The Intent of Time in a Bottle:
- to help make the abstract concept of time more concrete by allowing the user to literally see time pass.
- to function as a beneficial transition aid; letting your child use the visual timer gives him/her a chance to get closure on his/her present activity and allows his/her system to prepare for the change that is about to take place.
- to provide an opportunity for self-monitoring, decision making, and responsibility; for example, “When the sand is all down, then it will be time to put on your coat.” Or, “You can work on your project for 5 more minutes then you will need to pick up.” (take a bath, turn out the light, go to lunch, start on homework…)
- to increase on-task-time by breaking down an over-whelming task into achievable components; for example, “We need to do these 10 questions, lets work for 10 minutes and see how far we get.” Or, “Time to practice the piano for 20 minutes.” Or, “We need to concentrate on eating something off your plate for a couple of minutes.”
- to function as a conflict resolution tool— “In 5 minutes I get a turn with that toy, brother!”
- to bring you and your child hours (or should I say minutes) of enjoyable use!