Top 10 Reasons You Know You Need a Brain Break

Top 10 reasons you know you need a Brain Break

1. You are fidgeting instead of concentrating. 2. Your neck hurts from all of the nodding off you've been doing. 3. Your teacher just called on you and you don't know the question. 4. You have hit the ripple bumps on the side of the highway while driving. 5. You have read the same sentence over 3 times. 6. You can't remember anything the speaker has just said. 7. Your work production is going way down. 8. You have been standing or sitting in one place for too long. 9. You have rewritten a sentence 4 times. 10. Your class or group has that glassy look in their eyes.

10 reasons Brain Breaks will help you

1. They get you up and moving. 2. Your best thinking usually comes during a break. 3. They engage both sides of your brain by crossing the midline. 4. Your efficiency will rise. 5. Activating your brain helps boost a positive attitude. 6. They relieve stress. 7. Your body and brain tension will go down. 8. New creative ideas happen during breaks. 9. Stepping back will help you to step forward. 10. Breaks help you to enjoy the moment.

INDIVIDUAL

Ear nose switch 1. Stand up 2. Take your right hand and grab your left ear. Keep your right arm close to your body 3. Now take your left hand and touch your nose. 4. Uncross your arms and move your left had to your right ear and your right hand to your nose. Your left arm should now be closest to your body. 5. Switch back and forth as fast as you can.

Elbow to Knee Stretch and Tap 1. Stand up 2. Hold your ears 3. Tap your right elbow to the top of your left knee. Now touch your left elbow to your right knee. Do five repetitions. 4. Repeat but tap the top AND side of your knee on each side. Do 5 repetitions. 5. Make your own tap pattern. (For instance, use a 1-1-2 pattern - 1 tap right elbow, 1 tap left elbow, 2 taps right) 6. Be creative.

Thumb and Index (or pinky) 1. Stand up 2. Put your hands out in front of you and make a fist with each hand. 3. Put your thumb up with your left hand 4. Put your index finger with your right hand. 5. Now switch and put your thumb up on your right hand and your index finger up on your left hand. 6. Switch back and forth as fast as you can.

BLINK 1. Stand Up. 2. Blink your left eye and snap your right hand finger and thumb at the same time. 3. Now blink your right eye and snap your left hand finger and thumb at the same time. 4. Go back and forth as fast as you can

Choir Director

1. Stand up. 2. Put your hands out in front of you about 12 inches apart with your index fingers pointing straight forward. 3. Imaging a large lazy eight between you index fingers. With your right finger trace the outline of the lazy eight. Practice this by making three rotations. 4. Now put both fingers back out at 12 inches apart. You will trace the lazy eight with both fingers at the same time. Start with both fingers going up. This causes you to go in the same direction. Your fingers will cross at the middle of the lazy eight at the same time. 5. Now put both fingers back out at 12 inches apart. Start with your right finger going up and your left finger going down. This will make your fingers go in opposite directions.

PARTNER

Gotcha Partners face each other and extend right hands out palm up. Place left index finger standing it in the palm of your partner. When the leader yells “GOTCHA”, quick as you can, try to capture your partner’s index finger by grabbing it with your left hand and try to escape by withdrawing your left finger before your partner grabs it. When you are successful capturing your neighbor’s finger, celebrate, and then set up again quickly. Repeat. Switch to left palm out and right index finger in the palm. Say GOTCHA. If in a circle, cross the left hand over to the right in front of the person to your right and cross your right hand over the top of the left arm to place your right index finger in the palm of the person on your left. Now say GOTCHA. Switch so that your right hand crosses over on the bottom and the left arm is over the top. Say GOTCHA.

Quick Math Face your partner. Pretend to put your water gun in your holsters. For one-hand addition, on the signal “Draw” each partner shows any number of fingers and thumbs on one hand. The first partner who adds the fingers and thumbs of both partners wins the draw. For two-hand addition, add partner #1 and partner #2 fingers and thumbs together for the sum. For one-hand multiplication, multiply partner #1 times partner #2 for the product. For two-hand multiplication, multiply the sum of Partner#1’s hands times the sum of partner #2’s hands for the product.

Slap Count Students face a partner with hands extended palms up about waist high to form “drums” to slap out a beat. Partner #1 starts by gently slapping his/her right hand into the right hand of partner #2. And then the left hand into the partner #2’s left hand, keeping a steady beat. Then partner #2 slaps the right then left hands of partner #1. Say “1-2-3-4, etc.” Count out loud in rhythm 1-25. Now skip count using the same right- left- right- left slap pattern counting by 3’s, then 6’s, 9’s, etc. (Multiplication tables). Challenge yourself by skip counting any number. Variation: SPELLING: Partner #1 slaps his/her name 2 letters at a time into the palms of partner #2 and partner #2 spells hi/her name 2 letters at a time into the palms of partner #1 using the same slapping pattern as before. Notice how much harder your brain has to work to not think about what your partner is spelling. Variation: Each partner thinks of a spelling word but doesn’t tell his/her partner what it is. Using the same slap pattern, each partner slaps out his/her word. When finished, partner #1 has to try to tell partner #2 his/her word, and vice versa.

Hand Shake #1 1. Stand up and find a partner. Decide who is A and who is B. 2. Shake right hands. Shake left hands. (shake right, shake left) 3. Now do a right hand fist bump, then a left hand fist bump. (A fist bump is equivalent to knuckles) (bump right, bump left) 4. Now do a right hammer tap. Person A will hold their right fist out. Person B will lightly tap the top of A's fist. Now Person A will lightly tap the top of Person B's fist. Now do a left hand hammer tap. (hammer tap right, hammer tap left) 5. Now while crossing your arms, do a high ten. (cross high 10) 6. Now do a double fist bump (opposite hands will be touching). (double fist bump) 7. Last do a regular high ten. (high 10) 8. Repeat this handshake over and over as fast as you can.

Hand Shake #2 1. Stand up and find a partner. Decide who is A and who is B. 2. Tap your right elbow together. Tap your left elbows together. 3. Low five right, low fist bump right 4. Low five left, low fist bump left 5. Bump shoulders right, bump shoulders left 6. Make X in air with right over left, high five and bring arms back to correct side 7. double fist bump 8. repeat as quickly as you can

GROUP

High Fives Equipment: Music (20/5 or a remote:o)

Students move in different directions throughout the area. On signal, they are challenged to run toward a partner, jump, and give a “high five” (slap hands) while moving. Emphasis should be placed on timing so that the “high five” is given at the top of the jump.

*Combinations of changing the level of the high five (i.e., low, side, behind back, etc.)and changing the speed of the locomotor movement can be developed. ***High fives should be given gently. No hard slapping.***

X's and O's

If the leader does this The class will do this Points one finger down with right hand Stay seated and make an X with your arms Points two fingers down with right hand Stay seated and make an O with your arms Points on finger up with right hand Stand up and make an X with your arms Points three fingers up with left hand and You should stand up when the leader's at the same time uses one of the first for right hand is pointing down and sitdown commands with their right. (only introduce when the leader's right hand is pointing up. this after practice of the previous rules) (opposite up/down command) Points three fingers down with left hand You should make an X when the leader's and at the same time uses one of the first right hand is a "two" and make an O when frou commands with their right. (only the leader's right hand is a "one". (opposite introduce this after practice of the previous X/O command) rules) What other variations can you use this with? Think about review or storytelling.