Prepositions of time can be tricky for children because time isn't something they can pick up, move around, or see.

When teaching prepositions of location, a child can physically put a toy under a box or stand beside a chair. The relationship is right there in front of them.

But how do you show before, after, during, or until?

Make time visible.

By using a timeline, pictures, familiar events, color, and hands-on activities, we can turn an abstract idea into something children can see and understand.

What Are Prepositions of Time?

Prepositions of time are words that show how something relates to a time or event.

For example:

We will play BEFORE lunch.

The word before tells us when playing will happen in relation to lunch.

Compare that with:

We will play AFTER lunch.

The activity hasn't changed—we're still playing.

What changed is its relationship to lunch in time.

That's the central idea we want children to understand.

Examples of Prepositions of Time

Common words and phrases that can express relationships in time include:

at
on
in
before
after
during
until
since
by

Children may encounter them in sentences such as:

We eat lunch AT noon.

We have art ON Tuesday.

School starts IN August.

Wash your hands BEFORE dinner.

We played outside AFTER lunch.

We stayed quiet DURING the movie.

Read UNTIL bedtime.

She has lived here SINCE May.

Finish your work BY Friday.

Rather than beginning with a long list for children to memorize, however, I recommend starting with a few relationships they can connect to their own lives.

Begin With What Children Already Understand

Children already experience time relationships every day.

They put on their shoes before leaving the house.

They eat lunch during the day.

They may play outside after lunch.

They stay at school until dismissal.

The grammatical terminology may be new, but the relationships aren't.

Our job is to connect the new term preposition of time to something the child already understands.

If your child hasn't yet learned what a preposition is, begin with our first lesson:

How to Teach Prepositions to Kids: Start With Location

That lesson introduces prepositions through concrete relationships children can physically see and experience.

Then come back here and make time visible.

Activity 1: Make a Timeline

This is a wonderful way to turn an abstract concept into a visual one. 

What You Will Need

• Large, long sheets of paper, such as banner paper
• Crayons or markers
• Smaller pieces of paper for drawings
• Optional preposition cards

If you're teaching a class or group, divide the children into small groups and give each group a long sheet of paper.

If you're teaching one child, make one timeline together.

Step 1: Choose a Central Event

Start with a familiar event.

We'll use lunch at noon.

Write:

12:00 — LUNCH

near the center of the timeline.

Have children draw a picture representing lunch underneath it.

Now add times before and after noon so children can see that some events occur on one side of lunch and others occur on the other.

Lunch becomes our central event.

Step 2: Add Familiar Events

Ask the children:

“What happens before lunch?”

They might suggest:

• waking up
• eating breakfast
• arriving at school
• reading
• recess

Then ask:

“What happens after lunch?”

They might suggest:

• afternoon lessons
• another recess
• going home
• dinner
• bedtime

Place the events approximately where they belong on the timeline.

Don't worry about grammar terminology yet.

First, let children see the sequence of the day.

Step 3: Add the Prepositions

Now introduce the words that describe the time relationships.

Suppose the children put recess at 10:30.

Write:

We have recess BEFORE lunch.

Then choose something that happens after noon:

We have math AFTER lunch.

Perhaps lunch itself lasts from noon until 12:30:

We talk with our friends DURING lunch.

Use a consistent visual cue to make the prepositions stand out.

For example, write the prepositions in a different color:

We have recess BEFORE lunch.

We talk DURING lunch.

We have math AFTER lunch.

Keeping that visual pattern consistent can help children notice the grammatical relationship as they work with the sentences. 

Step 4: Write and Illustrate

Now let each child choose or receive one event.

Have the child:

1. draw a picture of the event;
2. write a sentence describing when it happens; and
3. identify the preposition of time.

For example:

I eat breakfast BEFORE school.

We read AFTER recess.

I listen DURING story time.

I stay at school UNTIL dismissal.

Then add the pictures to the class timeline in the correct places.

Have the children work together to assemble their individual pictures into one large timeline and then share their completed timelines with the class. 

Activity 2: Before, During, or After?

Once children understand the timeline, practice with three particularly useful time relationships:

BEFORE — DURING — AFTER

Choose a familiar event:

bedtime

Ask:

What do you do BEFORE bedtime?

“I brush my teeth before bedtime.”

What happens DURING bedtime?

“I sleep during the night.”

What happens AFTER bedtime?

“I wake up after sleeping.”

Try the same activity with:

school

lunch

a soccer game

a movie

a birthday party

a trip

The more familiar the event, the less mental energy children have to spend understanding the context—and the more attention they can give to the time relationship.

Activity 3: Become the Timeline

Here's a way to add purposeful movement.

Place three signs across the floor:

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Choose an event:

LUNCH

Then read a sentence:

“We have morning recess ___ lunch.”

The child moves to:

BEFORE

Try another:

“We clean the table ___ lunch.”

The child might choose:

AFTER

Then:

“We eat sandwiches ___ lunch.”

The child chooses:

DURING

After each response, say the complete sentence together.

This combines movement with the meaning of the word rather than adding movement simply for movement's sake.

Teaching AT, ON, and IN for Time

Once children understand the basic idea of time relationships, you can introduce a group of prepositions that frequently causes confusion:

AT, ON, and IN.

A simple way to organize them is from more specific to broader periods of time.

AT — Specific Times

Use at for specific clock times and certain specific points in time.

at 8:00

at noon

at midnight

We eat lunch AT noon.

ON — Days and Dates

Use on with days and dates.

on Monday

on July 4

on my birthday

We have music ON Tuesday.

IN — Longer Periods

Use in with months, years, seasons, and other broader periods.

in September

in 2026

in winter

in the morning

School begins IN September.

Make the Pattern Visual

Draw three shapes that increase in size:

AT → one point

ON → one day

IN → a larger period

Then sort examples beneath each heading.

The goal isn't simply to memorize three isolated rules. Help children see how the words organize different kinds of time information.

Activity 4: Sort the Time Words

Make cards containing expressions such as:

3:00

Monday

October

noon

Friday

summer

2026

midnight

Then make three heading cards:

AT

ON

IN

Have the child sort the cards.

The result might look like:

We leave AT 3:00.

We have art ON Monday.

School starts IN September.

The child moves from:

sorting → recognizing the pattern → using the pattern in language.

Activity 5: Use a Daily Schedule

A classroom schedule or home routine gives children a ready-made source of examples.

Ask questions such as:

What do we do before lunch?

What happens after math?

What do we do during recess?

What happens at 2:00?

What do we do on Friday?

Then reverse the activity.

Give the child a sentence and ask them to find the corresponding place on the schedule.

For example:

“We have reading after morning recess.”

Where does that belong?

This helps children connect the language of time with an actual sequence they use every day.

Activity 6: Draw the Relationship

Not every child needs to learn a concept in exactly the same way.

For children who benefit from strong visual connections, have them illustrate two events and show their relationship.

For:

We wash our hands BEFORE lunch.

the child might draw:

washing hands → eating lunch

For:

We play AFTER lunch.

the child might draw:

eating lunch → playing

Add the sentence underneath and emphasize the preposition visually.

Now before and after aren't floating vocabulary words.

They're attached to a sequence the child can see.

How to Explain BEFORE and AFTER to a Child

If a child continually confuses these words, avoid repeatedly defining them with more words.

Use two physical events.

Clap your hands.

Then stomp your foot.

Ask:

“What happened BEFORE I stomped?”

“I clapped.”

“What happened AFTER I clapped?”

“You stomped.”

Repeat with other actions:

jump → sit

spin → clap

touch your head → raise your hand

Then let the child perform two actions and ask you the questions.

This makes the relationship concrete before returning to written examples.

Practice With Prepositions of Time

Choose a preposition that completes each sentence. 

1. We eat breakfast ______ school.

2. We will go outside ______ lunch.

3. We stayed quiet ______ the movie.

4. School begins ______ 8:00.

5. We have music ______ Tuesday.

6. My birthday is ______ October.

7. Read your book ______ bedtime.

8. She has lived here ______ 2024.

Possible answers include:

1. before
2. after
3. during
4. at
5. on
6. in
7. until
8. since

After children fill in the blanks, don't stop there.

Ask:

“What relationship does that word show?”

That question keeps the focus on meaning rather than worksheet completion.

Common Questions About Prepositions of Time

What are prepositions of time?

Prepositions of time are prepositions that express relationships involving time. They can tell us when something happens or how one event relates in time to another.

Examples include at, on, in, before, after, during, until, since, and by.

What are some easy examples for kids?

Start with sentences connected to familiar routines:

We eat BEFORE school.

We play AFTER lunch.

We listen DURING story time.

School starts AT 8:00.

We have art ON Friday.

My birthday is IN May.

What is the difference between prepositions of time and location?

Both express relationships.

A location preposition tells us about a relationship in space:

The dog is UNDER the table.

A time preposition tells us about a relationship in time:

The dog ate AFTER his walk.

Location is often easier to introduce first because children can directly see and act out spatial relationships.

From Location to Time to Prepositional Phrases

Teaching prepositions doesn't have to begin with memorizing a long list.

Instead, build the concept in stages.

First: Location

Let children experience relationships they can see:

under, over, beside, behind, between

↓

Next: Time

Make an invisible concept visible with timelines, schedules, pictures, sequences, and familiar events:

before, during, after, at, on, in

↓

Then: Prepositional Phrases

Help children recognize how prepositions and their objects work together within sentences and connected text.

This sequence moves from the concrete to the more abstract, while continuing to explicitly teach the grammar involved.

Make Time Visible

Children live within time relationships all day long.

They wake up before breakfast.

They arrive at school at a certain time.

They participate in activities during the day.

They go home after school.

They have special activities on certain days.

They celebrate holidays in particular months or seasons.

When we connect grammar to these familiar experiences, the terminology has something meaningful to attach to. 

Draw the events.

Move through the sequence.

Color-code the words.

Say the sentences.

Then identify the grammar.

The goal isn't merely for children to circle the correct preposition on a worksheet.

It's for them to understand the relationship the preposition expresses and use that understanding when speaking, reading, and writing.

Continue Learning About Prepositions

How to Teach Prepositions to Kids: Start With Location
Begin with location relationships children can see, act out, and manipulate.

How to Teach Prepositions: Prepositional Phrases & Reading Fluency
Take the next step by exploring prepositional phrases and their role in connected reading.

Parts of Speech Simplified
Explore prepositions within the larger picture of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and other parts of speech.