Have you ever seen the clock for retired people that just shows the days of the week? I love that thing and can’t wait for the time in my life when I get to use it. “Looks like we’re about halfway through Tuesday. Yep, time for my nap.”
Well, my kids at school are the most ‘interested in time’ group that I’ve ever had. We all refer to a year as ‘a trip around the sun’, and they know the months of the year & the seasons, and they’re not just parroting words – they know. Some of them are interested in telling time, but that’s a little beyond us. I’ve recently thought that it would be cool to have a clock that told our kind of time – our classroom time.
“Its construction should be exceedingly simple.” (Except that I forgot my wallet on Saturday so I wound up rushing the buying process on Sunday and bought paper that is too dark. Dagnabit, JoAnne’s Crafts? Why are you remodeling your store?? What’s the deal with only having one book of paper?)
That’s the downfall. The assembly actually didn’t take too long, and I actually found a use for a protractor and a compass in my adult life! Hear that, junior-high Lauren?
I tried to make each section of our day its own color, but ‘preschool time’ has a bunch of subsections. I didn’t have enough colors.
I wish I could have left it in its non-marked-up state, because it deeply appealed to my soul.
But nope, I had to draw on it with my stick people and bad handwriting. *sigh* Rats.
After it was all glued into place, here came the fun/scary part: cutting off the minute and second hands.
Don’t think I didn’t check and re-check and triple-check my camera after doing this. The hour hand is just so long, I was sure I had cut it off and left the minute hand.
So it’s done. I hung it up and a few of the children checked it. “We’re already to the purple!” I like the idea so much that I actually may break my one-prototype-only rule and re-do this. It was fun watching the hand point to where we were during the day, but it loses its cool factor when you can’t see the hand (or the drawings/words) on the darkest colors.
The face is also too shiny to get a good photo. Oh, well. Just trust me – I like it.
Brad says
That’s really cool! Do one for me, but divide it into “sleep”, “read the internet”, “watch TV”, and “eat something”.
Kris says
That’s awesome, Lauren! I can’t think of a way to use the whole idea, but I might copy the non-marked-up, soul-appealing part.
Peggy says
I am blown away!!!!!!!!! That is the most creative, coolest thing I’ve ever seen!! Your kids are so blessed to have you as their teacher!!
And I’m with Brad….make one for me too. Maybe it would help me exercise if there was a section for it. Maybe. (but is there a way to not have the sections look like yummy pieces of pie….I’d be craving it all day … and then eating it I’m afraid)
Kristi says
So, so cool!
Kaitlin says
So cool! What about chalk paint then you could change it a little. I don’t think we ever do the same thing everyday at our house!
Lauren says
Go for it -- just don’t put the glass face back on and you’re golden. Change away! 🙂