Timers are a great way to keep therapy moving, have fun games, and manage behaviors. Timers are great, but having the right ones can make all the difference.
The space in my room scarce, so if I am going to bring anything new into it, it be doing double duty. Here is a list of timers that that will put your momma’s egg timer to shame. You can not only use them to add some structure to your sessions, keep behaviors in check, as have some fun contests, but also include for language and articulation sessions to target goals.
Gel timers are fabulous for describing, especially when kids are learning abstract words like gooey and sticky. They can see the gel ooze, which makes it great for those moments when I need a friend to take a minute or two and relax.
This cube is pretty darn cool. You choose the amount of time you want and have that face of the dice on top. You can also use this for how many repetitions kids have to do or how many items in a group they need to name, maybe even how many cards or words they need to do before moving on.
3. Sand Timers
These are great, especially for little ones. I really like that they have the numbers on the timers so little ones can see how long each timer is for. The different colors are fun too. I like sand timers for artic drills and cool downs if a friend is getting a but wound up.
A dry erase board and timer combo…WHAT?! Yes, it’s true! This is an awesome pairing of two of the most functional things you can get for your room. Write categories, artic words, words for synonyms and antonyms, irregular past tense words, etc. Then set the timer and see how many everyone can come up with or how many round the kids can get through as a group with each kid saying an answer or adding to the list. *The dry erase board and timer are sold separately so be careful when you order that you get both.
Timers that give visual warnings when time is running out are very helpful, especially for students with anxiety or who many have difficulty with transitions. These can be very helpful to for little ones getting used to longer sessions. You can set the timer when your session starts and then they can see the transitions between time and when therapy is over. It helps to eliminate the ‘How much longer’ question.
There are also some really cool timer apps. You can set different backgrounds, sounds, shapes, etc. A quick App Store search will give you lots of choices.
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2 Responses
I never thought about using a timer with speech therapy before. It would be kind of fun to use a timer during the sessions and see if they help my son out. Thank you for the great list of timers I can look at. All of them look really fun!
Thanks!