Visual Timer

Press Start the timer and the colored disc shrinks, with no digits to read until the time is up.

Timer length: 15 minutes

Tap the time to set your own length.

The disc is the whole time. No digits while it counts.

Ready-made routines (18)

Waiting and turns

Before a change

Staying with a task

Long stretches

At home

More options

Sound

When the time is up

On a phone or a tablet the silent switch mutes this sound as well, and the page cannot tell. Press Test sound to check.

Keys: Space starts and pauses, R resets, F is full screen. They rest while a button or a field has the focus.

Copies a link that opens this timer at this length.

Next step See the timers that show digits

How it works

This online visual timer shows a countdown as a shape: a colored disc empties clockwise, and once it starts the digits stay hidden until the time is up. Set any length from 1 to 120 minutes.

Read the full guide

How to read a visual countdown timer

1. The full disc is the length you set. 2. Read what is left as a fraction: at 60 minutes the disc matches a clock face, so a quarter of it is 15 minutes. 3. When it empties, the digits return and count up from the end.

Say the rule once before you start: when the disc is empty, we stop. Then point at it and save your voice.
The browser tab's title shows the time left, so outside full screen you can check it while the class sees only the disc.
Changing tabs or apps closes full screen, so stay on this tab. For a long countdown, lengthen the device's screen sleep time first.

Questions and answers

Is this a free online visual timer for kids?

Yes, and it is free. Nothing on the disc has to be read. A preschool class, or a toddler at home, watches one thing: when the color is gone, the time is up. The routine Carpet time for the youngest counts slices on fingers.

Can I use it as a classroom visual timer on the board?

Yes. Press Full screen and the disc grows with the window: a large visual timer all the students can see. Routines such as Until recess and Until lunch put a halfway cue on the board in words, not numbers.

Is this a circle timer?

Yes. The time is one circle: a disc that empties from the top, like a pie losing slices. On lengths from 2 to 20 minutes, faint lines cut it into one slice a minute.

Is this an ADHD visual timer?

The name usually means a timer that shows time as a shape, not as numbers, and this page does that. It is a classroom tool, not a medical one, and claims nothing about any condition. Adults who know the child can judge if it suits.

Is it a silent visual timer?

Yes, until you turn a sound on. Press Sound: off to switch on Soft chime and hear it once. Hand bell and Wood block are under More options. Without a sound, the screen says Time is up in a steady color and counts up.

All 18 routines

Waiting and turns 3

Teacher is with a group Five minutes when you are teaching a small group and cannot be interrupted. The rest of the class can see how long until you are free. Pupils with a question write it on a sticky note or ask a classmate first. Cues: 1:00 Nearly free. Questions ready.
Wait for your turn Two minutes for the pupil who is next on the swing, the tablet or the reading chair. At this length the disc has two halves, so when the first half has gone the wait is half over. At the end the turn changes hands without an argument about who counted. Cues: 1:00 Half gone. Nearly your turn.
Watch and wait experiment Ten minutes for science that needs patience: seeds soaking, paint drying, ice melting in a dish. Pupils sketch what they see at the start, again when half the disc has gone, and once more at the end. The disc makes the wait part of the experiment. Cues: 5:00 Halfway. Sketch what you see now; 0:30 Get ready for the last sketch.

Show all 18 routines (15 more)

Before a change 3

Before we leave the room Ten minutes of notice before an assembly, a specials class or a library visit. Tell the class where you are going, then start the disc. At 5:00 left they finish the part they are on, and at 1:00 they stand behind their chairs. Cues: 5:00 Half gone. Finish this part; 1:00 Stand behind your chair.
Dressing for outside Eight minutes for coats, boots, hats and gloves on a cold day. Eight slices of 45 degrees. At 4:00 left coats and boots should be on, and at 1:00 pupils zip up and stand by the door. Cues: 4:00 Coat and boots on by now; 1:00 Zip up and stand by the door.
Free play is ending Start the disc when 5 minutes of play are left and say so once. A slice of 72 degrees goes each minute, so the end is no surprise. At 1:00 the cue asks pupils to finish the game they are in, not to start a new one. Cues: 1:00 Last slice. Finish your game.

Staying with a task 5

Art or building project Twenty minutes of making. This is the longest length that still shows minute lines: twenty slices of 18 degrees. At 5:00 left pupils stop starting new parts, and at 2:00 tools go back and lids go on. Cues: 5:00 Finish parts. Start no new ones; 2:00 Tools back, lids on.
Carpet time for the youngest Seven minutes on the carpet for a class that cannot read digits yet. The disc has seven slices. Every so often, ask pupils to hold up a finger for each slice that is left. When one slice remains, they know the story is about to end. Cues: 3:00 Three slices. Show three fingers; 1:00 One slice left.
One part of a big task For a pupil who finds a long piece of work hard to begin. Agree on one small part, such as the first three questions, and set 10 minutes for it. At 1:00 left the pupil gets ready to show you that part, then you agree on the next one. Cues: 1:00 Get ready to show your part.
Quiet reading block Fifteen minutes with a book and no digits to check. A minute is only 24 degrees at this length, so the disc moves slowly and pupils stop watching it. At 1:00 left the cue asks them to finish the page and find a bookmark. Cues: 1:00 Finish the page. Bookmark in.
Writing stamina Twelve minutes of writing without stopping to ask how long is left. Twelve minutes gives twelve slices of 30 degrees, the same as the hour marks on a clock face. At 6:00 left the class is halfway, and at 1:00 they finish the sentence they are on. Cues: 6:00 Halfway. Keep the pencil moving; 1:00 Finish your sentence.

Long stretches 4

One hour, read like a clock At 60 minutes the disc matches a clock face: a quarter of it is 15 minutes and each minute is 6 degrees, the same as a minute hand moves. Use it for a double lesson, and ask the class what fraction is left at each cue. Cues: 45:00 A quarter of the hour is gone; 30:00 Half the hour is gone; 15:00 One quarter is left; 5:00 Bring your work to a close.
Until home time Two hours, which is as far as this timer goes. Half the disc is one hour. It suits the last stretch of a long day, a field trip bus ride or a class party, when nobody wants to keep reading the clock aloud. Cues: 1:00:00 One hour left; 15:00 Pack-up starts soon.
Until lunch Forty-five minutes, for the stretch of the morning when the class asks most often. Half of it is 22:30, where the first cue sits. At 5:00 left pupils clear their desks and wash their hands in table order. Cues: 22:30 Halfway to lunch; 5:00 Desks clear, then wash hands.
Until recess Set the time to the minutes left before recess, 30 here, and the question of how long stops coming. Above 20 minutes the disc has no minute lines, so read it as a fraction: half gone at 15:00 left, a sixth left at 5:00. Cues: 15:00 Halfway to recess; 5:00 Finish the part you are on.

At home 3

Dinner is nearly ready Ten minutes of notice before a meal, on a tablet on the kitchen counter. At 5:00 left the game or the show gets wrapped up. At 2:00 hands are washed and the table is set. Nobody has to shout up the stairs twice. Cues: 5:00 Halfway. Wrap up your game; 2:00 Wash hands, then set the table.
Getting ready for school Twenty minutes on a tablet propped up in the hallway. The cues ask one question at a time: dressed at 15:00 left, breakfast finished at 10:00, teeth and shoes at 5:00, bag on at 1:00. The child answers by doing it, not by talking. Cues: 15:00 Are you dressed?; 10:00 Breakfast finished?; 5:00 Teeth, then shoes; 1:00 Bag on. Meet at the door.
Screen time countdown Thirty minutes, agreed before the screen goes on. Run the disc on a second device where the child can see it. At 5:00 left they look for a stopping point, and at 1:00 they save and switch off themselves. Cues: 5:00 Look for a stopping point; 1:00 Save, then switch off.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written on 2026-09-18 from common classroom and family practice. Each routine is a wait or a block of work that suits a disc with no digits, with its own length in whole minutes between 1 and 120. Every cue is given as the time left when it appears. The lengths are suggestions, not rules or research findings, and nothing here is advice about any condition. Licence: own work