Time for a Brain Break!

Have you ever been in the middle of a well thought out lesson that is going just as perfect as you imagined it and as you glance out 10 minutes into it you get the "I'm totally NOT paying attention to you" glazed over look? Isn't that the most awful thing to see? Especially when you are just moving and grooving right along!

Sometimes we just want to keep going, but is that really the best thing for our students? We all know the answer is no. So what is a teacher to do in those moments where he/she needs to get his/her students back in the moment?

A brain break of course!

I found a set of brain breaks by Third Grade Thoughts. They look like the perfect way to stop and get that oxygen flowing back to the brain. They are super easy to make.

All you need are:

1. brain break printables (found here)

2. popsicle sticks

3. hot glue gun 

Of course I started off by printing the individual brain breaks out, cutting, laminating, and cutting again. Once that process was finished, I glued each break to the tip of a popsicle stick. 64 sticks later....

Brain breaks have many other uses as well.  Here are a list of ways you can use them in the classroom:

• Before, during and after instruction time and work time
• Before, during and after an assessment
• Transitions
• After recess to calm down
• In the morning to energize
• Group team-building
• Refocusing for a student or group of students
• A chance to include humor and fun stuff any time of day with no additional materials! Yay for quick, easy and fun!!

I'm linking up with Made it Monday! Head on over to check out other creations for the classroom!