TIME TIMER Original 12 inch 60 Minute Visual Timer - For Kids, Classroom Learning, Elementary Teachers Desk Clock, Homeschool Study Tool and Office Meetings with Silent Operation (Black)

As a teacher, any visual resource/tool in the room that makes things flow easier is great for both students and teachers. I got this to serve as a visual reminder during the class period, that way im not getting asked a thousand times, "how much more time do we have to finish?" "how long are we in here til?", etc.. it also works great because all students have to do is look at the front of the room where I place it, and there aren't any 20 million questions asked. it serves as a reminder for them to get back on task, no need to be constantly repeating and saying, "get back on task, you have only 10 min. left, etc." it holds the students accountable for their own work and using their time wisely. also works great for my students with special needs, as they love the visual tool. the red pie portion gets smaller and smaller as time goes by. All that is needed is a double A battery and the kids think it is the coolest timer/clock in the world. There is also an option to set a beeping noise for when time runs out. Great because it lets students know that time is up and it is clean up time.

I've had this timer for just over two years now and it has been used and abused by my four year old twins and still works! It's also solved countless problems. Anytime they're fighting over using the same toy/computer/anything, I get out the timer and they have to take 5 or 10 minute turns. I also bought the 8-inch timer for use at work, and can tell you the difference, besides size. The 8-inch one has one quiet two-beep sound when the time is up - just right for an office environment. The 12-inch one has four loud two-beep sounds when the time is up - good for home. The 12-inch one would be too big & loud for an office. The 8-inch one would be too quiet for hearing over the noise at home. If you ever think it is broken, check the batteries. If the timer is knocked over the batteries sometimes shift out of position inside the battery case. They just need to be pushed back in position and it should work again. Another time, I thought it had stopped working because it wouldn't make any noise when the time was up. Turns out one of my kids had turned the sound on/off switch (in the back) to the off position. It is quite light and may at first seem flimsy but has turned out to be surprisingly durable. I also wish the black plastic frame was made out of a nice wood so it looked better, but that is a minor complaint compared to its functionality.

Edit: I originally wrote this review in 2018. It’s now 2021 and the timer has stopped working. The reason: my 2 year old toddler got a hold of it when my 9 year old son pulled it down off the wall. The plastic isn’t broken or anything. It simply stopped rotating on its own. My hubby had fixed it but now it’s stopped working completely. I would still recommend this timer, just make sure you hang it up high enough to where kids can’t take it down. As long as it’s out of reach, it should function perfectly and last a long time. I had actually started using it for my home gym as well. And since it wasn’t stationary, we got a little careless with it. In the future, I intend on getting a couple more of these. One for the home gym and the other for their homeschool. It’s quite practical and although delicate, extremely useful. Especially for those of us that loose track of time easily. It’s great for setting limits on TV time as well.Original review:We got the largest size and wall mount it above our computer in our homeschooling space. It has been the perfect solution for keeping us on task. My 6 year old loves setting the timer. He knows he has 30 mins of computer time and he sets it every morning after breakfast. When it dings, it's not annoying, but loud enough that it reminds everyone it's time for the next activity. My son now has a better concept of time. When it dings, he shuts off the computer on his own and we get started on Math. By far, one best purchases I've made for our homeschool. I am terrible at timing and routines. This helps tremendously. I don't think the materials ate partcularly long lasting. Seems flimsey. But my son isn't the most careful and it has withstood his use so far. I hope it holds up! Oh, also, you can't go all the way to 60 mins bc the red will overlap with zero and it will ding. Not a big deal for us. The only subject that takes us that long is phonics. I just set it to 59 mins.IF THIS REVIEW WAS HELPFUL, PLEASE LEAVE A THUMBS UP. THANK YOU 😊

This is great to have in your class as a timer. The alarm sound is just right, not to loud or to soft. I use it for my undergraduates in which they have to give seminars. This keeps them on time and the class moves smoothly. I found that if you don't use brand new batteries, the alarm will not sound. I was ready to send this back because the alarm did not work. I was using old batteries. When I put in new batteries, it worked great. The size of the timer is also great and is easy to see especially with the red.