Learn about Time for Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time is coming for a lot of North America and Europe in March, so it’s a fine time to talk about time! If you’re wondering, Wikipedia has a post all about which countries (or parts of countries) observe DST and when, as well as a timeline of when different countries the formerly observed it abolished the practice.

Of course if you’re talking about time, you need a clock, so first you can make a paper plate clock with this tutorial from Mum in the Madhouse. (Aside: is it true some kids aren’t taught how to read an analog clock anymore? It seems so foundational to how we teach time I can’t imagine it’s true, but I’ve heard people on the Internet say so.)

While you’ve got the paper plates out you can make your own sundial with these instructions from Krokotak. So fun!

Happy Homeschool Nest has a bunch of great free printables to do with telling time, including sheets on how to tell time, parts of a clock, matching time on an analog and a digital clock and more. You can grab these printables by signing up for email updates on their site (scroll all the way down).

Play with time and learn how to read a clock and write the time with these clock playdough mats from This Reading Mama.

And if you want to read about time, what it is, how it’s different on Earth and other planets, how people have tracked time through history, what philosophers have thought about time and more, check out The Book of Time by Clive Gifford. This information-packed book also includes information on how different clocks work, the history of alarm clocks, how accurately measuring time allows GPS to work, and of course time zones and Daylight Saving Time.

It also covers geologic time, how we measure the age of very old things like trees and fossils, life spans of various creatures on earth, body clocks and what happens in your body through the day and through a lifetime, animals’ concepts of time, and how often certain natural occurrences happen.

There’s also some information about space time, if time travel is possible, paradoxes and the future of time. It’s a fun book for kids who are interested in time and to get them (and maybe you, too) thinking about time in different ways.

About the book: 96 pages, hardcover, published 2023 by words & pictures, suggested retail price $24.99.

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As if Diwali weren’t colorful and fun enough, The Festival of Lights: A Lift-the-flap Diwali Celebration by Namita Moolani Mehra, illustrated by Darshika Varm, makes it even more fun to read about with flaps and things to lift and pull to see more information or details in the illustrations.

The book is a story about a family getting ready for Diwali and what happens on the different days of the five-day celebration. There’s cleaning, shopping, crafting, food preparation and getting the home altar ready for the big day.

It covers decorating the outside of the house with rangoli, diyas and lanterns, buying sweets to share with family and friends, the sights and scents of the mandir (home temple), getting dressed up in new fancy clothes, the story of Diwali and celebrations with relatives.

Flaps (there are more than 140 in all) give you vocabulary words for different foods and definitions, as well as fun things like what’s inside the shopping basket or where the cat is hanging out. They also help illuminate the story of Diwali, which is the triumph of good over evil as Lord Ram defeated the demon Ravana to save his wife, Sita.

This pretty and colorful book helps kids understand what Diwali is and how it is celebrated, regardless of whether they practice it at home. This would be a nice book to keep in a classroom (it’s rated for kids ages 3-7) or to have at home to teach kids about Diwali even if it’s not something you celebrate. Where I live there are a lot of people from India so we are probably exposed to Diwali more than some other regions of America, but it’s a nice holiday to know about wherever you live.

Combine with the book Diwali and check out some fun lantern crafts and printables for kids to round out your experience.

About the book: 24 pages, hardcover, published 2025 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail prices $22.99.

Have you read?

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