Learning Center Classroom Set Guide

TIME TIMER® | GUIDE

Using Center Timers in the Early Childhood Classroom

Developed by Jodi McNamara

The Early Childhood Classroom

Imagine yourself for a moment in a place where you are not familiar with the customs, the people speak a language that is different than your family language and they are all at least a foot taller than you and are rushing you throughout the day!

How would you feel?

Now imagine yourself as a preschool age child… in a school with its own customs and language (what does “eyes on me?” and “put your duck tails on” really mean?), hurrying you from your playtime to washing hands to eating and more. How do you think you might feel? Scared? Frustrated? Anxious?

Everyday, early childhood educators rush through their days,expecting that young children have the same ability to understand language and school customs, have refined coping skills and can tell time as adults do. While adults have had years of practice, little kiddos have had mere months of experience in this world and telling time from a clock is years away from mastery. It is no wonder that meltdowns and inappropriate behavior can manifest at times of transition and impact your classroom community.

With practice, patience, visuals, and consistency, the classroom

CAN run smoothly and children can feel secure and become more independent while building confidence. The key is understanding how to use all senses and employing visuals and visual timers in your day.

Help Establish Consistency

Students come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and it is the teacher’s responsibility to create a consistent classroom community by establishing expectations and routines.

For example, a student’s mom may always say “It’s bedtime in 5 minutes…" when in reality it’s 30 or 40 minutes after she has cleaned up the kitchen, checked her emails and fed the dog before she starts helping the child to bed or “We are leaving in 5 minutes," may actually mean “we should have left 5 minutes ago and need to be in the car RIGHT NOW.”

But in the classroom, a student needs to practice and know that 5 minutes will be the same each day and each time you say,“5 minutes to go.” Its duration is exactly 5 minutes or 300 seconds. The timer helps to ensure that.

ACTIVITY

Introduce the Time Timer visual timer clock. Turn it to 30 minutes.

Manipulate it and tick it down towards the “5.”

Ask the students:

What is happening to the color? Is it big or small?

What do you think that means?

Explain that we can play at centers (or table, library, etc.) for as long as the color is showing, but as it gets smaller, we don’t have much more time to play and when we hear the alarm ring, it will be time to clean up.

When it hits 5 minutes do the following:

Choose a student helper to be the 5 MINUTE MANAGER (Ideally someone new each day). That student gets to ring a designated musical instrument, triangle, drum, bell, etc. to let his/her peers know that there is 5 minutes to go.

Show students what the Time Timer visual timer clocks look like so they see the color is smaller and almost to zero.

Show 5 fingers to represent 5 minutes to go.

Sing the Song: 5 Minutes to GO (tune of “Farmer in the Dell”)

5 Minutes to Go!

5 Minutes to Go!

Center time (or “recess”, “lunch” “snack”, etc.)

Is almost over 5 Minutes to GO!

5 Minutes to play!

And then we put away!

Center time is almost over 5 Minutes to play! SING!

5 Minutes to Go!

How visual timers can be helpful in your centers

1. Sharing/Taking Turns:

Young students are learning to be together in classroom with other children and how to share and take turns. Inevitably, disagreements will arise when more than one student wants to play with the same toy. As students develop and become better at playing with peers, the Time Timer visual timer can help children learn to negotiate play with others and take fair and equitable turns.

2. Transitions:

Timers give visual communication to students. Setting timers keeps class on schedule and provides for smooth, unrushed transitions. Timers have no stressed-out tone of voice and no body language while communicating that can trigger unwanted behavior in some children. Keeping accurate time while counting down minutes provides consistency to students and keeps everyone staying on task throughout the day.

3. Self-Regulation:

With practice and consistency, students can learn to assess how much more activity time there is. The timer provides a signal for auditory support when “time is up.”

Why Color Code your Centers?

Reinforce color learning Engages the senses of the students

Introducing the Time Timer visual timer to the classroom for the first time? Download the Social Story.

Kids quickly understand where to be and what timer to follow

Download versions of this guide in other languages.

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