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Week 07 · Time and Plans

Thursday

Timers and the week
// Read the clock, count the minutes, make a plan that works
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: Timers and the week

Samantha the Squirrel is tidying the den, but she keeps stopping to chat. The pile never gets smaller.

Oliver the Owl sets a timer with a click. "Ten minutes. When it rings, we stop and look." Samantha zips around. The pile shrinks fast.

The timer rings. "Done!" says Samantha, amazed. Oliver smiles. "A timer turns a long job into a short race. Now let us plan the whole week."

A timer is a helper

A timer counts minutes and rings when the time is up. You can use a kitchen timer or ask a grown-up to set one.

A timer helps in two ways. It keeps you working, because the race is on. It also tells you when to stop.

Good timer jobs: a ten-minute tidy, a five-minute bed, a fifteen-minute reading time.

  1. Pick one job and guess how many minutes it needs.
  2. Ask your grown-up to set the timer, or set a kitchen timer yourself.
  3. Work on only that job until the timer rings.
  4. When it rings, stop. Look at what got done.
  5. Was your guess right? Write down the real minutes for next time.
TIMER SENSE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What does a timer do when the time is up?
Samantha guessed ten minutes and finished in ten. What should she write down?
Which is a good timer job?

Plan the week

A week plan is a chart with seven days. Each day gets one or two helper jobs. Big jobs get a day of their own.

Here is the den week. Notice that every job has a day and a time.

DayJobWhenMinutes
MondayWater the plantsAfter school5
TuesdayTen-minute tidy4:3010
WednesdaySort the laundryAfter dinner10
ThursdaySet the table5:305
FridayTake out recycling with a grown-upAfter dinner10
SaturdayFamily Helper Day jobMorning30
SundayPack the bag for MondayAfter dinner10
On which day is the ten-minute tidy?
How many minutes does Saturday's job take?
Add the minutes for Monday and Thursday together.
StatementTrue or false?
A timer tells you when to stop.?
A week plan puts every job on the same day.?
Big jobs should get a day of their own.?
You should keep working after the timer rings without looking.?
WHY THIS EXERCISETimers mark a stopping point. Week plans spread the load so helping stays easy.
In the den week chart, how many minutes of jobs are planned in all?
WHY THIS EXERCISEThe whole week adds up to 80 minutes. Spread over seven days, that is easy.
Try it
Pick one small job at home. Guess the minutes.
Ask your grown-up to set a timer. Work until it rings.
Compare your guess with the real time.
Safety first
A grown-up sets any timer that plugs in or is on a stove or oven.
A kitchen timer with a dial is fine for you to turn.

Timer set, week planned. Excellent, Helper! Tomorrow Freddy reviews the week, and we learn what to do when a plan slips.

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