The Kitchen Timer That Rings Whenever It Wants
Children are cooks sitting and stirring a pretend pot; when the kitchen timer rings, and nobody knows when it will, they jump up and run to take a cake (a ball) out of the oven and carry it to the table. It practices staying alert and reacting to an unpredictable sound.
How to play
- Show the timer and its ring; the oven is a basket of balls on the other side, and the table is a big hoop or marked area (2 min).
- The cooks sit on the floor stirring the pot with a pretend ladle while the teacher winds the timer just a little (2 min).
- When it rings, everyone gets up, runs to the oven, takes out a cake without burning themselves and carries it to the table (3 min).
- Cook again from other positions: kneading dough on their knees or lying down watching the kitchen TV; sometimes it rings very soon, sometimes it takes a while (3 min).
- To finish, everyone around the table counts the cakes and blows on them to cool them down (1 min).
Rules
- I keep cooking until the timer rings.
- I take only one cake at a time.
- I carry it with both hands, no throwing.
Variations
Easier
For 3-year-olds, keep the timer short and put the table near the oven.
Standard
For 4-year-olds, change the waiting positions and make the times very different.
Harder
For 5-year-olds, when the timer rings the teacher calls how many cakes each pair of cooks must bring ("Three!").
Adaptations
- Hearing impairment: the teacher raises the timer as soon as it rings, or use one with a light.
- Limited mobility: a child in a wheelchair is the table baker who receives and arranges the cakes.
- Autism: let the child hear the ring beforehand and set it off themselves so it isn't a surprise.
Learning goals
- Stay alert while doing another task.
- React to a sound that comes without warning.
- Carry an object carefully after a quick start.
Equipment for a class of 25
- Kitchen timer: 1
- Basket: 1
- Soft balls: 25
Teacher tip
Wind the timer out of sight for 10 to 40 seconds so they can't guess. If they get up before it rings, the cake is "still raw" and they go back to the pot.
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