Timing My Friends with TimerHubs.com (Math Tests, Spelling Bees & Track!)

Hi! I'm 10 and my new favorite thing on the whole internet is TimerHubs.com. It's a free stopwatch and timer that works on my mom's phone AND my school Chromebook. My friends and I use it for EVERYTHING. Like timing math tests, spelling bees, and even the kid in 4th grade who says he is the fastest runner in school (spoiler: he is NOT).

1. Math Test Races (it makes math kinda fun??)

Okay so math is normally NOT fun. But when you turn it into a race it actually becomes pretty awesome. Here is what me and my friend Jordan do at lunch:

• We each get the same sheet of 20 multiplication problems.
• One person opens the free stopwatch on TimerHubs.com.
• They yell GO and we both start scribbling.
• First person done yells DONE and the timer person hits stop.

My fastest time is 1 minute and 47 seconds. Jordan's fastest is 1 minute and 52 seconds (sorry Jordan). But the cool part is we both got WAY faster after doing it for a couple weeks. Like our teacher Mrs. Albright was kinda shocked.

2. Spelling Bee Practice (so you don't choke on stage)

At a real spelling bee you only get like a minute or two to spell the word out loud. If you take too long the judge says TIME and you are OUT. Brutal. So we practice with a countdown timer set to 90 seconds. My dad says a word, I have to spell it out loud before the beep, and if I beat the timer I get a point. If the timer beeps first, my little sister gets the point and laughs WAY too much.

The countdown timer on TimerHubs.com is HUGE on the screen so you can see it from across the room. That helps a lot when you are sweating about how to spell "rhinoceros" (it has an h, trust me).

3. Track & Field Day (this is the BEST one)

Okay this is what we use the stopwatch for the most. At recess we have unofficial races and I am usually the timer person because I'm pretty good at hitting start and stop fast. Here's how we do it:

1. Open TimerHubs.com on a phone.
2. Set up the start line and the finish line (we use cones, sometimes shoes).
3. Yell "On your marks, get set, GO" and tap start the second you say GO.
4. Tap LAP every time someone crosses the finish line. The lap button is super helpful because you can time like 5 kids in one race.
5. Then read out everyone's time and someone always argues but the stopwatch doesn't lie.

We also use it for shuttle runs, long jumps (we time how long you stay in the air, which is like half a second, but still cool), and even the wall sit contest. Last week Marcus did a wall sit for 4 minutes and 12 seconds and then he couldn't walk and we had to get the nurse. Worth it.

4. Other Stuff We Time (because once you start you can't stop)

• How fast we can clean our room (current record: 3 min 22 sec, but mom says it doesn't count if you shove stuff under the bed).
• How long my brother can hold his breath (35 seconds, he thinks he's a dolphin).
• How long it takes the microwave to make popcorn (we're trying to predict it before the beep).
• How long Mrs. Albright takes to notice we are passing notes (longer than you'd think).

Why TimerHubs.com Is Better Than a Real Stopwatch

Real stopwatches are cool but they cost money and the batteries die and somebody always loses them. TimerHubs.com is just a website. It's free. The numbers are gigantic so you can see them from far away. It works on a phone, a tablet, a Chromebook, or my grandma's old laptop. It has a stopwatch, a countdown timer, a Pomodoro timer (my mom uses that for homework time), and even a world clock if you need to call your cousin in another time zone.

Try It Yourself

Seriously. Grab a friend, grab a phone, open TimerHubs.com, and time something. Anything. You will be surprised how fun a stopwatch can make even boring stuff. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go beat Jordan at multiplication. Again.