The Creative Nanny

He isn't even in grade school yet, but he understands how the clock works in general. For example, I didn't realize that he was paying attention to when snack time was. Every single day he reminds me if it's time or if we've missed it. I thought it was coincidental the first couple of times, but soon I realized that it was him simply grabbing a hold onto my schedule.He also knows when lunch time is and when his parents are coming home. I know that these are random times throughout the day, but I feel that he is learning something when he is able to point at a number on the clock and say what time it is (mind you, his clock is in Roman numerals.)

I love being able to say, "Do you know what we are going to do now?" and both he and the little one know, because it is almost always the same. I tried one really awesome activity in the past, and only quit it because now most of our time is spent outside. When we play outside, we only come in for lunch and to put the little one down to nap. Then we'll have quiet time and then we are back outside again.

I thought I'd share this idea with you because I really like it and it definitely got these charges of mine excited.

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I made up a schedule for each of my charges. They are different because one takes a nap and the other one doesn't, so I incorporate that in there. I also have a version of their schedules with what I need to do, personally, in there. I put one thing from their schedule onto a strip of card stock and stuck them to the refrigerator. It would have been nice if I had had magnet tape. Let me break it down the way I would have liked to have done it:

Supplies:

Card stock strips cut 1/2 inch wide, and 4 inches long-a different color for each child.

Sharpie (or you can print from a computer)

Laminate (optional-card stock is pretty sturdy)

Magnet Tape

Instructions:

Write (or print) one item from the schedule on each strip.

Write (or print) the time that this event is going to occur.

Laminate each strip.

Cut small strips of magnet tape and attach them to the back of each strip.

I put all of the strips up on the refrigerator going from top to bottom; one column for each child. As each event was finished, we would pull down one strip and look at the next. I would read it to them, and we were expected to do what was on that strip at that time.

Do you keep a schedule for your charges? And on a slightly different note, do you do anything in particular to help them tell time?

I will get a picture of what I was able to do as soon as possible!