I wish I'd known about the Time Timer when my kids were living at home! Feeling time and preparing for change are great concepts. Thanks for explaining them so thoroughly.
Of course! I wish I knew so many things 20 years ago that I know now. That's one of my inspirations to keep writing and sharing what we've learned over the years. We're helping other parents and teachers newer to this journey!
This is so interesting and timely (pun intended). This morning I watched my child with ADHD and anxiety work on an educational computer game. She was doing really great with it on her own time, fully grasping the words and being able to put the letters in order to spell them but then the next level had more of an "answer it quick" vibe.
The computer says a word and then 4 words start falling from the top of the screen. She had to choose the written word that matched the spoken word before the words hit the bottom of the screen.
The added pressure of the words falling or time passing really added pressure onto her. While she could identify the word HAS on her own with plenty of time, once the time pressure was on she made many more errors, selecting SHA instead of HAS and then becoming frustrated with herself.
It was a moment where I could see how the pressure of time impacted her ability to make the right selection and how it impacted her emotionally.
As I am typing this, minutes away from when I need to hop onto a zoom and find myself making spelling errors that I need to adjust before I click post I am thinking of the errors I make when I feel the need to rush.
I always tell kids: we can do things well OR fast. We shouldn’t even try to do things fast until we can do it well and we understand that it’s the limited time that makes the mistakes, not our skills. And this leaves us with the question of why do we reward speed with learning? Sports maybe, but learning? What’s the benefit. Someone will have to convince me there is a benefit to learning fast. This isn’t Jeopardy. 😂
I really like this site for 'sensory timers', no numbers, just visuals. I'm teach high school, but even the older kids appreciate keeping track of time without the stress of the countdown. I usually use the jumping sheep.
The time timer is our favourite timer too. One of my children has even taken to setting the timer himself, it’s comforting to him, it helps a lot with transitions. This is an important part of our adapted home, God has hand-made our children and it’s a privilege to get to know each unique child and work with them to find ways to help life run smoother for the whole family.
Thank you for this post, Emily. It made me rethink the use of the timer for my preschooler, who admittedly has a stress response when hearing the alarm (it has been muted for a while now).
After using these timers for my kids, I got one for myself. I have found that it really helps me get started with unpleasant activities and to stop my hyper focusing when I need to be able to move onto something else!
This was super helpful. We have one of those timers but I’ve definitely been trying to use it as a tool to pack away once the timer is done and it rarely works! So this has given me some new strategies.
We have 6 time timers in our house. Everyone has their own mini (me included) and then we have a big one. One of our children has very significant time blindness-it is a crucial tool. Sometimes he will bring the timer to us and ask us to show him how much time for something. It can be so helpful.
I wish I'd known about the Time Timer when my kids were living at home! Feeling time and preparing for change are great concepts. Thanks for explaining them so thoroughly.
Of course! I wish I knew so many things 20 years ago that I know now. That's one of my inspirations to keep writing and sharing what we've learned over the years. We're helping other parents and teachers newer to this journey!
Excellent perspective. Thanks.
Oh my gosh…a Time Timer?! How incredible. I have a new gift to send several people!🙌
They are great! I use them in my therapy playroom with the sound off. I’ve seen teachers use them, too.
This is so interesting and timely (pun intended). This morning I watched my child with ADHD and anxiety work on an educational computer game. She was doing really great with it on her own time, fully grasping the words and being able to put the letters in order to spell them but then the next level had more of an "answer it quick" vibe.
The computer says a word and then 4 words start falling from the top of the screen. She had to choose the written word that matched the spoken word before the words hit the bottom of the screen.
The added pressure of the words falling or time passing really added pressure onto her. While she could identify the word HAS on her own with plenty of time, once the time pressure was on she made many more errors, selecting SHA instead of HAS and then becoming frustrated with herself.
It was a moment where I could see how the pressure of time impacted her ability to make the right selection and how it impacted her emotionally.
As I am typing this, minutes away from when I need to hop onto a zoom and find myself making spelling errors that I need to adjust before I click post I am thinking of the errors I make when I feel the need to rush.
So interesting! Thanks for the post!
I always tell kids: we can do things well OR fast. We shouldn’t even try to do things fast until we can do it well and we understand that it’s the limited time that makes the mistakes, not our skills. And this leaves us with the question of why do we reward speed with learning? Sports maybe, but learning? What’s the benefit. Someone will have to convince me there is a benefit to learning fast. This isn’t Jeopardy. 😂
I really like this site for 'sensory timers', no numbers, just visuals. I'm teach high school, but even the older kids appreciate keeping track of time without the stress of the countdown. I usually use the jumping sheep.
https://www.online-stopwatch.com/sensory-timers/
Thank for sharing! It's so helpful to teach time without startling kids into a panicked rush.
The time timer is our favourite timer too. One of my children has even taken to setting the timer himself, it’s comforting to him, it helps a lot with transitions. This is an important part of our adapted home, God has hand-made our children and it’s a privilege to get to know each unique child and work with them to find ways to help life run smoother for the whole family.
Thank you for this post, Emily. It made me rethink the use of the timer for my preschooler, who admittedly has a stress response when hearing the alarm (it has been muted for a while now).
I’m glad you found this helpful!💙
After using these timers for my kids, I got one for myself. I have found that it really helps me get started with unpleasant activities and to stop my hyper focusing when I need to be able to move onto something else!
Yes!
This was super helpful. We have one of those timers but I’ve definitely been trying to use it as a tool to pack away once the timer is done and it rarely works! So this has given me some new strategies.
Let us know how it goes!
We have 6 time timers in our house. Everyone has their own mini (me included) and then we have a big one. One of our children has very significant time blindness-it is a crucial tool. Sometimes he will bring the timer to us and ask us to show him how much time for something. It can be so helpful.
Yes! Visual timers are so helpful for teaching kids with time blindness.