april 2024
At 10:10 this morning ES noticed the clock on our wall. She noticed that there was a “needle” by the 10 and one by the 2. An educator was sitting by, and was curious to know what else ES knew/noticed about the clock asking her “What else do you notice about the clock…are the needles the same or different, do they move?” After, taking closer examination, ES explained to the educator that one needle was smaller and one bigger. She also noticed that the one by the 2 had moved slightly.
At 10:20 ES once again noticed the clock; this time she saw that the long hand was on the 4. Recognizing this as an “AHA!” moment the educator took down the clock to allow for closer examination. This began an exploration of clocks and time that caught the attention of the whole group. With the rest of the group gathering around a discussion began. The children took turns sharing their knowledge of clocks. The educator used her watch as a comparison to the clock asking, “Is this a clock?” to which the group agreed it was a clock, noting that while the watch is designed to be worn on your arm and it is indeed a clock. When a digital clock was introduced from a phone the children agreed it was also a clock. BF shared her understanding that clocks are used to tell time, pointing out that phones can also be considered “clocks” because they display numbers. Upon further investigation, the children noticed that the hands of the clock had move and by this time the big hand was on the 6, and the little hand had moved a little closer to the 11. ES describes to the group, motioning with her body explaining the “little hand moves slooooooow like a turtle” while the big hand moves “fast like a rabbit!”
For the remainder of the morning, the educator continued to refer to the clock, pointing out the times of transition from play to snack to story time to home.
To further expand this interest, we have added paper clocks with movable arms allowing for the children to investigate the concept of “time.”
Jen Tervo, RECE
Paige Cameron, Educator
Gurpreet Kaur, Educator
