Food for thought this weekend- Investing in sand-timers!
Food for thought this weekend- Investing in sand-timers!
We all know that 'play is a child's work' and when our little person is engaged in playing, they find it hard to move onto something that we would like them to do, whether it is to leave home in the morning or follow the usual rhythm of the day - bathing, eating, or sleeping.
To this end, we found the use of sand-timers very effective in our learning environment and we wanted to share our experience with you all!!!
We notice that using timers to help children grasp the concept of time leaves them feeling more empowered and better prepared to transition in between routines.
To prepare our children for a smoother transition, we give them verbal reminders, something like, "The 10 minute timer is set. In 10 minutes let us all get ready to have lunch together." We follow this up with a 5 minute or a 1-minute timer along with another verbal reminder, "Last 1 minute," so they have enough time to wind up whatever they are engaged in get ready to move onto the next thing. We find this USUALLY works :) and we best to be respectful towards their sacred work of play :)
Timers are also a great tool to help them develop the patience for turn-taking. Sometimes our children get so engrossed in looking at the movement of sand that they forget about their turn :)
These timers are readily available everywhere, even at most 2-dollar stores!
We would love to hear your feedback and exchange other tools in our toolbox so we can together enrich this wonderful season of our little people’s life with a much calmer pace!
Warmest regards,
Guneet Sachdev
Centre 2IC and Lead Teacher- Preschool room
Nurture Early Learning-Onehunga