Elapsed Time

"Time like an ever rolling stream" from  my high school hymn often floats in my head during our lessons in understanding time.  Frazer can spend an entire 30 minute period working the minutes in an hour.  Then he would ask to go check the time on the FIOS clock so that he would not have to calculate analog tie which is what we have in the star chamber.  Add to that teaching how much time has past, and I have wondered if there is value in forging ahead with this concept.  Yet it seems pretty crucial to understanding not only time but units of something.

We have used Kumon workbooks to provide reinforcement in time concepts.  We play dominos and card games to practice applications of time. Practical understanding of time is reinforced indirectly from his repeated questioning of, "When do we go to pickup Porter?"  I would share the current time and ask him how long it would be until we picked up Porter.  He did not pipe up ,"Oh, 15 minutes," but would ask if he could go look at the FIOS clock to see when that would be.  I sometimes let him check the digital reading but often I just plugged ahead.  Yesterday I inadvertently changed my answer by telling him, "In week 20 minutes."  Then a minute later he announces what time it would be in 20 minutes.   He figured out what time that would be.  Even better, he recognized that a shift had occurred and made sure that I understood.  The photos of the wipe board demonstrate how I used the moment to stretch some ideas and check on his understanding. 

The handwriting is mine but he dictates even the slashes.  Having to write can impede his ability to process his thoughts.  We were rolling.  I posed the questions and he answered.

We played a few more word games and practiced what he could figure out.  While he nailed it for the word problems, he still struggled  bit during dominos in which he had to match digital time with analog time.

Working with Frazer must be like surfing.  The water can be still, then bumpy and rough.  You can ride a wave or roll under.  Sometimes you know why you can hit the wave and other times left in the foam for unknown reason.  Every time he seems to hang ten, I am left watching for his in the surf.  His comprehension ebbs and flows.  It is not always easy to know when the concepts are cemented into his brain.  I am puzzled by his struggles with automaticity of addition facts given the countless hours we have devoted to it.  I even think he understands the number changing but I just don't think he sees 7+8 and thinks 15.

But for the small victories such as knowing when 20  minutes from now, I will take.