Classroom management is a hot topic at this time of year. Teachers are planning for their new students, daycares are preparing for their school-aged student programming and parents are preparing to manage the mayhem of back to school routines and activities.
Anything that makes life easier is a plus.
Using a timer is something I have done in the classroom. I constantly referred to the clock and gave ten and five-minute warnings to help students learn to pace themselves. To get their attention I used “3, 2, 1”, both orally counting and visually with my fingers. It worked but the “1” could be loud if a group activity involved all the children talking and collaborating. Educators need to preserve their voice and using classroom management tools can help.
I have used timers in the classroom and usually looked like this:
I have discovered a new timer suitable for younger children.
The Time Timer Plus has great new features:
- Patented Red Disk
- Precision quartz movement (1 AA battery)
- Intuitive clockwise motion
- Silent operation – no ticking!
- Optional alert when time is up
- Impact-resistant case
- Oversize numbers.
Daisy cannot read the clock yet but does understand the passing of time, larger and smaller and numbers 5-15. So long as we only set the time for 15-minute increments we are good!
This timer would have been very useful for some of my grade 6 students who struggled to use the regular clock. It is also very handy to have at home and is used for reading time, teeth brushing, quiet play, bedtime, occasional time outs and general time management.
How would you use the Time Timer?