No time like the present

My son is doing his math homework on the computer. Today's lesson centers on the clock. He dutifully types in the time that each clock face represents. Since he is pretty good at this, he whizzes through all the questions.

When he is done, I ask him how long he thinks that it took for him to do his homework. "About 20 minutes," he says. I tell him that it took him less than 4 minutes and point to the clock counter on the screen that timed his work.

He makes a face like he doesn't believe me.

This is one of many, many (many) conversations that we have about time in our household. Because time is a hard concept to figure out - especially the way it seems to speed up during the fun times and slow down when we are processing a lot of information. There is a fascinating evolutionary reason behind all that sensory perception, which you can read about here. I don't recommend trying to explain all that to a six-year-old, though. They just make a face at you.

So, I continue to ask him questions. Like when he comes out of his room after reading a whole book - I ask him how long he thinks it took. "I was only in my room for 7 minutes," he says. I point to the window, as it has been more than an hour and is now dark outside. He makes a face at me. I ask him to tell me all about the book. He smiles.

How do you help your child learn more about time? Share your tricks in the comments.