21 Easy & Best Brain Breaks Activities For Kids

The struggle to keep up the concentration for long hours over the same activity is common, and the Brain Breaks come as the knight in shining armour. 

Brain breaks reset their energy levels, regain focus and improve the grasping capacity in kids. Read (insert link of Brain Breaks, concepts, science and benefits blog) to know more about brain breaks for kids.

It is essential to activate the brain breaks before the kids are burned-out or over-exhausted.

The brain breaks activities target to refresh the brain-part dedicated to attention and critical thinking called the Hippocampus.

We have compiled a list of different brain break ideas for kids based on various forms such as physical, sensory, skill-enhancing, calming/relaxing, games.

1. Physical Brain Breaks

Physical Brain Breaks are those that recharge the kids by physically activating them. These reset the brain faster and eliminate lethargy due to long hours of sitting.

Dancing - Who doesn't love to shake a leg and groove to some great dance numbers? Easiest and most loved by the kids. 

Memory trail - An action trail, where the first child will do an action, the second one will add a new one to the previous act. The third child will add another to the first two, and so on. The length of the action sequence increases with each child.

Exercises - A pumping round of cardio set is never out of trend. 

Passing the High-five - Each student has to get up and give a Hi-five to the student sitting next, instead of a ball or anything. It is easy-breezy, and mere getting up from the chair for a few seconds re-focuses the brain. 

Call to act - Dedicate numbers to various activities. Shout the number, and the kids have to do the action assigned to the number. Random number callout will keep them up and running with an element of surprise.

2. Sensory Brain Breaks

Sensory brain breaks are the ones that stimulate the 5 senses of the human body. Sensory brain breaks for kids promote sensory growth and strong instincts.

Thunder rain - Tap your fingers from 1 then 2 then 3, upto 5 fingers on a desk or table. The sound that emanates is that of a rainstorm. The movement from 5 fingers to 1 finger feels the storm passing away, raising the sensory awareness.

Play Dough - Development of the creative edge with colours and texture of the playdough is a given fact. The scented doughs also work for the senses of both smell and touch. 

Indoor Treasure hunt - During each break, the kids should explore objects from a list and collect them in a bin. Make a list per the classroom/home convenience. Give them the list of things at the start of the day to keep them excited. 

Finger painting - Painting like absolute amateurs with fingers and hands is therapeutic. The paint textures and abstract colouring release all the stress build-up and enhance vision senses. 

Rhyming world - Reading books, stories, poems with rhymes or making their own rhymes unearths their creativity and innovation intuition.

3.Calming/Relaxing brain breaks

Intense activity sessions or sporting practises need a little more than just any brain break. That is where Calming and relaxing brain breaks come in handy.

A simple head down - The easiest way to instantly relax an over-worked mind is to close your eyes and put your heads down. It can be done in a classroom, at home, or even on a playground. 

Deep Breathing - Just 10-15 deep breaths, and there you go! Even the most palpable stress gets drained as soon as you do this basic routine for a brain break.

Music Meditation - The use of meditational music or chants for meditation calms down the anxiety and restlessness in a class or at home. 

4. Skill-enhancing Brain Breaks

These Brain breaks enhance the skill while shifting the gear from the over-amplified work or activity. Skill-developing brain breaks for kids are good for cognitive and motor skill development.

Puzzles - Puzzles are interesting, challenging and help in creating curiosity in the little budding minds. Kids can put a few pieces together and then continue the remaining puzzle in the next brain-break.

Building blocks - Lego, construction blocks, Mechanix, these game blocks are an efficient way to develop fine-motor skill and aid creative minds. These might seem easy, but even adults are awe-struck by the imagination of kids.

Story threads - Make groups of kids in a class or singly at home. Each kid will add a few lines to the story shared by the previous kid. It gives a chance to draw out the imagination and conscious thoughts from their minds.

Crosswords/activity - Activities such as sudoku, crosswords, and worksheets are a productive way to enhance problem-solving and leadership skills.

Name-place-animal-thing - Learning, fun, speed this game/quiz serves as a comprehensive brain break. Pick a random alphabet, and the kids have to write a name, a place, an animal and a thing starting with that alphabet. 

5. Game Brain breaks

Brain breaks can be done in the form of games also. Games brain breaks switch the mind to another movement without altering the original energy level.

Board games - A quick Chinese checker game can keep up the inquisitorial and excitement while diverting the mind for a short period. Board games are a fresh pause for the long involved sessions of learning or studying.

Guess Who? - The game that dates back and has never stepped down on humour. Each player has a word written on the forehead. Each player has to guess it with the clues given by other players.

Memory Box - Collect a few things in a box or tray and show them to the kids. Give them a minute or two to remember all the things. Remove the box, and they have to write the things they remember.

These are a few of the easy brain break ideas that can be incorporated into the kids' routine. The brain breaks have to be activated and innovated as per the need, age and nature of kids.

Most of these easy to do brain breaks will set the brain functions back to normal. The brain breaks can be timed conveniently, and we are sure the anticipation of more brain breaks will get the kids ready for their next round of study.