Do you now people who are perpetually late? It can cost them a job. Learning to manage time at an early age is a life skill that will serve them in the future. The earlier they are taught, the better.

In order to teach time management, children need to have a sense of what time feels like to them. I have heard many people say, “That took me hours,” when it only took them 45 minutes. To schedule effectively, one must experiment with how much time different tasks take. Challenge your children to do the following fun activity of measuring time.

Using a stop watch and piece of paper to record their data, have your children investigate how much time the following activities take to complete effectively. If they rush to beat the clock, they will more than likely will end up late to a party. So efficiency and accuracy are important. If they say it took 30 seconds to tie their poorly have them tie them again and compare the time difference. It can be a real eye opener. They need to realize there are a lot of time eaters they don’t think about, which can lead to poor time management. 

1. Brush your hair   _________________
2. Brush your teeth _________________
3. Wash your face __________________
4. Take a shower or bath ______________
5. Get dressed        _________________
6. Make your bed   _________________
7. Put dirty clothes in the hamper _________________
8. Check the floor for belongings and put them away _____________
9. Eat your breakfast _________________
10. Rinse your dishes ___________
11. Put on socks and shoes ______________
12. Tie your shoes ______________
13. Empty the trash _____________
14. Use the bathroom _______________
15. Put away a game _______________
16. Water the lawn _________________
17. Add activities that apply to your child, such as how long it takes to skip from one room to another, read a chapter in a book, help a sibling get dressed, put books in a bag, check-out at the cash register on a shopping trip, or how long it takes to get to different places. 
18. Sit in front of something to see how long you can sit without getting fidgety or getting the urge to say something. Try to increase your time each day. (Parents, this is an important skills for children to learn so they can attend more efficiently in class)>

I know that #1-8 takes me 15 minutes, that includes putting on make-up (I’m a minimalist).

I’d love to see their results. Please email me a copy of their worksheets at [email protected]