Even homeschooled children get restless, fidgety, and frustrated with sedentary school work. So how do I keep my children engaged throughout our homeschool day? I incorporate brain breaks into our homeschool schedule. Brain breaks are a fun way to break up the school day. Brain breaks stimulate other areas of the brain, which improves concentration, focus, memory retention, and increases engagement throughout the day. Most brain breaks are 5-10 minutes, but even a 1-minute brain break can be beneficial. In this article, I listed the brain breaks we use in our homeschool day; they are broken up into five categories.
Movement brain breaks focus on exerting energy through movement and increasing blood flow to the brain so your child can stay focused when they return to their learning. Here are some ideas for effective movement brain breaks.
Exercise is a great movement brain break. I use Move Like an Animal Action Cards to direct their exercises during our brain break. They love to move in unique ways and laugh and giggle as they roll around the mat! I like using a Sleepy-Time Value Folding Rest Mat for movement brain breaks because it provides a defined area for the movement and helps keep things from getting out of control and too crazy. When it's nice out, I set it up outside.
Dance movement brain breaks are an exhilarating way to expel some excess energy and get their brain and body pumping. Name a dance for them to show-off, have a dance-off, dance along to a fun kids video, or dance to kids freeze dance videos!
For a change of scenery, we go outside, take a walk around the block, jump rope, jump on the trampoline, or bring the mat outside to exercise. Depending on the amount of time we have, we can go on a bike ride, take the dog on a walk or play fetch, or play a game of catch. Most days getting some fresh air and exercise is just what my kids need to refocus and finish their lessons.
Mindfulness brain breaks help kids relax, calm down, and decrease their energy. This type of activity is helpful if the lesson has been difficult or frustrating. Some lessons can bring out big emotions. These are the mindfulness brain breaks that help my kids deescalate their big emotions.
Having a specified calming space where my kids can go to calm down is helpful. In our calming space, there are plenty of soft items and activities to help them calm down including Stress Balls Assortment and books about emotions. The first thing they do in the calm down area is to choose a Stuffed Cat and label their emotion using the Bear Face from Learning Emotions Magnetic Activity Set. Once they have identified their emotion, they can choose a calming technique, yoga, or breathing exercises to cool-down and work on balancing their big emotions. Yoga helps children to be mindful of their emotions and it is beneficial for the body.
Art is also a way my children balance their energy and relax. I vary the mediums used to encourage creativity and exploration of materials. Currently, they are making DIY Hand Puppets in the art area. They also choose to draw and color during a brain break.
Independent reading is always a brain break choice. Reading a favorite book and moving from the workload to another reality with your character is a good way to decompress and relax! It also builds reading skills, vocabulary, and a love for reading.
Sensory brain breaks stimulate the senses, encourage self-regulation, deescalate energy, and help manage sensory overload. Children enjoy exploring with their hands and sensory brain breaks allow them to explore that avenue while learning. These are some of the ways we incorporate sensory brain breaks into our homeschool day.
Sensory bins are a fun and easy way for your child to explore while using their senses, especially if your child needs extra sensory stimulation. I change out the sensory material in our sensory bin to reflect what we are learning, the season, or what my child prefers at the time. Their current favorite is Play Sand with Sea Life Creatures Assortment.
Playdough also fulfills their sensory needs while building critical small hand and fine motor muscles. I added the Creativity Street® Modeling Dough & Clay Body Parts Accessories to our playdough basket, and now it's a popular choice for their brain break. They create full character personas and storylines with their playdough creations.
Slime is quite an obsession in our house. It has a unique texture, doesn't hold form like playdough, but satisfies sensory and fidget needs. My kids have individual size Fruit Slime containers for their brain breaks. The fruit slime containers are the perfect size for individual play, and they smell delicious! The kids grab a Slime Activity Mat and create, decorate, or play games for the duration of their brain break.
Nature is an important sensory brain break, especially if they have been indoors for long periods. The fresh air and movement are just what the body needs to refresh and get the blood flowing. Go on a short walk, do a scavenger hunt, look for bugs, play I Spy, or simply sit and listen to nature.
Skill-building brain breaks are great for building focus, concentration, and directing energy to a specific task. Children can develop and learn new skills with these brain breaks. The key is to switch subjects. If they were working on language, the brain break should not be language-related. Check out these fun skill-building brain breaks we use throughout our homeschool day.
Playing cards are a quick go-to for a fun game brain break. My kids can easily play a few rounds of Go-Fish, Crazy Eights, or Hearts with my daughter's adorable Dancing Animals Card Games. This is one of the brain breaks I look forward to, so I can join in and have some fun too! Oh, it brings back great memories. They use basic Playing Cards to play games like War and Solitaire. With each card game, they are either learning or building on new skills.
Board games are another fun game brain break, but remember this is just a brain break, not a family game night. I have found that Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon Board Game Set, and Peg Games are perfect for a brain break. For some outdoor games, we play target games and Backyard Games Boredom Buster Kit.
Stickers are at the top of my list for a skill-building brain break. Stickers provide a tactile experience, great for fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, visual scanning, observation skills, and more. My son loves stickers more than any other brain break choice. The Melissa & Doug® Seek & Find Animals Sticker Pad and Match the Animal Shadow Sticker Scene are his current favorites. I also set out sticker rolls and blank paper.
Puzzles are an awesome skill-building brain break. They are challenging, require patience, detailed observations, problem-solving skills, and concentration. Even younger children benefit from puzzles, and they can all learn while completing them. My kids are learning about the continents while working on is Gibby & Libby™ World Map Floor Puzzle.
If you don't have time for a 5-10 minute brain break then these quick 1-minute brain breaks are just what you and your child need! Taking even a 1-minute brain break can make a huge difference. Here are some quick 1-minute brain break ideas we use throughout our homeschool day.
Exercise is a rejuvenating brain break. For a quick 1-minute exercise to refocus their energy, call out exercises like jumping jacks, running in place, or marching in place for them to complete. I utilize our Roylco® Busy Body Gross Motor Exercise Cards and flip one over at random. My kids complete the exercise shown in 1 minute. You can also write some exercises on Rainbow Craft Sticks and pick one.
Playing variations of I Spy is a welcome break from staring at the books or screens. I find something farther away and give hints. We also do finger-plays, clapping songs, and songs with hand motions. Get creative and do something that gets them sitting up straight and moving their arms.
I also keep a fidget basket, on the table full of fun fidget toys, for a quick 1-minute brain break or as needed. Fidget toys keep their hands busy and a great avenue to release some built-up energy while still seated. Some of the fidget toys we have in the basket include Solid Color Fidget Spinners, Stress Balls Assortment, Bendable toys, Fidget Busy Blocks, and brain teasers. My kids use these to occupy their hands during a lesson they need more concentration or that is a little more difficult. I have seen them self-regulate their frustration better with fidget toys readily available.
