DIY Classroom clock

I have waited all week for this link party with 4th Grade Frolic! So excited...

I saw these clocks on Pinterest in May.

http://homedelicious.blogspot.com/2011/05/teachers-end-of-year-gift-personalized.html

So, I made these for presents at the end of the school year.

Then, I saw this clock at Target. Perfect for my middle school math classroom.

It wasn't crazy $$, I think $20-$25, but I just knew I could make it for less.

So, I did!

The clock cost me $3.97. I had the chalkboard paint (this cost $7.99, but I use it for lots of projects!) and chalk (bought mine for $1) from another DIY project and we always have batteries around here with four boys and their toys.

Take the clock apart carefully. Spray paint it with chalkboard paint. I followed he wait time on the can, 24 hours.
Write numbers and or equations for the numbers. Since my clock was smaller, I had to adjust my numbers. I still love it though!

I heart chalkboard paint very much! 

And now, I have a great MATH clock for my classroom this year. The glare made it hard to take a picture, sorry.

The cost was $13 if I never use the chalkboard paint again. Oh wait, too late, I already have... maybe I can share that on another Monday Made  it day!

Jumping in Feet First

Instead of making my first blog post about me, I decided to make it about something more fun, my new classroom timer.

This is a Time Timer, original name, huh?  I bought mine from our local teacher store, Teacher Heaven. I know its also available through Lakeshore Learning.

 Why do I love this clock? Well, I moved to middle school after 17 years in elementary and taught six sessions of 6th grade math. I had 50 minutes with each class. That time seemed to fly by and pacing was something I really had to practice. It took a long time. I was ALWAYS running out of time. We even started doing daily lesson plans and assigning time to each activity. Eight minutes for their warm up sounded great and doable. I even set my FREE online timer for them. But, inevitably the warm up always took longer.  I will still use this for lots of things, I am sure. But this clock is going to be posted right by my door. The fact that it is red and bold... well, I have high hopes that when I say, "You have 10 minutes to work these problems", it will mean 10 minutes.

All it takes is 1 AA battery, which I plan to keep on hand at all times.

I also envision this being set for shorter time frames as needed. I know my students are going to enjoy this visual, because to them 50 minutes, does not fly by.

It also beeps when time is up. So, I was thinking of setting it for 45 minutes and when it beeps, I know I have 5 minutes to wrap up and clean things up before the bell. For my students, when the bells rings, they are out!

I bought the big one. It is a 12". That was all the store I went to had. Lakeshore has 3 sizes though. I wanted the big one. I need to see it as well as my whole class. It was expensive, $40. I know, I know, that is a lot. Normally, I don't spend money on school stuff, but for me, this is a worthy investment.

I can't wait to use it in my classroom. For now, I may need to use it for blogging. Keep me focused :)
Hope this helps you!