Tuesday's Tip-Time Timer

This next tip has been working so great for us that I wanted to share it with you all. About a month or so ago I attended a parenting seminar. It was fabulous and I learned a ton. The name of the speaker was Bill Corbett, founder of Cooperative Kids. He wrote a book called Love, Limits and Lessons, which I highly recommend.

During his speech he talked about the use of this clock called the Time Timer. I took one look at it and knew I had to have it so I bought one. I love it because the kids can see the red disappear on the clock. Kids have such hard time understanding the concept of time and this makes it easy.
Here is how I used it today. We were down in our classroom in the basement doing some school work. I was going over Sydney's letters and numbers and she wanted to paint. I set the timer for 30 minutes and told her when the red disappeared it was time for painting. She didn't ask me to paint again after I told her that. Had I said to her, "Sydney in 30 minutes you can paint" she would have kept asking me and I would have been frustrated.

This is great too if you want to set limits on t.v. watching, computer time or if you need some quiet time. Brooklyn is fazing out of naps so when Sydney is sleeping I tell Brooklyn she has to find something to do until the red runs out. It also has a chime that goes off when it hits zero.

They have 3 sizes. I bought the middle size. The cost is $35 for that size. To me it's worth it. I just wish I would have had it sooner. Even if you have a little one it's never too soon to start using it. Schools also use this for children with special needs. My mom works in special education and she uses it and says it really helps the kids understand time.

Hopefully this will help you bring some sense and order to your home.