Long Time, What comes next?
Little children think about time one thing at a time and one day at a time. We can help them begin to understand longer amounts of time by telling them what comes next. When Carter had his first birthday cake in October, Clara wanted to know when her birthday would be? “Tomorrow?” Clara’s fifth birthday is in March. We began to talk about what comes after Carter’s birthday and before Clara’s birthday. After Carter’s birthday is Edie’s birthday (December); after Edie’s birthday is Clara’s birthday (March). And it will be a LONG time between the birthdays. When Clara is seven she will understand.