Free child-friendly timers to use at home

by Kindy Segovia, OTR
Assistive Technology Coordinator at Kent ISD, Grand Rapids, MI

Kindy Segovia

As everyone navigates to remote learning and support, helping families provide structure and time-on-tasks may be helpful. Timers, especially visual timers, can be a wonderful tool to assist with structure throughout the day. Set the timer to indicate the amount of time left for a lesson, assignment or academic task. Or, set the timer to help structure free time, playtime or reward time. A few free supports for timers that can be used at home include:

• 

  Vistual Timer

  Visual Timer is a free version for both iOS and Android

• Kids Timer for Android
• Visual Task Timer for iOS has some additional settings for audio, early warning, count-up or count-down.
• VisTimer for iOS uses an animated shrinking pie chart to indicate elapsed time
• Happy Kids Timer –Morning and Evening Chores – for Android
• One Click Timer for Google Chrome is a great option for a Chromebook or computer within the Chrome browser

Finally, follow these directions on WikiHow to make a Homemade Sand Timer from Recycled Bottles.