Activity: Counts buttons to learn time

  • Date: 2/5/2012, by Autourina Mains
  • Age Group(s): School
  • Estimated Duration: 15 minutes
  • Development Areas: Cognitive Development, Motor Skills, Social-Emotional, Language, Early Literacy
  • Materials Needed:

    ·       calendar

    ·       buttons and

    ·       cup

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Time is a difficult concept for young children to grasp, but this activity will help your child have a concrete way to understand time. Get a calendar for your child and pick out important days to mark on the calendar. For instance you can pick Valentine’s Day or St. Patty’s Day, etc. Mark it on the calendar. Count how many days are left to reach that special day. Have your child count the days and put a button in a cup for each day. Every day your child can remove one button and count the remaining buttons to see how many days are left before the special day.

This is a great activity that teaches the concept of time as well as mathematics. You can find free calendars offered by many businesses around your community.