How to Teach the Concept of Time at Bedtime

Understanding the concept of time is an important milestone in language development and early learning .  So after my daughter learned the 7 days of the week, I wanted to teach her how a calendar works so she could start learning about the year, months, days, and holidays and start to grasp how a calendar can be useful.  I hung the calendar in her room where we would see it and not forget it at bedtime.  As part of our nightly routine she puts an “X” in the box to cross off the day.  I ask her questions such as, “What day (number) is it on the calendar?”, “What day of the week is it today?”, “What month is it right now?”, “What year is it?”, and “What is today’s date?”  Sometimes we review the days of the week and months of the year.  Initially I started off with only one or two questions until she started to get the hang of what I was asking for and got the answers right.

I also found it extremely helpful to use stamps to represent birthdays, holidays, and weekly events on the calendar.  For example, I have a stamp that says “Happy Birthday!” with balloons on it, so I use that to represent each family member’s birthday.  She enjoys looking ahead to see who’s birthday is coming up next, and looking to see how far away her birthday is too.  I have a pumpkin stamp for Halloween and a bunny for Easter, but also use a bear stamp to represent our “Special Saturday Breakfast” (where I make whatever she wants…the request is usually chocolate chip pancakes!) and a butterfly when we go to visit the local butterfly garden.  You can even draw simple shapes to represent each activity, no stamp required.  For example, I drew waves to represent the swimming lessons she is taking twice a week.

The only thing that matters is using the same stamp or shape consistently for an activity.  By doing this you are providing a visual representation of the activity for your child, which he can use to help recall information about his day.  You can then ask even more questions like, “What did you do yesterday?” and “What will we be doing tomorrow?” and your child will be able to tell you based upon the stamp or picture you used to represent the activity.  This time also gives you a chance to review the day’s activities and discuss tomorrow’s activities.  Discussions like this will give him a better understanding of the concept of time and what ambiguous words like yesterday, today, and tomorrow mean.  Children enjoy this type of discussion and crossing off the calendar may quickly become one more thing that is required by your child before falling asleep!

Have you tried this yet or do you do something similar?  If so I’d love to hear how it’s working for you!