Brain breaks are simple techniques where children are given short mental breaks in between strenuous learning tasks. They are often used at school in between class time to avoid boredom and keep children on their feet. Many parents may not realize this, but providing ample brain breaks are crucial for children, especially during these unprecedented times. Brain breaks can either be active, stimulating activities or relaxing activities, depending on what children need.
These brain breaks are designed to be short and pre-planned, ideally 3-5 minutes where children (and parents, too!) can look forward to having small breaks during their online learning sessions. Here at Kiddy123, we have compiled some of the best and easiest brain breaks for you and your child to have fun to and de-stress, at the comfort of your home.
1. Yoga
Yoga is known to be a huge stress reliever for all ages, helping kids relax and practice mindfulness. Join in Arnold the Ant as he tries simple yoga moves that will help your child unwind and relax here.
2. Deep Breathing
Destress together with some easy deep breathing exercises. Deep breathing will help to relax and ease muscles, so you and your child are ready to take on the next task.
Try this: breathe in through the nose while slowly placing your hands on your stomach to feel it expand. Hold your breath in for a few seconds, and slowly breathe out while feeling your stomach contract. Repeat these steps for a few times to achieve relaxation.
Alternatively, use this GIF to practice deep breathing with your child.
3. Colouring
Colouring is a relaxing activity that gets creative juices flowing while having fun. Let your child’s imagination run free by colouring this amazing worksheet and pin them up once they’re done with. You can also give your child a blank piece of paper to draw and colour in their own picture.
Find more interesting colouring worksheets to help your child de-stress on our E-Learning Page.
4. Dancing
Let’s get up and groove! Both parents and children can participate in this brain break together by getting their groove on. Try this Freeze Dance, an action song, with your kids that’ll guarantee to keep them on their toes while having fun or the Gummy Bear song, a brain break staple that’ll surely entertain both children and adults alike.
5. Scavenger Hunt
Prepare a list of different items around the house for your child to find and explore throughout the house. Include items that differ in size, shape, and colour for maximum fun. During each brain break, they can scavenge around the house for a new item on their list. This simple, yet challenging brain break is a sure hit amongst the kids.
6. Playdough
There are tons of different things that can be done with playdough, thus making it a crowd favourite among kids. Challenge your kids to take turns shaping an animal with playdough and try taking guesses on what animal they’ve made. But beware, prepare for many laughs and a good time!
7. Alphabet Game
Choose a category (it can be anything, from movies, food, to animals), and then take turns naming something from that category while going down the alphabet.
For example, if the category is food, a person might say “apples”, and the next person might say “bananas” and so on. It’s a fun and easy game that can be enjoyed across all ages that incorporates categorisation, an important skill that children must learn.
8. Brain Teasers
Brain teasers provide a challenge for kids, yet they’re tons of fun to solve. Choose from whatever subject your child enjoys or pick an area of theirs that needs attention during the brain break.
Finding a hard time picking out brain teasers for your child during their break? Try this general knowledge quiz that’ll provide a fun challenge for your little one.
