Winding Down with a Candle Clock

Candles bring closeness and magic to bedtime reading.  Don't wait for the power to go out to use this candle clock to illuminate your family's bedtime reading.  Turn off the lights, slow down, and let the natural rhythm of the night make the bedtime hour quieter and more intimate.  When the candle shows that an hour has passed, it's time for bed.

Use a tall, thin pillar candle that is the same diameter from the top to the bottom for your clock.

• Burn off the tapered tip of the candle.

• Measure the candle. Light the candle and burn it for exactly one hour. Measure the candle again. Subtract the second measurement from the first measurement to find the length of candle that burns each hour.
• With a ruler and a nail to make grooves in the wax, mark the candle at hour long intervals.
• Use liquid wax markers and go over your nail markings by gently squeezing the liquid wax tube to make a ring around the candle.
  
• After the wax has dried, light the candle and pick up a good book to read by candle light for an hour or two.