Visual Timer
A colored disc that shrinks as time runs out, so kids can see time without reading a clock.
Activity
Time
Station rotations
4 × 10 minutes, 60s to switch · 10 minutes total
Press Show to class for the board or projector. The disc shrinks and turns yellow, then red. Space starts and pauses. The screen stays awake while the timer runs.
Time's up!
Great work, everyone.
Why use a visual timer timer
Young children often can't read a clock yet, and “five more minutes” means little to them. A visual timer shows time as an amount: a full disc at the start, a thin sliver near the end. This one changes colour too, green while there's plenty of time, yellow at halfway and red in the last fifth.
How to run it
- Pick a time with the chips or type minutes and seconds.
- Say what the timer is for in “Words on the board”.
- Press Start and point to the disc: “When the green is gone, we stop.”
Tips
- For children who find colours confusing or stressful, turn off “Colors change”.
- Use it at home for screen time, homework breaks or getting ready in the morning.
- Short timers (under 90 seconds) skip the warning chime and only give 3-2-1 blips.
Questions teachers ask
What is a visual timer?
A timer that shows time left as a shape rather than only as numbers. Here a colored disc shrinks clockwise until it disappears.
Why do visual timers help kids?
They make time concrete. A child can see how much is left and how fast it's going, without having to read or understand minutes.
What do the colours mean?
Green means more than half the time is left, yellow means less than half, and red means the last 20 percent.