Ramp up your "Timer" game

Using a timer in class is certainly nothing new. There is a wide variety of timers out there: egg timers, kitchen timers, Smartboard timers, iPhone timers, etc.... Those all work and are just fine, but perhaps it's time to level up your Timer game. Perhaps it's time to use something different. When you use your Smartboard timer, kids can see the number as it counts down. Which is fine. But they are looking at a number which is kinda boring. If you use your iPhone, kids can't see the time going down, which is okay because it adds a little mystery, but maybe you want the kids to see how much time they have remaining. So, we have a problem: We want the students to see the timer, but not just watch numbers tick by. Solution! Use the sun as your timer! With this awesome thing called "YouTube," we can use sunsets as our time. So if you are doing a challenge or activity that is timed, use the sunset as your timer. Once the sun sets, times up! Kids get jacked about trying to "beat the sun" and complete the challenge before the sunsets on them and their hopes of completing the challenge. Not all activities warrants a timer, but if you do something that is timed, think about using the sunset! The sunset I have attached to this post is for roughly 30 minutes. This would be a long challenge, so if you want a shorter timer, find a shorter sunset or just start the above video further into it.
Watch the sun set but motivation soar with Sundown Timers!

Other ideas: Find a slow motion video of a balloon being inflated then popped, or the tide coming in, or a tree burning down. If you can't find a video of a balloon popping or a tree burning down, then make your own video of that happening!