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Prepared by: Jessica Masson Guerette, Occupational therapist
November 2013
TIME FOR A BRAIN BREAK!
by the Occupational Therapists of Student Support Services.
When you realize your students have checked out, and you’ve exhausted all other efforts, there is really only one option
left: Take a Break. But not just any break. Take a Brain Break!
Brain breaks allow children the opportunity to mentally rest their brain by
diverting their mind into movements. It allows them to:
• refresh
• recharge
• refocus
• regenerate
• release stress and,
• breathe
Regular Brain Breaks enhance attentiveness, concentration, focus and
accelerate learning by allowing children to release their energy, anxiety and stress. Brain Breaks also increase
circulation, promote physical fitness and coordination. In fact, Brain Breaks are anything that can get your students out
of their seats and energized for a few minutes so that they can continue learning. Brain Breaks are fun, quick,
energizing. They should only be a few minutes long and require little to no materials. Kids love THEM! Let’s not forget
the importance of Brain Breaks for teachers as well! They give teachers a chance to take a step back, wipe the sweat of
their brow, sip their coffee, and prepare themselves to jump back into the chaos…er…class instruction.
The occupational therapists of Student Support Services are pleased to offer a free Brain Break package that you can
easily download, print and use. Just simply get coloured Popsicle sticks and you are ready to go. Activities are classified
into 4 categories, namely energizing, heavy-work, mental and calming exercises. Having your activities color-coded
allows you to pick an exercise that you feel your students absolutely need to return to an appropriate level of alertness.
Or if you have time for two quick exercises, ensure finishing with a calming exercise by picking that color.
Have Fun!!!!
Activity Descriptions
Energizing Exercises
1) Seat Swap: New seat, new desk, new view – just for a little bit though!
2) Elephant Walk: Students bend over with arms dangling toward floor, clasp hands together to form trunk and
walk while swinging trunk from side to side.
3) Kangaroo Jump: Ask students to squat on floor, hands at sides, raise up and jump forward, sinking back into
squatting position as you land.
4) Frog Jump: Students squat on the floor; placing hands on floor in front. Ask them to move both hands forward,
then bring feet up to hands in jumping motion (remain in squatting position).
5) Bear Walk: With hands and feet on floor, students move right arm and leg forward simultaneously, and then
move left arm and leg.
6) Rock it out: Time to jam out to a song – maybe even play some air guitar.
7) Jumping Jacks: A few of these and your blood will definitely be flowing.
8) Jump rope: Who doesn’t love to jump rope – pretend to do this favorite activity standing by your desk.
9) Run in place: This is the only time when you are able to run in class! Enjoy!
10) Pencil Jumps: For a quick movement break in between lessons, have each student place a pencil on the floor;
jump over the pencil a designated number of times.
11) Race in place: When reviewing material, have the students stand up and run in place by their desks. On the
teacher’s signal, student stops running in place, listens to question and writes down the answer on paper.
Heavy Work Exercises
12) Crab Walk Rock!: Students lean back and put hands on floor (supine with buttocks off floor) and then walk
backwards, using hands and feet alternately.
13) Touch Toes: Students stand with hands high above head, bend over and touch toes while keeping their legs as
straight as possible.
14) Chair Push-ups: Students grasp either side of their chair and push up to lift their bottoms from the seat.
15) Chair Pull-downs: Students grasps both side of their chair and pull their bottom down into the seat.
16) Foot Stomps: While grasping sides of their seat with their hands, students quickly raise and lower each leg with
knees bent to “stomp” feet.
17) Leg raises: While seated in their desks with their hands holding each side of their chair, students lift their legs off
the floor with legs straight and hold for a count of 5-10 seconds.
18) Table Pull: While sitting at their desk, have each child pull across and grab the opposite edge of the table. Repeat
about ten “pulls” as they pretend to compress their desks.
19) Elbow Push-ups: While sitting at their desk, have each student place elbows down on the top, lift body up onto
elbows, compressing or pushing the elbow joint into the table.
20) Spin on your bump: Don’t get too dizzy!
21) Hand Rub: Have each student place hands in “prayer” position, fingers interwoven, and alternate palm pressing
and finger pulling.
22) Wall Push-Ups: Stand with feet together, one large step from wall, place hands on wall at shoulder level, then
push away. Pretend you are pushing through the wall!
23) Plank: Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor. Push off the floor, raising up onto
toes and resting on the elbows. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels and contract your
abdominals. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
Mental Exercices
24) Follow the Leader: Ask one student to come at front and do “silent” moves, such as toe walking, side walking,
raising, hands, touching ears, spinning, making figure 8s in the air, etc. while all other students copy the moves
in silence.
25) Writing in the Air: Ask students to write letters, numbers and words in the air using index finger and large arm
movements. Challenge students to do the same with their eyes closed.
26) Shut Eye: A minute of calm music and shutting their eyes – always does the trick!
27) Floor Fairy: A classroom floor can be a very messy place! Take this time to clean it up.
28) Teacher says: Instead of Simon, it’s your teacher!
Calming Exercises
29) Deep Breathing: Breathe in through your nose while counting to 5. Fill your belly with air. Breathe out through
your mouth – try to make your breathe last.
30) Hot hot hot chocolate: Hold an imaginary cup of hot chocolate and have children gently blow it cool. Enjoy
drinking it!
31) Smell a flower – blow a bubble: Cross your arms in an “X” across your chest and smell the imaginary flower in
you left hand then blow out the imaginary bubble in your right hand.
32) Pretend balloons: Take your pretend balloon out of your pretend pocket and blow it up with three to five deep
breaths. Now, let it fly in the air.
33) Blow out some candles: Have each child hold up 3(or 4 or 5) fingers to represent candles. As they pretend to
blow out each candle, they can lower their finger.
34) A tasty soup: Add a selection of vegetables to your pretend soup, taste it…. OW… Too hot, now have everyone
gently blow it cool so they can eat it.
35) Let’s make lemonade: Pretend to make lemonade by squeezing a lemon in your left hand. Squeeze your lemon
hard enough to get all the juice out. Slowly relax your hand. Repeat with your right hand.
36) Imagine you are a piece of spaghetti: Stand and make yourself as hard and tense as possible. When you get put
into a pot of hot water to cook – you are slowly coming limping and floppy.
37) Pesky Fly: Pretend a pesky fly has landed on your nose. Try to get it off by scrunching your face – no hands
though!
38) The furry cat: Imagine you are a furry cat stretching up toward the ceiling.
39) Self-hug feels good: Put your arms around yourself. Give yourself a great and hard big squeeze. Hold up to 15
seconds. Tell yourself how great and wonderful you are at the same time. Tell yourself things are going to be
OK. Don't let anyone or anything bring you down.
HAVE FUN!!!!
LABELS TO PRINT
!
PENCIL JUMPS
SELF-HUG FEELS
GOOD
BEAR WALK
BLOW OUT SOME
CANDLES
PRETEND
BALLOONS
DEEP BREATHING
KANGAROO
JUMPS
A TASTY SOUP
TEACHER SAYS …
JUMPING JACKS RUN IN PLACE
HAND RUB
PLANK … YE!
SPIN ON YOUR
BUMP
SMELL A FLOWER
BLOW A BUBBLE
WRITING IN THE
AIR
LEG RAISES
THE FURRY CAT
PUSH-UPS
CHAIR PUSHUPS
LET’S MAKE
LEMONADE…
IMAGINE YOU ARE A
PIECE OF SPAGHETTI
CRAB WALK
ROCK!
CHAIR PULLS
DOWN
JUMP ROPE
ELEPHANT WALK
FROG JUMPS
ROCK IT OUT
SHUT EYE!
FOLLOW THE
LEADER!
PESKY FLY
ELBOW PUSH-UPS
TABLE PULL
FLOOR FAIRY
HOT HOT HOT CHOCOLATE
TOUCH TOES
FOOT STOMPS
SEAT SWAP
WALL PUSH-UPS
RACE IN PLACE
!