Telling Time Matching Sensory Bin

No matter what it seems that telling time is always an issue for kids. My kids claim to never know what time it is when I tell them it’s bedtime or chore time. *wink* So to help my 2nd grader read clocks better, I created this telling time matching sensory bin. Kids match digital and analog clocks for times to the hour and half hour. So there is no excuse for not knowing that when the clock says 9:00 it’s bedtime. (At least there should be no excuse…)

To prep: Fill the shoebox sized plastic bin about 1/3-1/2 full of the sensory bin filler. I keep gallon size bags of dyed rice just for sensory bin activities.

We have done a lot of larger sensory bins in the past, but I really like the shoebox size because they are easy to store on my shelves and they are the perfect size for activities like this.

More Time Fun: Apple Time Matching Puzzles

Print and laminate the clock mat and the digital clock cards.

You can also opt to put clear velcro dots on the matching pairs like we did with our fruit and veggie hunt. My daughter wanted to use this right away, so I didn’t have time to put the velcro on.

Place the digital clock kids in the sensory bin and have your students match the digital clocks to the corresponding analog clocks.

My daughter had fun matching all the kids to the correct times. She also loves the feel of rice in the sensory bin, so it helps her stay on track.

More Time Fun: 192 Time Clip Cards

More Time Fun: Time Play Dough Mat

You can also have the kids show the various times on the mini toy clock to make sure that they understand which hand is which.

My daughter is always forgetting which hand is the hour hand, so I gave her a little tip today.

“The hour hand is short & the word ‘hour is short. The minute hand is longer & the word ‘minute’ is longer.”
Kind of confusing for kids since the times that they show are the opposite…

• Time Play Dough Mat & Task Cards
• Time Memory Cards
• Card Games for Telling Time
• Pumpkin Printables for Telling Time
• Telling Time- Matching Digital and Analog from Learning 2 Walk
• DIY Clock Magnet from Teach Me Mommy