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11 Brain Breaks For Your Homeschool

Answers in Genesis

In the course of a school day you may need one, two, or more brain breaks to give the brain rest and keep happy attitudes flowing. Here are 11 ideas for brain breaks for the kids as well as you!

I also encourage the use of fidget toys when they’re beneficial for your children to help them concentrate. What is a fidget toy? There are many to choose from and they can help when your kids need a brain break.

11 Brain Breaks For Your Homeschool

  1. Dancing– A great way to blood flowing, shake out the sillies, and wake up! Sitting at a desk for hours on end is no fun. Chances are that is one of the reasons you decided to home school. A quick search on Pinterest will yield tons of great dance videos.
  1. Exercise– This can be a brisk walk around the block, yoga, jumping jacks, or running in place next to the desk. Like dancing, exercise can get the blood pumping and give tired little brains a shot of much-needed vitality.
  2. Card Games– One of our favorite brain breaks is to play a quick game of Go Fish or Uno, we enjoy a few minutes together as mom and kids instead of teacher student and it puts us all in a good mood.
  3. Board Games– You want simple, cooperative games that are reasonably quick to play so that it is not so hard to get back into the rhythm of your day. While not a traditional board game, Spot It! it is one we really enjoy because it’s fast and fun.
  4. Snacks– Sometimes we take a brain break by preparing a simple snack to enjoy. Not only does it give us a chance to change gears and refresh but also refuel so we can continue without growling bellies and distracted minds. Choose something healthy rather than a sugar laden treat- apples and peanut butter, homemade granola bars, ½ turkey sandwich, or nuts for brain food!
  5. Listening time– Quiet time, with slow music on a lower volume is just the thing to restore and calm the minds of parents and children. Jazz, classical, worship -something that settles instead of riling them up may be what you both need. Tchaikovsky is a great choice!
  6. Coloring– If your child enjoys coloring or drawing provide a new medium that they don’t typically get to use everyday- chalk, oil pastels, watercolor, finger paint (even for older children this can be fun). Don’t make it a structured art lesson but rather free time to create as they please. Even parents can enjoy coloring for relaxation.

  7. Chores– Now of course sending your child to scrub the toilet is not going to be the best way to get them to do more schoolwork willingly. But you can use quick chores to break up the day. Have a race to put away 10 items, spend 5 minutes tidying up the classroom, have them clean the blackboard/dry erase, make baskets into the trashcan with discarded paper. Keep it fun and minimal work and you will find willing helpers. {Read more about ways to get your kids to help with chores.}
  8. Play dough– While your child thinks they are just playing and taking a break from schoolwork they are really building up fine motor muscles and developing creativity. Keep a can and a couple of simple tools on hand to break out when you can tell they need a little something fun to do. {Check out my recipe for Frozen-inspired homemade glitter play dough.}
  1. Videos– I am not saying pop them in front of the TV for a 3 hour marathon, but a funny 5 minute video clip on YouTube may be just the thing to jump you into the second half of your school day.

  2. Breathing exercises– This is especially helpful if you or your child are becoming frustrated and need a cool down break. Have them close their eyes, picture something pleasant like a field or the beach, and breathe slow and deep.

What creative brain breaks do you work into your homeschool days?


Sara
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2 Comments

  1. We take brain beaks by breathing deeply and pretending we’re deflating like a balloon. I’ll have to mix it up with some of the ideas you posted here. Thanks. ☺

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