 2008!-snap, snap Here's another- Today Is (Are You Sleeping tune) Today is Monday. Today is Monday. All day long. All day long. Yesterday was Sunday. Tomorrow will be Tuesday. All day long. All day long. For the months, I made up monthly displays on one dining room wall. December was Christmassy, January had something snowy, February was hearts and groundhogs. Again, I'd use simple coloring sheets and maybe plain wrapping paper as a background.
I would do Calendar DAILY. Make a big calendar (or get one at a Teacher Store). Every day label YESTERDAY IS...., TODAY IS...., TOMORROW IS.... Make a not of what the month is and the season. Put little stickers or something on the days when something special is going to happen, and count down the days. Go over the days of the week in order every day, go over the months of the year. I can teach you a simple days song you can sing.
I agree with Becky and Jackie. I do not think stopping for now will help anything. She needs to learn this and she will; a little at a time. You said she has been learning for a few months now. A few months is a very short amount of time to learn all of this and to be able to apply it. Telling time, months, grasping the concept of time, and seasons can take a couple years. I didn't fully understand time until I was in fourth grade. Even then, I struggled for a bit. Then one day, it clicked and all made sense But a few months isn't enough time for most seven year olds to be able to put it all together. whne I really think about it, there is a lot that goes into time and what makes up time.
To me, it sounds as if she gets the idea of time, she's jsut waaaaaaaay off on her accuracy (e.g., last week may not be two months ago, but at least it's in the past). At our house, we do calendar everyday as well. We have a BIG calendar on the well. My boys also have agenda books (kid friendly personal calendars). So, first we look at a month calendar, then we look at a weekly calendar. They circle the weather for the day (each day in their agenda book has icons for weather), and then write or draw what we're going to do that particular day. We haven't been doing lessons since Halloween (it's our "summer" vacation), and I notice my six year old is starting to mix up days of the week again. He didn't know them perfectly before, but, for example, he knew we went to church on Sunday. Now, on Thursday afternoon, say, he'll ask if it's Sunday (and no, we don't go to church on Thursday). My oldest (6) is also just barely reading the time from digital clocks. He wants to read analog, but he doesn't get it. He will, in time (sorry for the pun). One final thought: my boys are VERY competitive. So much so that a timer is a vital tool in this house. We use it for taking turns, we use it for getting dressed, how much time is left to get ready before leaving for the library...While I started this to make my life simpler, I think it has helped them grasp the passage of time. Even my two year old knows that when the bell rings, something is going to happen, and the ticking leads to the bell ringing. My oldest has learned to hustle and get whatever done as soon as I start the timer. He doesn't have a sense of how long 5 minutes actually is, but he has learned it will pass quickly.
If it makes you feel any better, my daughter is 10, and just has very little concept of time. She knows how to tell time, all the mechanics of it, but the passage of time means very little to her. I agree, though, that you need to be mentioning stuff about time a lot. That is probably one thing I have failed in, and need to do more to orient her. We have done it more as a "unit", but we need to do it on a daily basis.
Thanks everyone! I think I will lay off the concept of the passage of time for a while and concentrate on the basics...today is TUESDAY, yesterday was MONDAY...tomorrow is WEDNESDAY plus the date and the month. Also the weather and the season, just like in Preschool. I understand her mass confusion because she spends every other day with us, Mondays with mommy, Tuesdays with us, Wednesdays with Mommy, etc. She's bounced around so much...that can't be helped. I tried showing her a timer with seconds ticking, and minutes but that didn't help. Perhaps we need to get the DAYS down, then move to hours of a day. I'm wondering if pointing out the time more often would help. Like "look, it's nine o'clock, time to get up!" and "it's noon, lunchtime!" Thanks for all the suggestions!
I will say Jeannie got days and months quicker than she did time. Hours, then half hours became understood. What always held Jeannie up was the individual numerals on the clock- the '2' really means ten minutes after the hour. It's just this year that she understands that each numeral means something different, and there are sometimes more than one meaning for some.
Is it consistent which days she's with you and which ones at her mom's? Like M/T/W with you and TH/F at Mom's, or does it change week to week? You might be able to use that somehow in teaching her time!
It's mostly consistent. The only days that change are Fridays (every other Friday is us) and Sundays (every other Sunday at grandma's). I used to think that would help her with days. If she's always at her mom's on Mondays, then she should know that Monday is Mom day. But that logic does not click. At one point I even wrote down on a calendar what days she was with mom, what days she was with dad, what days she had gymnastics etc. and she crossed off the days. Later that day she'd forget that we just went over that today is THURSDAY and we have GYMNASTICS and she'd ask if she was going to grandma's. There's something about the passage of time she doesn't get, or doesn't want to get and I can't figure out what! Also, for the past month she's been asking if tomorrow is Christmas, despite the fact we have an advent calendar she does every day and she JUST PUT DOWN THAT THERE ARE 3 DAYS LEFT. We counted the days, we showed her a calendar...you see my frustration
Huh! It may be that she has some kind of learning disability when it comes to time. Or it could be a maturity thing, and will come eventually!
