Past and present — History, 4–6 years
Things happen at different times. Children learn to tell what is happening now from what happened before.
Now and before
The present is what is happening now: you are reading this card and standing or sitting somewhere. The past is what happened before now, such as breakfast, yesterday’s rain or your last birthday. Both are real, but they belong to different times.
Why tell them apart?
People need to know when something happened so they can tell a story clearly, remember a promise or understand a change. Long ago, people used spoken stories, marks and objects to remember earlier events, because there were no phones or books for everyone.
A small time story
Look at three moments: 1. In the morning, Leo plants a bean. 2. At lunch, he waters it. 3. A week later, a green shoot appears. Planting and watering are in the past when the shoot appears; the shoot appearing is the present moment.
The picture is not now
A photograph can show a person who is smiling, so it may feel as if that person is smiling now. But the photograph records an earlier moment. The person may look different today, and the place may have changed too.
Using now and before
At home, you use these ideas when you say, “I am hungry now, but I ate before,” or “The cup was on the table, but now it is in the sink.” They help people explain what happened and what needs to happen next.
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