Magick1's Full Review: Telly the Teaching Time Clock
We purchased Telly the Teaching Time Clock last year. We thought it would be an excellent way to teach our little one how to tell time. (This, by the way, has not been a very good thing when negotiating night, night time!)
I was mixed about the clock, unsure how a clock would be received and I should not have been! I worried that it would not be able to stand up to the toddler test. Would it break when dropped? Would it be too loud without any controls? Would it help teach time, at least somewhat? Find out answers to these questions and more below.
The Clock
As you can tell by the picture, it’s a brightly colored, fun-looking clock. This is something that really draws in the children. They love the bright colors! There is a nice handle for carrying the clock around, but it’s a bit awkward for an adult’s hands. Children, it’s a perfect fit giving them control!
There is an easy to use on and off switch that my daughter does not have a problem using. Sometimes, I find that the on/off switches are too hard to push for little ones, but this is not the case!
It has a switch to easily change between quiz mode and tell time mode. It allows the child to determine if they want to try finding the time that Telly the Teaching Time Clock tells them to find. Or, do they prefer to move the clocks’ hands around the face and Telly the Teaching Time Clock tells the time that they stop on out loud so they can hear time being given.
Telly the Teaching Time Clock also has a digital display to reflect the time below the clock face. Since so many things are digitally reflecting time, I think this helps little ones see both the clock’s face showing the time and the digital readout. The time does go in 5 minute increments, rather than minute by minute.
The clock also shows both the standard 1 through 12 that clocks show (unless they are military style clocks) and in smaller numbers along the outer edge, it shows 5, 10, 15, and 20 all the way through 60 minutes.
There are two buttons just at the bottom of Telly the Teaching Time Clock’s face. The left one, when pushed, allows for English speech and the right button switches to Spanish speech. So, if you want, children can learn how to tell time in both English and Spanish.
It does take 2 AA batteries. And, they seem to last quite a while.
My Experiences
It has been a durable clock. My toddler has dropped this a few times. It’s been dropped mostly on the carpeted areas of the house. But, the clock has been bumped into the wall, had boxes, books and other things dropped on it in her room when she’s tried to get something else, and boom, it falls down on something below (the clock). And, the clock still functions.
The clock voice is a bit weird and sometimes can be a bit hard to understand, especially if the batteries do begin to run low.
The volume is preset, and there is not a way to regulate this, other than putting tape over the speaker box to cover up some of the sound. I think it is pre-set way too high from the factory myself, but to others, it might be just right.
My daughter is getting a good grasp on being able to tell time, at least for the “top of the hour” times anyway. She still has a lot of difficulty understanding all of the other stuff like a quarter past, half past, etc. I think Telly the Teaching Time Clock has helped somewhat. My daughter does bounce back and forth between the Spanish and English. I cannot say if it’s helping her learn Spanish or not, as we already worked on a lot of Spanish numbers.
Overall Impressions
This is a really cute clock and it is colorful and teaches time to little ones if they apply themselves. There are a lot more fun toys out there with bells and whistles, and this one frankly doesn’t keep my daughter’s attention for long spells of time. But, she does use it some and she does go back to it occasionally. I believe it has helped with telling time, in addition to reinforcement from her parents telling her time, when bed time is and how to tell that on the clock, etc. It is a cute clock and I do believe if you can find it on sale, it is a good teaching tool.
If you are in the market and have a toddler aged 4 or greater, this would be a great toy to check out. The manufacturer states ages 3 and up, by in my opinion, I think ages 4 and up. My daughter was 3 ½ when she received it and did not really pay attention to it. Shortly after turning 4, though, she seemed to be a little more drawn to it, using the features and trying to work with the clocks hands and trying to learn how to tell time. Have fun!
(The little cards in the photo did not come with our clock, so I don’t know if this is a new feature or possibly additional items you can buy now to go with the clock. Therefore, I cannot comment on those!)
~Thanks for spending time with me today!~
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25.00 Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
Tell time in two languages, with this bilingual English and Spanish teaching clock. Move the hands and hear the time announced, or position them to ma...More at eBay
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