Brain breaks are 3 to 5-minute activities to energize children and help them concentrate on the lesson. These activities break the monotony of learning and will pave students to learn effectively without getting bored. In this blog, we will look into 55 effective brain breaks for kids and students. You will need a max of 5 minutes for each of these activities, but then they are definitely time well spent.
Brain Breaks for Kindergarten Kids
Three to five-year-old kids are bundles of boisterous energy. It is not practically possible to expect kindergarten kids to sit silently and follow the lesson for long. You can use brain breaks to channel the energy into positive pursuits. Let’s take a look at the brain break activities for kindergarten children.
StadiumWave
Have you seen cheer waves in a sports stadium? Yes, you can use the same in your classroom. The students stand wave and sit in this activity. It goes on from one row to another till the students have formed a massive wave. You can make this activity more fun by getting them to chant something as they wave.
Jump, like on a Trampoline
This brain breaks for kids will help burn out the excess energy. Ask the kids to stand and jump as high as they can as if they are jumping on a trampoline.
Stir the Pot
This brain break activity is both energetic and creative. Ask the kids to imagine that they are stirring a huge pot. You can tell them what ingredients to add to the pot as they stir or they can come up with things they want to add to the pot. Children will love this for sure.
Make X’s and O’s
Making X’s and O’s are fun ways to exercise and release muscle cramps. Ask children to make an “X” by lifting their hands over their heads and crossing them at the wrists. At the same time, ask them to cross their legs. Next, get them to make an “O” by clasping both their hands together and curling their arms into their chests.
Rub Hands and Place on Eyes
When you find that the kids are feeling a little tired or cold, do this quick exercise. Ask kids to rub their palms vigorously till they feel warm and place the palms on the eyes.
Pattern Clap
Video Courtesy: Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel
A pattern clap is a great activity to celebrate an occasion. Teach a clap pattern – for example, clap once, clap twice fast, snap fingers, tap feet, and clap once. You can have variations of the clap pattern for different celebrations like a birthday, a job well done, or at the end of class hour.
Frog jump
This is a funny way to liven the class. Have the kids stand in a row and let them go down to a crouched position. Set a finish line and ask them to hop like a frog to the finish line.
Tandem clap
This activity helps build team spirit and get children to enjoy together. Initially say “clap start” and the kids start clapping, suddenly say “Clap stop” and they need to stop clapping. Change the pace of the clap timing, so they stay interested. You can also play and stop music for the tandem clap activity.
Pencil Jumps
This brain break activity helps remove kinks and cramps from the body. Throw a pencil on the floor and ask the child to jump over the pencil for a number of times. You can have one child do at a time or many students jump simultaneously.
Touchdown dance
Have you seen the touchdown dances the sportspersons do when they win a game? Each team has a unique touchdown dance. Similarly, you can create a touchdown dance for your students. Completed a lesson? Finished a test? Celebrate the occasion with a touchdown dance. Get creative with the dance sequences.
Cross Crawl
This exercise is an effective brain break as it works on the corpus callosum, which is a band of nerves that connects the two hemispheres of the brain. Ask the children to stand up and lift the right leg. Ask them to touch the right knee with the left elbow and repeat the same with the other leg.
Tiptoe Walk
This brain breaks can help relax the children and dial down the boisterous energy. Ask the children to walk on their toes around the classroom. Silently or perhaps humming a tune. Once they are relatively calmer, you can start your lesson.
Hand Slap Game
This game is played in twos. The children need to sit or stand facing each other. One child slaps the right hand to the left hand of his/her partner and says the first alphabet. The other child slaps the right hand to the left hand of the first child and says the next alphabet. You can have variations of this game where students say months, days, numbers, or lines of rhyme, one after the other.
Train Dance
Break the monotony of the classroom with a train dance. Arrange kids in a line with each child holding the shoulders of the other in front. Ask them to run around the class with a train’s sound. This activity can amp up the energy levels and help children vent out excess energy.
House, Tree, Rock
This brain break activity requires some space to move. So, clear the chairs and get the students to stand in a circle. Play music or clap hands and ask them to move in a circle. When the music/clap stops, the students need to form groups of three. One child needs to represent a house by lifting the hands above the head to form a triangle. The second child needs to stand with both arms stretched sidewise to represent a tree. The third child represents a rock by squatting on the floor.
Clapping Games
There are many fun clapping games like Say, Say My Playmate, Patty Cake, or Boomerang Chilli Chilli where children need to sing a song and clap in a pattern. You can teach patterns, rhymes, and beats with this activity.
Also Read: 105 General Knowledge Question and Answers For Kids
Favorite Animal
This Brain breaks for students encourages creative thinking. Ask a child to think of his/her favourite animal. He/she needs to either make a sound or act like the animal, and others have to identify the animal.
Brain Breaks for Middle School Kids
The middle school kids are at the age when they still have the innocence and outspokenness of the kindergarten and the seriousness of the teens. It is in this age that children learn and relate to their environment.
They may have more patience to sit in classes compared to KG kids. But then, it is important to have brain breaks once in a while to motivate and energize them.
Let’s take a look at the brain breaks for middle school kids.
Ear-Nose switch
It is a fun game to get the brain cells working. Children need to hold their left ear with their right hand and the nose with their left hand. Repeat with the other hand. The mix up of the hands will lead to hilarious results.
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