If you have young children in your household then you are accustomed to making things practical and fun. Anything you can do to a) make your life easier and b) help them to learn is generally welcomed with open arms. When your child is getting ready to start school, it’s the perfect time to think about home accessories that can support their learning, and where better to start than a teach the time clock?  

Before you start shopping around for the best clock to help your child learn to tell the time, read these reasons why your home needs one. 

A telling the time clock can help your child at school 

Children begin learning about the concept of time before they start primary school. As part of the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum (from birth to 5 years old) children are encouraged to talk about time to compare quantities and solve problems. From Year 1 of their primary education, they start to record time in terms of hours and minutes, before moving on in Year 2 to express time to 5 minute intervals and draw the hands on a clock face. In Key Stage 2 they will express time to the minute, explore roman numerals on clocks and learn about 24 hour time. 

With all this learning to accomplish, having an easy to read clock at home that will appeal to young minds, is the best way to support, encourage and build on what they are doing in school. 

A colourful clock will brighten up your home 

With young children at home, you can’t be precious about your colour schemes and decor, as the toys, clutter and handmade arts and crafts take centre stage. With this in mind, as your children are in their formative years, it’s a good opportunity to use your wall space to benefit them. A teach the time clock will be bold, easy to read and most importantly, colourful. It will have been designed in this way to captivate youngsters’ attention but also to help separate and denote the different elements of time – for example, minutes and hours. 

A kids clock can keep you all on time 

In this digital age, when we’re all on the go and reliant on our devices, it’s nice to sometimes step away from technology and go back to tradition. Rather than pulling your phone out of your back pocket, or tapping your smartwatch to reveal the time, why not instead just glance at your wall? With a teach the time clock hanging in the kitchen or playroom, the whole family can benefit from knowing what time it is, ensuring you can stick to your routines and arrive promptly for appointments. 

You might even get a lie in! 

Now this might be a long shot, but as your child is learning to tell the time and can start to recognise certain, important times of day, you can use it to your advantage. For example, if you don’t want to be woken up at the crack of dawn then having a clock they can read on their bedroom wall helps to keep them in their rooms for a little longer. So, if you don’t want to be woken up before 6am, then teaching them to recognise this time on the clock may help to prevent any super early starts!   

Impromptu time teaching activities 

If it’s raining outside, they’ve had enough screen time already and you’re pulling your hair out wondering how to keep the kids entertained, you can make use of a teaching time clock. Simply take it off the wall and use it as the basis for some fun time telling activities. You can try moving the hands to a certain time and see if your child can read it or set a time on the clock and ask them to draw it on a paper plate or use pipe cleaners for the hands. 

If these five reasons have convinced you that your home needs a child-orientated clock, it’s time to get out the hammer and screws and hang a clock that will help your child to understand the concept of time. 

EasyRead is an online retailer of time teaching products including time teaching clocks and watches. Click here to choose a teach the time clock for your home.