Brain Breaks for Kids

Are you looking for fresh brain break ideas to break up your school day?

These calming and energizing activities help to boost attention and promote self-regulation in preschool and elementary-aged children.

Yoga Sutra 2.46 can be translated as:

“We need a balance of both effort and surrender in life.”

Our lives seem to be on a fast track.

Children’s academic schedules are jam packed, with little down time. They might be sitting still for a math test, engaging in challenging group work, or struggling with a new concept—but then they are called out for not being able to focus, pay attention, or sit still.

In recent years, there has been a push for teaching children to slow down and to learn to live in the present moment. Educators, parents, and yoga teachers have recognized the importance of teaching children how to use their breath to help self-regulate and ease their worries. They also need to energize their bodies, release pent-up energy, or get rid of built-up stress.

These brain breaks promote the importance of both cultivating this quiet calm, as well as practicing energetic movement. Hopefully, this “effort-surrender” strategy can become a part of your transition tamer or brain break toolkit as one more way to create a healthy, balanced lifestyle in this hectic world.

This classroom yoga resource is for schoolteachers, kids yoga teachers, parents, caregivers, and health practitioners looking for fun, simple ways to add transition tamers or brain breaks to your school curriculum in just a few minutes.

To spark your imagination, the brain breaks are shared in two categories, calming and energizing activities, depending on the needs of the children at that time. These brain-boosting activities are intended to take one to five minutes, but they are meant to be flexible to suit your needs. Use the ideas as a springboard and feel free to extend the activities.