18 Blogs Explain Brain Breaks and Why they are Important

boredAs an adult, you’ve likely experienced a time when you’ve been in a training session or a meeting and felt like you were at a breaking point and couldn’t focus any longer. These information overloads don’t happen all the time, but when they do occur you know that you’re in desperate need of a break. The same thing happens to kids, but on a daily basis.  Kids sit through several hours of instruction every day, and it’s not unusual for them to ‘space out’ throughout the day, taking a mini-break without even meaning to.  In these 18 blog entries you’ll find out about what brain breaks are, why they are important and how you can implement them with your kids.

What are Brain Breaks?

Brain breaks are anything that can get your kids out of their seats and energized for a few minutes so that they can continue learning.  When you start teaching your kids about brain breaks, it needs to be understood that a brain break should only be about three minutes long.  This ensures that you don’t lose a ton of time away from the task at hand, but that you are able to take a mental breather and then come back fresher than you were before.  For more information on what a brain break is, read through these six blog articles.

  • I Need a Break… a Brain Break! This teacher explains when and why she uses brain breaks and gives an example of one that works in her classroom.
  • Brain Breaks II Find a clear explanation of what brain breaks are and why this teacher uses them.
  • Give the Kids a Brain-Break! During a difficult lesson this teacher uses brain breaks so the kids can refocus and continue to learn.
  • New: Brain Breaks for the Classroom This teacher explains how she uses brain breaks and how she came up with a way for her students to remember the breaks.
  • Activity Breaks in the Classroom Watch this nine-minute video that explains what brain breaks are and how to get your students to get in and out of a brain break quickly.
  • Brain Breaks Read through this teacher’s explanation of why she does brain breaks and how often she does them.

Importance of Brain Breaks

When kids get tired or bored, they tend to check out.  Once kids begin to check out they are no longer learning, and they mentally are removed from the situation despite being physically present.  It’s important to get their blood flowing and to reconnect those kids that have started day dreaming instead of listening to the lesson.  These six blog posts can explain more about the importance of brain breaks for kids and adults.

  • K Brain Breaks This kindergarten teacher explains the importance of brain breaks for her young students.
  • Fidgets, Brain Breaks, and Therapy Balls… Oh My! Everyone needs to fidget from time to time, and once they do they can refocus on the task at hand.
  • Teacher Tricks “Gimme a Break” Brain Break Jar This fourth grade teacher talks about how important brain breaks are to get kids to wake up and start listening again.
  • Brain Breaks It’s important to give kids a chance to get up and move around every so often, that way they can get their wiggles out and focus on what the teacher is saying.
  • Simon Says: Save Yourself This post has an informative article detailing why brain breaks are needed and how and when you should do them.
  • Brain Breaks Find out why, when and how to use brain breaks in this blog post.

Examples of Brain Breaks

Once you understand what a brain break is and why it’s so important, you can start compiling different brain break ideas to implement. You can make up your own brain breaks as well, but remember that the break should only last about three minutes and not require any supplies.  Check out these six blog entries to get some brain break ideas, then get started using them today.
