Matching Daily Rhythms to Times of the Day

You will meet this idea in ordinary days. Farmers, bakers, and shepherds all shape their day around the clock and the sun. Rhythm makes work possible. This is worth learning because a time you can picture is a time you will remember.

Watch for it today, and when you spot it, tell someone what you noticed and how you knew. Ask yourself where else the same idea might be hiding, then go and look.

Watch this carefully, friend. Times mean more when they connect to your day. Breakfast might come at seven o’clock, lunch at twelve, and bedtime at eight. Look at a clock at three or four points today and say what you are doing.

Soon the numbers will carry pictures with them: five o’clock will smell like supper. Time is not just numbers on a wall, it is the shape God gave to a day.

Try guessing the time before you look. Say what you think it is, then check the clock. Your guesses will get better fast, and a person who has a feel for time is rarely late. If you get stuck, use your fingers or counters. Good mathematicians use tools.