Wake-Up Time? Clock Tutorial

We were having a hard time with Malachi waking up very early and then coming to get us up.  Then we would have to try to get him back to bed, and best case scenario, he would go back to his bedroom, but play for and hour and a half or two hours until he was supposed to be up and make a huge mess of his room and be tired for the rest of the day.  Worse case scenario, he would cry because he wanted to play, then wake up his sister (have I ever mentioned she is a light sleeper? oy) and I would have two cranky children and a very tired momma awake far too early and then they would be super grumpy for the rest of the day, go to bed early, and the cycle would repeat.  I was trying to think of a way to help him know when it was okay to wake up since he doesn't tell time yet.  A cd alarm clock that would start playing very quiet music once it was time?  Didn't want to risk waking him up with the music.  Putting a digital clock in his room and putting the number 7 next to the hour and he could get up when they matched.  What if he woke up during the 8 o'clock hour?  He might get confused and not come wake me up at a descent hour.  Then it came to me...marking the time he can get up on an analog clock and putting a marker on the hour hand so that when the two overlapped he would know it was ok to get out of bed.  I know that this isn't a new idea, but I thought I would try a tutorial.  Here's my first feeble attempt:

Supplies needed:
*Analog clock (make sure you can get the front off to gain access to the face)
*Scrapbooking paper
*Adhesive (I used a scrapbooking tape runner)

Here we go!

I was so excited to find this green clock new in the box from Target that goes with Malachi's room.  The second hand had fallen off, but I knew I didn't need if I couldn't get it back on.  I checked their return policy and I bought it after I knew I could get a store credit if it didn't function.  Do Targets all over give their leftovers to Goodwill?  I found so many new Target items at this visit...too bad I didn't have more money!  I digress... 

I used a flat head screw driver to carefully pop the front off...

...and then traced around it on a piece of scrap paper to create a template for the section I wanted to mark on the face.  I cut it into a pie piece shape.

I also took off all the hands so I wouldn't have to work around them.  I also make sure to make a mental note of the order they went on so I wouldn't have to guess later.  I had to trim the template just a bit and then tested the fit...

...before cutting the shape out of the scrapbooking paper I chose and adhering it with the tape runner over the time of day we decided it was ok for Malachi to get up.

I had this monster patterned paper from the same paper line and cut out his little monster bat that Malachi liked.

I adhered it on the hour hand.  Because this shape has a "right side up", I put the hand back on the clock and set it to the "wake up" time and took note of the angle the bat would need to be applied at to be right side up at wake up time.  I chose paper and not cardstock since I was concerned about the weight of cardstock being too much for the motor of the clock.

I also used a bit of scrap paper on the back of the bat to make it more sturdy.

Put the clock back together, and show your little munchkin the finished product and explain the concept.  I got pretty lucky with the paper I chose.  To help him remember where the bat needed to be to be able to get out of bed, we taught him "bat in the green means GO get momma!".  Such luck! :)

Bubba was pretty pleased! :) 

The first couple mornings after we hung it in his room, we asked him if the bat was in the green and he'd have to run back to his room to check.  We'd send him back to bed telling him to check the bat next time we got up.  It's worked well ever since!  I love that I only had to spend $2 for this project since I had everything but the clock on hand.

One thing I would do differently if I make one again is pay attention the the shape I picked for the hour hand.  The wings of the bat make the bat go into the "wake up" section at an earlier time.  I should have either moved the face marking paper to a later time or chosen a thinner image.

I just thought I'd share a simple and fun idea that worked well in our family.  Hopefully this will spur your creativity.

Linked here!