The concept of time can be difficult for children to understand, because it is so abstract.
A sense of time is learned gradually as children live their lives and mark various events e.g., birthdays, school holidays, weekends, bedtimes, lunchtimes, etc. As they experience the world of people and things, their concept of time becomes part of their everyday lives. It can be difficult for children to understand how much time daily tasks may take. For example, when thinking of how much time it would take to get ready for high school in the morning, one child gave the following details:
But do they…..
If not, their routines may need to be changed. Nobody likes to have to run around in the morning, trying to remember what they are doing that day and having to find books and equipment for school at the last minute.
IT IS SO IMPORTANT TO PREPARE IN ADVANCE
Take time now, to think about how long it takes you to get ready for school. Perhaps have one day where you can write down how long it takes to do all the tasks you have to do in the morning, from the time you get up, to the time you leave the house for school. How long does it take you to get to school? I bet it takes longer than you think! Use the table below to list the tasks.
1. How did you do?
2. Did it take you longer than you thought to get ready in the morning?
3. What helps you to get ready in the morning?
Do you plan ahead, or do you leave everything until the last minute or, do you hope that someone else will do it all for you?
When you go to High School you will have more subjects to study, which will mean that you will have more books and equipment to pack and carry to school, and you will have more homework to do. So planning ahead is very important.
Remember [Good Planning] + [Organisation] = [Less Stress]
If you found the 1st activity difficult it might be helpful to think about exactly what you have to do in the mornings before you go to school.
The list underneath shows the kinds of things you might have to do.
Either by yourself, with a family member or a teacher, write down all of the tasks you have to do before you go to school. You can use the template below. It might be a good idea to laminate the template and you can use it on a daily basis with a dry wipe marker pen.
