Tuesday Teaching Tips - Brain Breaks

I admit that I don't have a lot of experience in the working world aside from teaching, but from tv shows and movies working adults (outside of the teaching world) seem to get "coffee breaks".  In the Japanese work culture they often start the work day with exercise together.  These kinds of breaks increase productivity and can build camaraderie.  For our little ones we use Brain Breaks!

As you know it's hard to keep little ones focused on a single task for extended periods of time.  Developmentally they're just not quite there yet.  (Hey . . . sometimes I'm not quite there yet!)  That's why it's good to break the day up and utilize Brain Breaks to help them get those ants out of their pants and give them a chance to re-engage.  

One kind of Brain Break that my kids loved was when I gave them a chance to dance and sing.  If you've got the ability to project from your computer this is something you might like.  Do you remember how I had mentioned in a previous post how YouTube can be a great resource?  Well it's a great resource for Brain Breaks too!  If you search for "Just Dance Kids" there are tons of Just Dance Kids videos where the kids can sing and dance to fun songs with the video!  After a few times they start to memorize the songs and dance moves.  They absolutely love it!  (Some might be shy, but they tend to get a good laugh from watching the others and usually join in eventually.)

One of the videos that my kids loved was the "Get the Sillies Out" song.  Lots of wiggling and shaking and laughing going on here.

I'd love to hear about some of the Brain Breaks you use in your classroom!  Feel free to add them in the comments below.

Now go get those sillies out!