Short & easy activities for brain breaks

As all educational institutions are closed due to the Covid-19 lockdown, kids are at home all day, for a long time as of now.

Being home all day, with no-school, deprives them of their social interaction, engaging in active learning and meaningful play.

In addition to that, the demands of online sessions & expectations of parents & teachers puts an extra load of stress to a child's mind. 

Being a pediatric occupational therapist, I come across many parents who have this common complaint (especially during this lockdown period), that; their child is not so attentive in online classes, not interested to listen to the teacher or to follow instructions, taking frequent breaks in between the sessions, or showing unusual tantrums.

Why ?

Kids are not used to sitting in front of computers for extended periods of time or in one spot! 

They need to move, to interact with other children, to have a hands-on experience for an all round effective learning.

You might think your kiddo is acting out, but really they just need a break.

So, the need for introducing brain-breaks into a child's schedule is much more necessary now than ever before...

What are Brain breaks? 

Brain breaks are short mental breaks (4-5min.) designed to help students focus better. They are planned to get the students moving and allow blood & oxygen to flow to the brain. These breaks give students a small reset to relax and enhance their energy.

Science behind brain breaks

Our brain uses neurotransmitters to send messages across pathways. When doing the same task for a period of time, those transmitters begin to deplete. Research shows that short breaks allow the replenishment of the neurotransmitters & regions of the brain that are blocked by stress or high-intensity work to revitalize.

What are the benefits of Brain Breaks?

• ☺Improves focus and attention
• ☺Increases motivation in the classroom or online class
• ☺Helps the brain to become calm & organized
• ☺Makes the brain prepared to receive new information 
• ☺Enhances active participation in learning
• ☺Academic performance improves.

• 
  
• ACTIVITIES TO BE USED AS BRAIN BREAKS
• Brain breaks can be alerting or calming, both kinds help to make the brain organized and ready to receive new information. It is best to practice one alerting and one calming brain break activity during 1 short break.
• Or, depending on your child's need, you can choose an activity.
• Example:-
• ⏩ If your child is bored, or inattentive, or disinterested due to long period of focus, you can give him more alerting brain breaks and also more frequent breaks.
• ⏩ If your child is feeling overwhelmed, or showing tantrums, its best to give some calming activities 

• Here is a list of some alerting and calming activities and how to use them:-
• 
  
• ACTIVITIES FOR BRAIN BREAKS

ALERTING MOVEMENTS: 

➤Animal walks like -

👉Bear walk
👉Crab walk
👉Elephant walk 

👉Frog walks

➤Jogging at a place.

➤Jumping activities like - 

👉Jump 10 times at a spot (Give any numbers to count & jump)

👉 Do 10 jumping jacks

👉Do 10 starfish jumps

👉Climb up a sofa/couch and jump to the floor 10 times

➤ Running activities like-

👉Run and fetch an object(kept at a distance/another room)

👉Run and touch an object(at a distance from him/her)

➤ Action imitation activities like-

👉A short dance workout (5 min.) that involves fast movements

👉Do action while listening to short rhymes

➤ Crossing the midline activities

Excellent activities for brain breaks since they promote the use of both sides of the brain.

Again, these can be both alerting as well as relaxing.

Alerting midline crossing activities:-

👉Fast cross crawl(touch your right knee to left elbow & vice versa)- 10 counts for each side

👉10 Starfish jumps crossing arms as you squat and crossing arms overhead as you jump up.

👉Touch your left ankle with your right hand & vice versa fast

CALMING MOVEMENTS: 

➤Stretching whole body by:-

👉Standing erect, stand on your toes, raise both hands up palms facing the sky and then slowly hands down. It feels really good to stretch out your body.

 ➤Yoga poses like-

👉Tree pose

👉Mountain pose

👉Butterfly pose

👉Dog pose

👉Giraffe pose

➤Deep breathing exercises

👉Balloon breathing

👉Cupcake breathing

👉Buzzing bee

👉5 finger breathing

Find out some easy breathing exercises for kids in this article👇

https://abhipsaot.blogspot.com/2021/06/7-easy-breathing-exercises-for-kids.html

➤Maintaining a position for 30-50 counts.

👉Bear position(hands and feet touching the ground, head down lift up your trunk, hips, and knees.

👉Half-kneeling position

👉Plank position

👉Standing on 1 leg

➤Get a drink of water

➤ Crossing the midline activities

Relaxing midline crossing activities:-

👉Slow cross crawl(touch your right knee to left elbow & vice versa)- 10 counts for each side

👉Touch your left ankle with your right hand & vice versa- slowly

👉Hold your right ear with your left hand & left ear with your right hand(criss-cross) and do 10 squats to stands slowly

➤Listening to soft music

👉Listening to soft music for a short while can be very relaxing & an awesome brain break activity.

➤ Give Yourself a Hug and Squeeze your Limbs- 

👉Wrap your arms around your chest and have each hand grasp the opposite arm just below the shoulder. Count to 10 while hugging yourself!

• Here is a list of some easy self-relaxation strategies that children can use themselves for calming down or as a brain break. 👇 (must check)
• https://abhipsaot.blogspot.com/2021/06/15-simple-and-easy-self-relaxation.html

Check out this video on-

Short and easy brain break activities -1 👇

https://youtu.be/D_H1ybwLRjQ

How to use these brain break activities in games

➼ Roll a Dice & perform the action –

Pick 6 movement actions. Write down a movement action for each number on a white/blackboard. Roll the dice and whichever number comes up, do that movement!

👉You can choose any movements from the alerting or calming activities.

👉It's best to write a few calming & a few alerting activities.

➼ Simon says

This simple game is loved by children and you can use it to give the child some alerting or calming activities or a mix of both for a short while.

Example:-

 👉Simon says jump 5 times(alerting)

 👉Simon says close your eyes & count 1-10(calming)

You can also change commands faster so that your kid has to give more attention. 

➼ Spell your name

Write down an activity for each letter A-Z.

 👉Include some of both alerting and calming activities.

 👉Ask your child to spell out his/her name and perform the action with each letter.

➼ Follow the leader

Similar to "Simon says", except for, you need to act out any movements that your child has to copy. 

Take turns.

 👉Include both alerting & calming movements or according to your child's need at that time to pay more attention, or to calm down.

 👉You can also change the movements quickly if you want your child to be more attentive during that time.

 👉You can also include a sequence of clap & tap movements( that your kid has to copy) which are excellent alerting brain break activities that enhance the use of both hands simultaneously and requires your child to stay focused on what you are doing.

Example:- 2 times clap and 2 times tap on your knees/table.

When to give brain breaks ?

Brain breaks can be used during transitions and especially after lunch/recess.

Why would a kiddo need a brain break after lunch/recess?

👉Lunch and recess can be very stimulating to a kid because it is not structured. Some kids need a brain break to signal to their brain that it is now time to learn.

👉Brain Breaks can be scheduled throughout the day. But they can also be used spontaneously when your kiddo has that glazed-over look when they should be focusing!

Check out when and how to use brain breaks in this video on- Short & easy brain breaks - 2👇

https://youtu.be/UwqwKnHuPaU

When your kids are listening to their teacher, they can be easily distracted. Focusing can be more difficult in an online class if you are tired of sitting, or see something interesting, or hear an interesting sound.

BUT when given the right strategies, kids can increase their focus and not miss out on learning opportunities!

Start including some brain break activities into your child's daily schedule & your child will be able to focus much better with an improvement in academic performance as well. Try out!

Enjoy Reading!

Happy parenting to all my readers.

About the writer :-

The writer’s name is Abhipsa Parida. She is an occupational therapist specialised in pediatrics and has been handling kids with special needs since 5 years. She is quite experienced and skillful in observation, assessment and planning intervention for kids with special needs. She uses evidence based practice and is very creative and updated in her approach while handling kids with special needs. She has her own clinic in Bhubaneswar and has handled many kids of different age groups with varying needs.

If you have any queries, you can mail them at abhipsaot21@gmail.