Book Logo Math icon.

Math

Materials:

Purple flower

A wall clock, digital clock, or timer (any clock you have at home)

Your Child Will Learn

How to recognize and talk about clocks and how we use them

find-the-clock

Find the Clock!

Here's What To Do

1

Walk around your house together and look for clocks. Say, "Let’s find a clock! Where do you see one?”

2

When you find a clock, point to it and say, "Look, here’s a clock! This one has numbers and hands that move."

3

If you have more than one type of clock, point out the differences: "This clock has hands, but the one on my phone shows numbers that light up!"

4

If your child is interested, show them the time on the clock. Say, "Right now, it says 3 o’clock! That’s when we play outside."

Mother and child play together (animated).

Put PEER Into Action

P

Pause:

  • Take a deep breath and count to ten.
E

Engage:

  • "Can you show me where the clock is? What do you think it does?"
  • "What sounds do clocks make? Can you make a tick-tock sound with me?"
E

Encourage:

  • "You found that clock all by yourself! Great job looking!"
  • “Haven’t found a clock in the living room? Let’s go look in the bedroom and see what we can find there.”
R

Reflect:

  • “How did you like looking for clocks?”

Not quite ready?

Focus on digital clocks first.

Ready for more?

Invite your child to find other clocks and share how they are used.

Variable color muffin tins (animated)

As your child masters this skill...

They will be able to identify what different kinds of clocks look like, and the ways they tell time.

How do you feel about this activity?
How much do you think your child enjoyed this activity?
How clear were the activity instructions?
Did you use the provided wording prompts to complete the activity?
Would you recommend this activity to another family?
If you are reading this activity in a language other than English, how would you rate the quality of the translation?