Tell the Time

Set the clock to the time. Each right clock opens a flower. 10 clocks a round.

For grown-ups

A bee brings a card, like "Set the clock to 3:30" or "Breakfast at 7:30 a.m.". Your child turns the minute hand (drag anywhere on the clock, or use the big buttons) and taps Plant. Other clocks ask which digital time the clock shows. The hands are geared like a classroom teaching clock, so the hour hand creeps as the minutes pass.

Each clock right on the first try scores 10, or 5 after a hint. A wrong try takes nothing away: the voice reads what the clock says and the minute marks count by fives. A round is 10 clocks and ends on "All done" with this round's score. Nothing is saved, and there is no timer.

Child lock: tap the lock at the top right. The ways out hide and the back button stays in the game. To unlock, hold the lock for 3 seconds and answer a sum.

Evening look (dimmer and warmer)

Why it's good for your child, what they learn, and how we designed it

Free, no ads, no sign-in. We count plays without names or anything that identifies your child, and your child is never recorded. Clock, flowers and garden are drawn in code; the bee and the daily pictures are Microsoft Fluent Emoji (MIT license).

Why it's good for your child

Reading a clock with hands is a school standard from first grade on, and it is hard because two hands move together at different speeds. Teaching clocks with geared hands are classroom favorites because children see the hour hand creep as the minutes pass. This game gives the same view, with a voice that reads the clock back after every try.

What they learn

Telling time to the hour and half hour (Common Core 1.MD.B.3), to five minutes with AM and PM (2.MD.C.7), and to the minute with time passed (3.MD.A.1). Along the way children learn where the short hand sits between two numbers, and to count the minute marks by fives.

How we designed it for ages 7 to 9

For 7 to 9 year olds it plays like a real arcade game, with a total for this round only, as our big-kid rules allow. There is no timer, no saved best, no bonus for coming back and nothing to buy, because tricks that lengthen play are common in apps for children (Radesky 2022). A wrong time costs nothing: the voice reads what the clock says, the minute marks count by fives, and praise names what your child did (Mueller & Dweck 1998). Big one-thumb buttons sit next to the draggable hands, so it works one-handed at a table, and the Child lock keeps leaving and settings with you.

About the game

Tell the Time is a free telling time game for children about 7 to 9. A big clock sits over a small garden, with a bud at every hour around its rim. A bee brings a card that asks for a time, your child turns the hands to match and taps Plant, and the flower at that hour opens. Other clocks turn it around: the clock shows a time and your child picks the matching digital time from three cards. The sky behind the clock follows the time on it, from sunrise to night, so morning and evening times look different.

Four levels, easy first

  • 1 O'clock (age 7): whole hours, 1:00 to 12:00. The buttons move one hour at a time.
  • 2 Half past (age 7): hours and half hours. Cards say "3:30" or "half past three".
  • 3 Five minutes (age 8): every five minutes, quarter past and quarter to, and a.m. or p.m. from daily moments like breakfast, the school bus and the bedtime story.
  • 4 Minutes (ages 8 to 9): any minute, and time passed, like "The rose opens 20 minutes after 2:15".

How a round goes

A round is 10 clocks, usually about 5 minutes. Each clock right on the first try scores 10, or 5 after a hint, so a round is out of 100. When a try is off, nothing is lost: the voice reads what the clock says ("That says 3:00. The long hand needs to point at the 6."), and small numbers count by fives around the face. Then the game stops on "All done" with the round's score, the flowers that opened, and a question for you to ask. The next round waits for a tap, and no score is kept after that.

Ways to help at home

Point at a real clock with hands during the day and say the time together. Ask "Where will the long hand be when dinner is ready?" or "How many minutes until the bus?" Children learn the hour hand fastest when they see that it moves a little with every minute, so turn the hands of a toy clock slowly and watch it creep. Before you hand over the phone, tap the lock at the top right.

Questions parents ask

Is Tell the Time free?

Yes. There is no sign-in, nothing to download and nothing to buy. It runs in the web browser on phones, tablets and computers.

What ages is it for?

Ages 7 to 9, about first to third grade. Level 1 is o'clock times, level 2 adds half past, level 3 counts by fives with a.m. and p.m., and level 4 reads any minute and time passed.

Why does the hour hand move when my child turns the minute hand?

The hands are geared, like a classroom teaching clock. At half past three the short hand sits halfway between the 3 and the 4, which is the part of reading a clock children find hardest.

What happens after a wrong answer?

Nothing is taken away. The voice reads what the clock says and what to change, and the minute marks count by fives on the face. A clock right after a hint still opens its flower.

How long is a round?

10 clocks, about 5 minutes. Then the game stops on an All done screen with the round's score, the flowers that opened and a question for you to talk about.