Ah, yes, Movado watches. You didn't tell time on those, you wore them as a fashion statement. In the 1990's. Initially very nice and minimalist, recent offerings are cheaper in every respect. Knock-offs are worse.
FWIW: I haven't worn a watch in several years. There are clocks everywhere I go, and my cellphone has the time. If I've seen a clock anywhere in the last two to three hours, I can usually estimate the correct time to within ten minutes. Wearing a watch in most (sub)urban environments has become little more than a personal excersice in redundancy.
Shifting gears; here's my "Two Cents" on teaching time:
As important as it is to know what time it is "right now", it's important to learn a sense of how long it's been "since then". For instance: you have an appointment slated for 3:00pm and it's just after lunch. You've some chores to do and you want to complete them in time to arrive on-time for your appointment. You glance at the clock and note 1:12pm. So, you mentally deduct your "load 'em up and get there" time, say 28 minutes, and "set" the "timer" on your "mental clock" for 1 hour and 20 minutes. With your "mental clock" tracking your time, you'll find that you can work without interruption for the whole 80 minutes. But there's a catch: the mental clock has to be calibrated through repeated experience. Fortunately, this is a skill, not a talent, so it can be taught and learned. Rather than having a clock in every room, hide most all of them; leave the one on the oven in the kitchen and maybe that fancy mantel clock above the fireplace. Have the kids note the time when they begin working on things then, periodically, poke your head in and ask, "Guess how long you've been working on this?" On road trips, cover the dashboard clock once in awhile and ask, "How long since we left home?" or "How long since we stopped for gas?" Offer small rewards for the closest guess. Over time, their ability to guess correctly will amaze you.
Not only will they be able to read a clock, but your children will have the foundational element of a powerful tool that can help them be good stewards of an unrecoverable resource: time.
An excellent tutorial! Thanks!
My situation exactly.
I do something similar, for a different reason.
I've noticed that some folks, when engaged in conversation, will glance at their watch. I take note of this, and a couple of minutes later, I ask them the time.
Invariably, they will look again. I get a secret chuckle from this.
However, if they happen to realize that I am doing this deliberately, they may seek to lie in wait to turn the tables on me, and ask me the time. I need to be ready for that.
Hence I have developed the habit of suppressing the urge to look at my watch. When I am asked the time, I try to do the mental calculation to arrive at a plausible answer.
"I believe it is about 8:12, but let me check to be sure."
Sometimes, I can be rather accurate, but more often, amusingly in error.