on a clock face

The Hummingbirds have been exploring the fundamentals of clocks using counting, number lines, and physical representations of clock hands, faces, and numbers. Shawna presented the group with several tools in the last week so that they can begin their exploration of clocks: circles with lines around the edges that they immediately identified as a clock face, and strips of paper as number lines that they used to plot the number of seconds it took them to complete a designated task.Shawna also reports, "We have been playing 'What Time is it Mr. Fox' – the children take big steps for hours, tiny steps for seconds, and regular steps for minutes. At the fox’s command, the clock can go backward or move forward. This has been really fun for us, and it’s yet another representation of the passing intervals of a clock."In their explorations they have been thinking about animal migrations and internal clocks, as well as looking at the solar calendar as the sun relates to seasons and the measure of days.This week, they're turning to a study of clock functions, Shawna says. They're going to look at telling time, gears and pendulums, and examining clocks for time data. Today they are on their way to the Ferry Building at the wharves to look at the clock tower and listen to the chimes for clues about its mechanics. Good thing it stopped raining!