How to Teach a Child to Tell Time

Start with the short hand alone

Take the long hand off a toy clock, or cover it up. With one hand you can already say about 3 or nearly 4, and that's how people read clocks at a glance. Children who start this way learn that the short hand gives the hour, which heads off the most common mistake of all: swapping the hands.

Add the long hand in big jumps

Bring in the long hand at the 12 for o'clock, then the 6 for half past, then the 3 and the 9 for quarters. Only then introduce counting by fives. Each step changes one thing. Lessons go wrong when children meet minutes past before they're sure about the hour.

Use real clocks and real days

Time means more when it's connected to something. We leave at half past eight gives a child a reason to look. Put an analog clock where it can be seen and ask about it twice a day. A geared clock is better than one with loose hands, since the short hand moves as the long hand turns, as it does on a real clock.

How to do it with Clockwood

1. Show the teaching clock and wind slowly from 3:00 to 4:00, watching the short hand.
2. Play the o'clock level until it's easy, then move on to half past.
3. Print a draw-the-hands sheet at the same level.
4. Look up any time they miss on its own page, which explains what's tricky about it.

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