With Tomorrowland hitting theaters next month, now is a great time to teach kids about time! In what promises to be an epic adventure, boy-genius Frank and optimistic Casey embark on a journey to unearth the secrets of a mysterious place that exists somewhere between space and time. Get your kids excited about the film by playing a few of these activities designed to teach them a bit more about time as a concept. We have a little something for all ages and skill levels!
Activities to Teach Kids about Time
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Time Traveling Clock
If you want to teach your kids about the hours and minutes on a clock, then you need to play this fun activity. To do this, you’ll need a circular piece of construction paper or a paper plate. You will then want to glue down 12 flaps of construction paper around the circle where the hours would be, as well as pin an hour and minute hand to the center of the clock face. Once you’ve done this, you will need to write the numbers 1 through 12 on the outside of the flap.
Underneath the flap, you can paste small pictures of places around the world from different time periods. Now that your time traveling clock is complete, you can practice moving the hour and minute hands to a certain time. Your kids can then lift up the hour flaps on the clock to discover when and where they would travel for that time!
Library Scavenger Hunt
If your local library has a great records section, then plan a little field trip there for this fun-filled scavenger hunt. To play this activity, you’ll need a stack of cards with different dates and historical events. You will then give each of your kids a card and let them explore the library trying to find more information on that event and time period. This information could be found in old newspapers and magazines or in any non-fiction books in the historical section. After finding the needed information, your kids can get another card, continuing the scavenger hunt until no more cards are left. The winner will be the person with the most completed tasks!
Time Match
Another great activity you can play to teach kids about time is a time matching game. To do this, you’ll need sets of cards that show time. One card for the set should show an analog clock while the other shoes a digital clock. If your kids are excited to see the movie Tomorrowland, you can tie in this place between time and space by printing off matching scene pictures from the movie. Mix these movie scenes in with the time cards and watch to see who finds the most matches!
What are your favorite activities to teach kids about time? Share in the comments!
These sound like great games to play with kids to teach time. Time traveling clock is one i would like to try first.
We have not hit time telling yet, but I know it’ll be ready by this summer. These are some helpful hints.
These are great ways to treach kids about time. I am so excited to go see Tomorrow Land with my family.
I wish I had some ideas like these when I was teaching my kids how to tell time! That was so frustrating! I thought I would never get it straight!
Hi Olfa, I so wish I had this idea when my son was little – like myself as a kid, he struggled with reading the clock – and we both would have so enjoyed this fun time that you offer up to learn more easily
These are three really cool things to do with your kid to make them understand what time is all about!
Many kids struggle with learning how to tell time when they are in elementary school. These are some great tips for teaching them how to do so.
I love the library scavenger hunt idea. I can’t wait to see Tomorrowland!
So many great ideas here! Can’t wait to see the movie!
Bella is turning 8 and she really knows how to tell time she is a stickler for telling time unless it’s bedtime then it’s what does that clock say?
I am loving these activities to teach kids about time, and it’s great how it compliments this movie. I’m looking forward to seeing it.
These are all great ideas! Very creative! It took me forever to learn how to tell time when I was little – these would have helped me LOL
These are such fun ideas. I’m actually getting pretty excited for that movie!
I found a great way with some print outs I found but I’m always open to new and fun ways! My kids love learning and I’ve found time has been the most fun for them!
We have made the construction plate ourselves. Making it fun is key!
Oh wow, these are all such cute ideas. I don’t have anyone left to teach time too 🙁
I love these ideas and we are actually about to learn how to read a clock in our daycare!