Here you will find TIME activities
 to do with your preschool child(ren).

Have Fun!

   (Also check out our NEW YEARS and NIGHT & DAY theme pages)

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Arts & Crafts

 

Times Collage

Select three large pieces of paper and label them "Meal Time," Play Time,"
and "Bed Time."  Cut out a variety of magazine pictures that show people
 eating, playing and sleeping.  As you talk with your children about what the
people in the pictures are doing, help them glue the pictures on
the appropriate pieces of paper to make collages.

 

Play Dough Clocks

Provide play dough, a number of cookie cutters, and plastic knives,
and let the children be creative and try to make clocks.

 

 

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Large Motor

 

Acting Out Times

Have your children stand in an open area.  Call out the names of different times such as
 "Play time," "Dinner time," and "Bath time."  As you do so, have your children act out
what they normally do during those times.  Whenever you call out "Bed time,"
 have the children sink to the floor, close their eyes, and pretend to sleep.

 

 

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Songs, Poems, & Fingerplays

 

Now It Is Time

Now it is time
To start our day.
We take out our toys
So we can play.

Now it is time
To end our day.
We pick up our toys
And put them away.

    

The Big Clock

Slowly ticks the big clock;
Tick-tock, tick-tock!
But the cuckoo clock ticks double quick
Tick-a-tock-a, tick-a-tock-a
Tick-a-tock-a, tick!

   

Time To Play

(Sung to the tune of: "Yankee Doodle")

Hey, you sleepy heads,
Wake up,
You cannot sleep
All day.
It's time to open up
Your eyes,
So we can run
And play.
Find your shoes
And put them on.
We'll put
You're cots away.
We are rested
From our naps,
And now it's
Time to play

 

A Diller, A Dollar

A diller, a dollar
A ten o'clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon?
You used to come at 9 o'clock,
But now you come at noon.

Talk about being on time to school and how important it is to be on time. 
Ask children if they know what time school begins. 
Show them on a clock both the starting and ending times.

 

Hickory Dickory Dock

Hickory Dickory Dock
The mouse ran up the clock
(Use first two fingers, run upwards)
The clock struck one
(Hold up one finger)
The mouse ran down.
(Use first 2 fingers, run back down)
Hickory, Dickory Dock.

 

The Clocks

There's a neat little clock,
In the schoolroom it stands,
And it points to the time
With its two little hands.
And may we, like the clock,
Keep a face so clean and bright,
With hands ever ready
To do what is right.

 

 

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Language Ideas

 

What do YOU do?

Ask the children to tell you what they do at lunch time, story time, play time, nap time, etc.

 

A Time In Space

Have children pretend they are flying around space in a spaceship.
 How long does it take them to get from planet to planet?  To the moon?

 

A Year

How long is a year?  Show children a calendar and explain that each page is equal to a month.
 Talk about the seasons of the year, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring.  Ask them which season
they are in now.  What is the weather like?  What happens during each season?  Does anyone know
 when their birthday is?  As you look at the calendar, have the children with birthdays
 in the month you are showing stand and tell the others which day is their birthday.

 

 

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Science Ideas

 

What Time Is It

Using a milk carton make a house by cutting out windows.  Use a flashlight to shine through it.
  Ask the children what time of day it is when the light is shining through the milk carton house.

 

Globes, Clocks, and Watches

Set out different types of clocks along with globes and watches in your science center for the children to explore.

 

Exploring Inner Workings of a Clock

Find old clocks for the children to take apart.  They will love using
 small tools, and the inner workings of a clock are fascinating.

 

 

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Math Ideas

 

Graphing Clocks

Graph the types of clocks the children have in their homes.  Ask,
"What kind of clock do you have in your kitchen? Bedroom?  Living
 Room?"  You could also graph times of day, such as a child's favorite
 time of day at school, at home, or what time a favorite tv show is on.

 

Daily Schedule

It is important for children to understand the sequence of events and activities in your class's daily routine.
  "After art, we have snack, and then we go outside."  Create a large chart showing the
 daily schedule for the class.  Draw a clock face and write the corresponding time for
each scheduled activity.  Show the chart to the group and discuss the sequence. 
Vary the words to the song to describe the schedule.  You might sing, "Hickory Dickory Dock. 
The class looks at the clock.  The clock strikes 10, it's time for snack, hickory, dickory, dock.

 

 

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Dramatic Play Ideas

 

Clock Store

Set up a clock store in your dramatic play area.  Ask parents to bring clocks
 from home or visit thrift stores to purchase a variety of clocks.  Display
 the clocks on shelves and invite the children to set them for different times.

 

 

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Snack Ideas

 

Snack Time Signals

Devise a signal to indicate when snack time begins and ends.  Use the signal throughout the year.

 

Timing It

Find a simple recipe to follow that requires monitoring the time.  This could include the time
 needed to cool, to set, to bake, or to freeze.  Use a kitchen timer to keep track of the time.

 

Clock Pancakes With Syrup Hands

Use a box of pancake mix.  Follow the directions on box.  Pour on syrup in the 9 o'clock position.

 

 

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Literature Ideas

 

A Year At Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provenson

Read the above story and talk about how the time passes and how the seasons show this happening.

   

The Clocks And How They Go
by Gail Gibbons

 

Goodnight Moon
by Margaret Wise Brown

 

 

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Misc. Ideas

 

Hours In A Day

Ask how many hours are in a day.  Explain that 24 hours make a day, and
 that 7 days make a week, etc.  Use both clocks and calendars to explain.

 

Clocks

Bring in different types of clocks.  Listen for the sounds they make.  Let the children imitate the sounds.

 

How Long Does It Take?

Ask the children how long they think it takes to do certain tasks such as picking up
their toys, buttoning a jacket, and getting in line.  Then time them and share the results.

 

 

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Links

 

http://www.tipztime.com/minicharts/wholehourchart.html

http://www.tipztime.com/minicharts/halfhourchart.html

http://www.tipztime.com/minicharts/quarterhourchart.html

http://www.teachingtime.co.uk/

http://www.fi.edu/time/Journey/JustInTime/contents.html

http://homeschooling.about.com/od/basicmath/qt/teachingtime.htm

 

Full Color Printable Daily Activity Signs FREE at Environments - Click on Label Maker Link
Great to hang up in the classroom so the children will know what activities happen next.

 

 

Pre-K Fun Theme Pages are non-profit &  for educational reference only! 
No copyright infringement is intended.
I do not claim any of these as my own ideas.  
They are shared from friends and fellow group members.  
Some ideas found have been compiled from groups through the yrs.
Thanks for sharing all your great ideas!