Reading a clock

How do I teach my child to tell time?

Teach telling time in steps: the hour hand alone first, then o'clock and half past, then counting minutes by fives, then time to the minute and how much time has passed. Most children learn this between Grade 1 and Grade 3, and a real analog clock at home helps most.

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The hour hand alone

Cover or remove the minute hand. "It is a bit after 3" is a real skill, and it makes the short hand mean something.

Half past, then fives

Add the minute hand at o'clock and half past. Then count by fives around the clock: this is where skip counting pays off.

To the minute and elapsed time

"It is 2:47. How long until 3:15?" Use a number line or a real clock to count on.

Where this sits in Clareza

Grade 1 math has Measuring Length and Telling Time, Grade 2 has Measuring Length and Time in Standard Units, and Grade 3 has Telling Time to the Minute and Elapsed Time.

What this is not

  • Clareza is on screen. A real clock on the wall is still the best practice.
  • Kindergarten math is led by Clara on screen; time starts in Grade 1.
  • Every math course can be read in full before you pay.

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Before your child starts: what we collect and why

We collect only what it takes to teach your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers and progress, and their chat with Clara (written by Anthropic's AI, read aloud by OpenAI). Nobody trains AI on it or sells it, and you can see or delete it any time. You create your child's account yourself. Paying by card is how you give consent.

Read what we collect and why

Your consent is needed before we collect anything from your child, and we collect nothing without it. You create your child's account yourself; they never sign up alone.

  • What we collect from your child: the first name and sign-in you choose, their answers, time on lessons and progress, and their chat with Clara. Used to run the lessons, build their transcript and show you how they are doing.
  • Who else handles it: Anthropic (an AI company) receives the chat text and the lesson, with your child's first name but no last name or account details, to write Clara's replies. That is how Clara works, so it is part of the service. If you switch on answering out loud for a child, their voice is turned into text on our own server and then discarded; it is never sent to another company. OpenAI turns lesson text and Clara's replies (which can include your child's first name) into the read-aloud voice. Our email provider sends you reports about your child. Nobody trains AI on your child's data, and nobody sells it.
  • Your rights: see everything collected from your child, have it deleted, or stop further collection at any time, from your account or by emailingour support address. If you refuse the AI sharing above, Clara cannot teach, so the service cannot run. Chats are deleted after 30 days.
  • Safety: if your child writes something suggesting they may be hurt or in danger, we email you and Clareza's owner the same day.

Paying by card is how you give consent. Full details, including how long we keep each thing: Privacy Policy (version 2026-10-05).

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Questions parents ask

What age do kids learn to tell time?

Most learn o'clock and half past around 6 or 7, and to the minute by about 8 or 9.

Should I teach analog or digital time first?

Analog. It shows how time moves, and digital is easy once analog makes sense.

Why is elapsed time hard?

It mixes counting by fives, the hour boundary and subtraction. Count on with a clock or number line.

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