Let the clock games begin!

As a child I struggled to tell time.

I just didn't get it.

What did all those numbers mean?

How was I to know that it was 4:46 by looking at the numbers one to twelve on a circle?

As a teacher I am amazed that Kindergarten children are to be taught to tell time to the hour and the half hour.

Yet, I have no doubt that my students will be able to do it. They are bright and love a challenge.

The trick is to make the experience "fun".

To that end, I made a clock game tonight.

My students, in small group time, will sit around the perimeter and copy my actions on the large clock. Then they'll guess what time it is. Everyone who guesses correctly will get to mark their "clock card" (a yellow square of construction paper with a sticker of a clock on one corner made with printable labels)

My kids love to earn points and "win". They don't actually have to "win" a tangible object.

They just like the feel of success.

Is there really that much difference between the drive to succeed as a child and the one we hold as adults?

What motivates is different, but the desire to be at the top of our game is something that we all hold in common.

The funny thing is, they meet their goal by "beating" me; I meet mine when I "lose" to them!

Don't tell my secret though, they like to believe I am really outraged!