DIY Day: Clock Face

Last summer my niece came over to live with us for a while. She's 5 years old and loves to talk; non-stop.
Now I may sound a little ruthless, but there did come a point when I wished she would just take her conversation elsewhere. I tried many tactics to distract her: I'd ask her to draw, or help me with chores or play with her the game of 'who stays silent the longest'.
None of them worked.
However, one thing that did work was time. Now the reference is not figurative, but rather literal. Whenever I asked her what time it was, she'd be dumbfounded. She was confused between the hands and the markings on the clock and how they seemed to present the order of telling time.

That is when I had thought of making a tool could aid children in learning how to tell time.
This is what I came up with: the DIY clock face.
The Clock Face is an easy-to-make toy that may help children like my niece boast of their intelligent mind.

Clock crew

You will need:

• Cardboard (for making the base)
• Patterned or plain paper
• Scissors
• Glue
• Markers and pencil
• Compass (I used a couple of cylindrical boxes, owing to a baby-proof house that does not stock sharp needles)
• Thread or ribbon (not shown)

Round and round

Using a compass and scissors, cut out a large round base from the thick cardboard.

Cut out a round strip from the pattern paper that is smaller than the original base, cut out before.

Notice the difference in sizes in the picture below.

12 (x2) hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour

Paste the round strip on the base, and using different coloured markers, label the hours on the strip inside, and the minutes on the bigger cut-out.

The hands on the clock, go round and round

Use the cardboard to cut out the hands of the clock, one longer than the other. Using a punching machine, make holes at the ends of the hands and pull a threaad through to extend on either end.

Make a hole in the middle of the clock base and pull the thread through the bottom, and tie a knot to secure it in place. Repaet the action to tie a knot in the front.

Cut the excess ribbon/thread.

Hickory Dickory Dock

... and here's the final clock!

The hands are easily movable so you can play with it for hours, prompting your child to tell you what time it is by palcing the hands on different numbers.

And once they've mastered the art of time, introduce them to Marty McFly, the man who plays with time like its his hobby.