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infant sensory "sensory stimulation" "visual development" sight "black and white" "bold shapes" contrast "high contrast" "formative months" vision relax "rel...

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Welcome to Hey Bear Sensory! A world of fun characters and colour, dancing to great music that the whole family will enjoy together! On our channel you will find a broad selection of content, each one is built from scratch and animated by Wayne, the music is curated and selected by us; you can find titles to the tracks in the video descriptions.

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Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.

If you work at a desk or spend a lot of time commuting, there's no getting around the fact that you're on your seat more than you're on your feet. You're already aware of the health dangers repeated by medical experts about the lack of movement yet there never seems to be enough hours in the day. That's where chair yoga poses can help.

Chair yoga is exactly what it sounds like-yoga poses modified for a seated position. Although they originated as support for anyone who has limited mobility for any reason, anyone can practice yoga in a chair to stretch stiff muscles and fascia, experience relief from aches and pains, regain proper posture, help improve blood flow, and draw awareness to the breath in order to regain a sense of calm.

Almost anything you can do on your mat can be done in a chair. The following chair yoga poses can help you be creative in being active even when you're sitting down. Practice them individually in between meetings or as a series.

What Is Chair Yoga?

Chair yoga originated as a practice that made yoga poses available to anyone experiencing limited mobility. However, anyone who spends long periods of time in a seated position can practice chair yoga poses to help reduce pain from sitting.

Chair yoga provides the same benefits as traditional yoga, such as building strength, flexibility, and balance, and helping reduce stress and depression. Because it is a gentle and therapeutic variation of yoga, chair yoga for seniors is often a recommended form of exercise, as chair yoga puts less pressure on joints. People in wheelchairs or those with physical disabilities may also benefit from the added support chair yoga offers.

Tips for Getting Started With Chair Yoga

Not every chair will provide the support you need for chair yoga poses. Here's what to keep in mind:

Chair yoga poses require a stable, sturdy seat. If you are at home, a kitchen chair or almost any armless chair that isn't too cushy will work. Although some companies sell yoga chairs that are marketed specifically for chair yoga, it's not necessary to buy a specialized chair.

Find a chair that allows you to sit with your feet on the floor with your shins and thighs at a 90-degree angle. Placing blocks under your feet may help.

Some chair yoga poses are wheelchair accessible. Be sure to lock the wheels to keep them from moving during your practice.

13 Chair Yoga Poses You Can Do Anywhere

Most chair yoga poses require you to sit forward on the seat-away from the back of the chair-so that you are able to move more freely. But the chair back can also act as a prop to give you more support and leverage, especially in twisting postures. As in any yoga class, you may also want to keep blocks or a strap (or belt) nearby when practicing chair yoga poses to support you in finding a version that works for you.

1. Upward Salute Pose (Urdhva Hastasana)

Upward Salute is a great way to stretch your arms and shoulders while lengthening your spine.

Sit with your back a few inches from the back of the chair. Lengthen your spine, reaching the crown of your head up and gently releasing your tailbone toward the seat. Lift your chin parallel to the floor.

Place your feet flat on the floor with your big toes touching and a little space between your heels. (If you experience lower back pain, practice with your feet hip-distance apart. Place your feet on blocks if they don't reach the floor.) Root down with your big toe mounds, your heels, and the outside edges of your feet.

Inhale, draw your shoulders back, soften your front ribs, and raise your arms overhead with your hands shoulder-distance apart and palms facing each other. If your shoulders are tight, take your arms wider than your shoulders.

Reach your fingers toward the ceiling and keep your gaze straight ahead. If you prefer, you can touch your palms together and bring your gaze to your thumbs.

Keep your arms strong. Stay here for several breaths. Release your arms.

2. Cat Pose (Marjaryasana)

As in the more familiar version of Cat Pose practiced from hands and knees, you want to simultaneously round your back as you draw your chin toward your chest. This helps improve flexibility in the spine and stretches the shoulders.

Sit on the chair with your feet hip-width apart.

Rest your hands on your knees.

On an exhalation, round your spine and lower your chin toward your chest.

Take several relaxed breaths here. On an exhalation, slowly roll your head up and return to the original position.

3. Cow Pose (Bitilasana)

You might recognize Cow Pose from the back-to-back sequence of Cat Pose and Cow Pose that is often cued on all fours in a yoga class. This seated version is still a backbend in which you lift your chest and your gaze. Similar to Cat Pose, it can help you improve flexibility in the spine.

Sit on the chair with your feet and knees hip-width apart. Let your hands rest on your thighs or knees.

Inhale and arch your back. Lengthen along the back of your neck and your lower back to create a long, even curve.

Lift your chin and sternum, broaden your collarbones, and allow your shoulders to fall back and away from your ears.

Take several breaths. Slowly lower your chin and return to a neutral spine.

4. Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

You'll experience stretching and strengthening of the chest, upper back, and shoulders in this seated version of Camel Pose.

Sit on the chair with your feet hip-width apart.

Inhale and arch your upper back, allowing your shoulder blades to touch the back of your chair. (It's fine if your shoulders do not touch the back of the chair; simply focus on arching your back and lifting your gaze without straining.)

Lift your chin and sternum, broaden your collarbones, and allow your shoulders to fall back and away from your ears.

If it's comfortable, reach your arms back to grasp the legs of the chair. Rotate your arms externally so that the inside of your elbows face forward.

On your next inhalation, lift your chest, allowing your rib cage to expand and creating a long, even curve through your mid and upper back. You can press your feet into the floor to engage your legs and core.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, release your hands, tuck your chin, and come back to your original seated position.

5. Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)

In this seated version of Happy Baby, you can keep your spine straight or allow your back and shoulders to round forward as you relax your neck.

Sit toward the front edge of the chair with your feet on the floor, a little wider than hip-width apart.

Reach the crown of your head up and draw your tailbone down to find length in your back.

As you exhale, fold forward at your hips and bring your belly between your thighs. You may choose to widen your legs to create more space for your torso.

Inhale and reach down between your legs and grasp your outer shins, ankles, or feet.

Gently pull your torso down between your thighs, lowering your body toward the floor.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, let go of your grip and engage your core muscles as you lift your head, neck, shoulders, and torso to return to your original seated position.

You can more easily control the intensity of the stretch in your quads in the chair version of King Arthur's Pose. (Photo: Andrew Clark)

6. King Arthur's Pose

In King Arthur's Pose, you can alter the stretch in your quadriceps by changing the position of your ankle. Bring your ankle closer to your hip for a more intense stretch, or farther away for a milder stretch.

Sit in a chair with your sit bones in the middle of the seat. Shift your weight to the right side of the seat and place your feet flat on the floor with your knees hip-width apart.

Keep your right thigh connected to the chair seat as you bend your right knee, lift your foot off the floor, and point your toes toward the back of the chair.

Reach down with your right hand and grasp your ankle. Gently lift it toward your body until you feel a strong stretch in your quadricep and the front of your shin. (If you can't reach your ankle, loop a strap or towel around your foot.)

Take several breaths. Lower your foot and come back to your original seated position. Repeat on the opposite side.

7. Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Tree Pose is intended as a stretch for the hips, a strengthening of the hamstrings, as well as a balancing pose. It delivers all of the above in the seated variation.

Sit toward the front edge of the chair. Inhale deeply, lifting your chest, and exhale as you draw your shoulder blades down your back. Look straight ahead at a steady gazing spot.

Extend your left leg straight out in front of you. Flex your foot or point your toes toward the floor.

Open your right leg out to the side, keeping your knee bent and your foot or toes on the floor.

Place your hands in anjali mudra, or prayer position, at your heart or stretch your arms overhead.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, plant your right thigh back onto the seat, and place both feet firmly on the floor. Come back to your original seated position. Repeat the pose on the other side.

8. Extended Triangle Pose (Utthita Trikonasana)

Extended Triangle Pose stretches the thighs, hips, lower back, and torso, which makes it a great stretch for muscles that are stiff from prolonged sitting. Listen to your body and turn your gaze anywhere that feels most comfortable, whether straight ahead, at your lifted arm, or down at your leg.

Sit so that your body is on the left side of the chair and your left thigh clears the seat.

Extend your left leg straight out to the side. Firm your thigh and straighten your leg as much as possible.

Inhale and raise your arms straight out from your shoulders and parallel to the floor. Keep your shoulder blades wide and your palms down.

Exhale and lean your torso to the left, bending from your hip joint. Reach your left arm out and down toward your extended leg, resting your left hand on your shin or thigh. Reach your right arm toward the ceiling.

Keep your head in a neutral position or turn to look either at your right hand or down at the floor.

Take several breaths. Inhale and come back to sitting. Shift your body to the right side of your chair and repeat the posture on the other side.

9. Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)

Taking your feet farther away from you in Bound Angle Pose creates a less-intense stretch if keeping your feet closer to the chair feels too much. Don't force the stretch.

Sit toward the front edge of the chair so that your buttocks are supported but your knees clear the seat.

Open your legs wide, so that your knees point away from each other.

Sit tall, pressing your shoulder blades against your upper back to lift through your sternum. Reach the crown of your head toward the ceiling.

Keep your knees wide as you bring your feet together. Open your feet as if you were opening the pages of a book, keeping the outer edges of your feet together.

Place your hands on your thighs and gently press your thighs away from each other.

Take several breaths. Slowly release and come back to your original seated position.

10. High Lunge

This seated High Lunge stretches your thigh muscles and strengthens your hips, knees and ankles.

Sit on your chair facing the left side of the room so that your thighs are fully supported. Shift toward the front of the chair so that your right thigh clears the seat.

Keeping both hips facing forward, extend your right leg straight back. Plant the ball of your foot on the floor. Engage your right thigh by pushing it up toward the ceiling to straighten your leg as much as possible. Make sure your left knee is stacked on top of your right ankle.

Inhale and reach your arms toward the ceiling, keeping your shoulders wide and your arms aligned with your ears.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, release your arms and bring your right leg forward.

Shift in the seat to face the right side of the room and repeat the posture on the other side.

11. Extended Side Angle Pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana)

Extended Side Angle Pose stretches your extended leg while opening your shoulders, chest, and hips. If it's not comfortable, your bottom hand doesn't need to be on the floor. Use a block or another prop you have at home to bring the floor to your hand instead. You'll still benefit from a side stretch.

Sit facing the left side of your chair so that your thighs are fully supported on the seat. Shift yourself to the right, near the front side of the chair, so that your right thigh clears the seat.

Extend your right leg back. Open your hips toward the front of the chair. Straighten your right leg and place the bottom of your right foot on the floor with your toes facing forward.

Lean your torso toward your left knee, hinging at your hips to bring your left arm toward the floor. Place your left fingertips on the ground or on a block, so your arm and shin are parallel.

Reach your right arm toward the ceiling. Extend it alongside your right ear, palm facing the floor, or bend your right elbow and reach back to grasp the back of the chair.

Rotate your torso to turn your chest toward your top arm. Turn your head to look toward the ceiling or keep your gaze forward if more comfortable.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, press yourself up with your left hand and bring your right leg in to return to your seated position.

Turn on the chair to face the right side of the room and repeat the posture on the other side.

12. Half Lord of the Fishes (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Half Lord of the Fishes stretches your outer thighs and hips while lengthening your spine. Don't use force here. Instead, twist until you feel a stretch and pause for several breaths. Sit facing the side of your chair so that you are fully supported on the seat.

Cross your right leg over your left leg.

Inhale as you lengthen your spine and lift both arms toward the ceiling.

Exhale and twist to the right as you bring your hands down to grasp the back of the chair.

Turn your head to the right, looking past your right shoulder. Make sure you don't strain your neck.

Take several breaths. To release the pose, inhale and reach your arms up and then exhale and unwind your body. Place both feet on the floor.

Turn to the left side of your chair and repeat the posture on that side.

13. Marichyasana III

In seated Marichyasana III, the twisting motion allows for a stretch in your shoulders, hips, and lower back.

Sit with your spine supported by the back of the chair. Lengthen your spine and gently release your tailbone toward the seat.

Place your feet on the floor hip-width apart.

Lift your right knee and draw it toward your chest. Pace your right foot on the seat of the chair as close to your right sitting bone as possible.

Inhale and lengthen your spine. Exhale and twist to the right. Grasp your right knee with your left hand or wrap your left elbow around your right knee.

Drape your right arm over the back of the chair and either grasp the chair back or clasp your hands together.

Take several breaths. Lengthen on each inhalation and gently twist a bit more with each exhalation.

To release the pose, lower your arms, unwind your body, and place your right foot back on the floor. Repeat on the other side.

This article has been updated. Originally published July 3, 2022.
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Try these chair yoga poses as you're sitting at your desk to stretch and strengthen your muscles and feel good throughout your day.

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For a deeper dive into the research cited in this video, see the following:

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This is one of my favorite ways to manage Brain Breaks during the school day. Not only does it add a degree of mystery your students will love, but it also encourages good behavior as they are working for their Bonus Brain Break all day long.

Before the school day begins, choose as many Brain Breaks as you think you will need throughout the day. Put them on your white board in a place where they are easily seen, but not easily reached. Make sure to place them face-down so your students cannot see which Brain Breaks you have selected. Number each one and then choose one more to be the Bonus Brain Break. This should be one that you know your students love - one of their favorites. Put it face-down on the board too, and make it look special.

When you need a brain break, either go in order, starting with number 1, or for an extra bit of randomness, let a student select a number and do that one. By the end of the day, you should have all of your Brain Breaks done except the bonus one.

This is the one they need to earn. You have left a few minutes at the end of the day to do this last Brain Break. If your students have had a good day, they have earned their Bonus Brain Break and you can tell them exactly how awesome they were. "Wow, you were amazing today! You were quiet during work times. I heard some amazing discussions during literature circles, and Mrs. Kelso told me that you were great in music today. You have certainly earned today's Bonus Brain Break!" Alternatively, if you are working on a specific behavior, you can set that up at the start of the day. "Today we are going to work on walking quietly and orderly through the halls. If I see good line behavior, we will earn our Bonus Brain Break today." You might also want to review exactly what that behavior entails so everyone is clear.

Now, what if your students did not have a good day? They were dreadful and there is no way you are going to reward them with a Brain Break. In this case, you can use the few minutes you would have spent doing the Brain Break to discuss what went wrong. Why didn't we get our Bonus Brain Break and what can we do differently tomorrow? Leave that Bonus Brain Break on the board so that your students have another chance to earn it the next day.

How do you manage your Brain Breaks? Please share with a comment.

And if you would like to try the Brain Breaks featured in this post with your students, you can find them here.

Happy Teaching!

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This is one of my favorite ways to manage Brain Breaks during the school day. Not only does it add a degree of mystery your students will love, but it also encourages good behavior as they are working for their Bonus Brain Break all day long.

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Brain Breaks for Middle School- OT Toolbox

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Brain Breaks for Middle School- OT Toolbox

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Middle school brain breaks are an important part of the day that is often missed. In the middle school setting, we have kids that are moving from a primary grade setting into more responsibilities when it comes to curriculum. The bigger expectations for middle school students can lead to difficulties with organization, challenges with schedule and social and emotional difficulties. These are just some of the areas middle school occupational therapy addresses. One other tool in our toolbelt is the brain break. And this blog post we're talking about brain breaks for middle school. You'll find some brain breaks ideas for middle school students as well as strategies to support students' self-regulation in the middle school environment.

These brain breaks for high school can be of use, too.

What are middle school brain breaks?

First, let's discuss the definition of brain breaks. Brain breaks are a quick movement breaks, or active breaks for the brain and the body so that the user can pay attention for longer periods of time when we are participating in a task for an extended period of time. Brain break activity can be an easy to get back on track when middle schoolers become distracted by the many different things in the environment. They are a support for excess energy in pre-teens.

A brain break is a quick movement break or change from the repetition and an opportunity to recharge.

Middle school brain breaks support critical thinking skills, impact distractibility, and are a tool for transition time during this stage of education.

Brain breaks are important for middle school students because these students ages 11 through 14 are still kids who are having a lot of changes emotionally physically cognitively as well as being required to complete larger assignments and follow a more rigid schedule.

The middle school grade levels with effective brain breaks interwoven into the classroom support these changes.

All of this plus the development that happens during the middle school ages can lead to challenges with paying attention in the classroom and learning as well as completing assignments when they need to be done.

Brain breaks for middle school can be a huge support when it comes to emotional development, physical development, self-regulation and executive functioning skill s.

We know that executive functioning is developing in this age range however, there are a lot of distractions and there's just a lot going on in the middle school students daily life. Having a regimen of brain break scheduled throughout the school day in the middle school setting is an asset for the students.

Benefits of brain breaks for middle school students

For middle school students, there are so many benefits to participating in brain breaks during the day.

Focus and Attention- Brain breaks can support the middle school student in focus and attention during the classroom learning.

Stress- Adding brain break tasks in the middle of the classroom day can support the student so that they are less stressed.

Mental health- Brain breaks are especially important for mental health. This is especially true for the middle school aged student during the middle school ages mental health is becoming more and more of an issue for our students.

There are a lot of expectations being held for our students, including classroom expectations, extracurricular activities, and busy schedules. The brain break offers an opportunity to support mental health by reducing stress and anxiety.

Mood- It's also a tool for improving mood and supporting the student in relaxation strategies. Impacting the social emotional and mental health components support the development of self-awareness skills that our middle school students need more than ever.

Creativity- Brain breaks can improve creativity for the middle school student as well. When the student has a chance to move or get a little bit of activity during the day that can foster creative thought which can support writing, creative projects, and other tasks in the middle school curriculum.

Physical health- Another benefit of brain breaks for the middle school student is overall physical health. Students are receiving more and more screen time throughout their day.

Especially for the middle school student we have of variety in the schedule where students move throughout the building to different classrooms. While moving throughout the building, offers a natural brain break, it also leads us to several classes throughout the day that incorporate screens and technology in the curriculum. All of that screen time adds up, leading to more static time and more time spent staring at a screen, where previously there may have been more workbook more writing activities and more multi sensory tasks for the middle school student.

Physical activity- In addition, there may be less movement time throughout the day than a student is used to in the primary school, because where there may have been a gym class or recess every day for primary students, the middle school student doesn't have that recess time. So they go from one classroom to another where they're sitting most of the day. A short break with a movement activity or variations from the routine can become motivation that impacts frustration and improves work time.

Academic achievement- Brain breaks in the middle school, setting are an opportunity for academic achievement as well. We know that brain breaks improve students academic performance as a tool in learning. For the middle school student, this can be a benefit that allows the student to retain information longer and focus on learning, especially when it's completed prior to important information in the classroom such as lectures.

All of these are reasons why brain breaks support the middle school student.

Types of brain breaks for middle school students

There are many different types of brain breaks, which can be incorporated into a middle school students day. These include physical activities, mental activities, and relaxation breathing strategies.

Standing to complete activities in the classroom

Dance party

Mental exercises

Jumping jacks

Multisensory learning opportunities

This or That brain breaks- Students can raise their right hand for one option and their left hand for another option as a way to incorporate movement into a quick classroom break. Then, get kids moving further by asking them to raise their right or left foot, etc.

Relaxation strategies

Chewing gum if it is appropriate for the classroom participants or individuals

Freeze dance

Yoga, or specific yoga poses

The Macarena dance

Deep, breathing exercises,

Sign language

Heavy work activities, or opportunities to add calming and organizing proprioceptive input through the muscles and joints

Physical break from learning incorporated with just chatting in the classroom as a whole

Movement songs like these Brain Break videos on YouTube.

Brain teasers

Doodling on a piece of paper

Math problems incorporated into pencil brain breaks (like on our Writing Prompts with Pencil Brain Breaks packet)

Classic games like Simon Says, tag, dodge ball, catch, etc.

Journaling- Use these middle school journal prompts for a quiet brain break.

How to incorporate brain breaks into the middle school classroom

For middle school teachers it can be a challenge to incorporate brain breaks because there is a limited time in the classroom to get the information out that the student needs to learn.

This is especially true for students moving from classroom to classroom throughout the day in order to follow a schedule.

They might move into a new classroom and be expected to move through the curriculum pretty quickly for the science program or the math curriculum. There's only a limited amount of time to get through the material. Because of the time limitation most middle school teachers experience, incorporating brain breaks into the middle school classroom can be a challenge.

However, it is possible to integrate brain breaks into a middle school curriculum.

Middle school teachers can incorporate brain breaks into their classroom routines in various ways:

Roll call- Ask students to check in to the classroom roll call with a movement task. This could include things like moving materials to a certain location in the classroom.

Moving materials around the room- Students can obtain needed materials from a certain area of the room. They can incorporate bending and reaching to placed materials into certain places in the room, like cubbies or cupboards. Students can get books from a certain location in the room and then carry them to their desks to complete tasks.

Kinesthetic learning- Students can participate in movement-based learning, like passing a object or a ball as they go through studies and lessons.

Stand to read- Teachers can ask students to stand to read off parts of their assignments.

Use the backpack- There is a thing called a sensory backpack with sensory diet supports integrated into the backpack. However, you can gain all the benefits of heavy work input by simply using a backpack throughout the school day. Students can also move materials throughout the building in their backpacks by carrying the needed materials from their lockers to different classrooms, adding heavy weight weight input through the backpack.

Yoga- Another idea is using yoga in the classroom as a quick break for the whole class. One way that is a great tool for social emotional regulation, as well as stress and anxiety that sometimes happens for middle school.

Integrate deep breathing into the classroom- Students is incorporating deep breathing as a lesson for each student. You can print off some deep breathing cards or use sensory station posters and encourage students to participate along with their peers. But then also use those deep breathing strategies on their own.

Joint compressions- Another way to incorporate brain breaks is to offer heavy joint input through the hands and arms. Students can be taught that they can do chair push-ups, or they can provide joint pressure through their hands in a way that other students might not notice. This is a great self-regulation strategy, especially for students that tend to become stressed or need to focus but they are distracted by thoughts or other things happening in the classroom.

Middle School Mental Health Room

Another strategy for addressing the mental health awareness, self regulation, and overall wellbeing of the middle school student is to create a mental health room.

The mental health room in the middle school setting is an opportunity for a safe space and a tool for self-regulation, metal health, and well-being.

For middle school students especially it can be hard to talk to others about what's happening with their mental and emotional health. A safe place like a counselor's office, or a specified relaxation place where the student can go during the day can support the mental and emotional health of middle school students.

A visit to the middle school mental health room can be incorporated into a student schedule during a study hall session or another time when the student can make a quick break to visit the relaxation area.

In a mental health room, middle school students can use relaxation techniques, sensory fidgets, get some reading materials, or participate in deep breathing strategies.

When a mental health room is available for the general population, it's just part of the day. Making these strategies more mainstream for the entire school is such a positive thing for middle school students and it's really needed more than ever before.

Heavy work for middle school

Finally, one other tool to incorporate heavy work in the middle school setting during the student's natural schedule, making brain breaks functional.

Many middle schools offer elective classes, like wood shop, a form of home economics, and required classes such as art, gym, or a STEM/STEAM class. These classes may offer more variety in movement and heavy work opportunities. Also, the middle school time is a place to transition to a high school setting where this they are able to select electives based on their interest and professional goals.

For the middle school student, heavy work and movement breaks can be incorporated into shop classes or industrial arts classes or even the home economics or foundations settings. All of these classes up offer an opportunity for movement throughout the curriculum.

The student is lifting materials, moving items throughout the room, incorporating heavy work input through their body as they participate in these activities. All of these are actually brain breaks that can be integrated into the classroom setting and offered throughout the day. This is just one more opportunity for heavy work, input and movement incorporated into the middle school setting.

Printables like these free heavy work cards can be used in this setting.

A final note on brain breaks for middle school

Middle school brain breaks are such an asset to every students curriculum. Integrating the movement break within the typical classroom schedule should be considered.

For more resources, try grabbing our printable brain brake exercise cards as a heavy work input that can be incorporated into either life skills, activities, or depending on the interests of the student themed versions of brain breaks.

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook walks you through sensory processing information, each step of creating a meaningful and motivating sensory diet, that is guided by the individual's personal interests and preferences.

The Sensory Lifestyle Handbook is not just about creating a sensory diet to meet sensory processing needs. This handbook is your key to creating an active and thriving lifestyle based on a deep understanding of sensory processing.

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Quick and Easy Middle School Brain Breaks - The OT Toolbox

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Quick and easy middle school brain breaks will help keep your middle schoolers' brains fresh, support emotional regulation, and mental health.

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In the high school setting, we are seeing more of a need for brain breaks for high school kids than ever before. In this article we are covering brain break activities for high school as a way to incorporate movement within the high school setting. You'll also want to refer to our resource on middle school brain breaks for more tools on brain-break ideas for teens and older kids.

Activity breaks in the high school setting support so many areas of social emotional development, self-regulation, cognitive learning, stress, relaxation strategies, and overall well-being of the high school student. Having accessible and readily available tools to support these varying needs is essential to learning and participation in the high school environment.

Brain breaks for high school

Brain breaks are a way to incorporate movement into every day tasks. This can include heavy work that offers calming and organizing sensory input. It can also include a break within a repetitive task, such as learning in the classroom.

Brain breaks might also incorporate a shift in cognitive thought processes, which may include puzzles or a mental brain break where the student is offered a chance to regroup, recharge, and refocus on a different topic. This is a tool for organization, focus, and sustained learning.

For high school-aged students in particular, we are seeing more challenges with mental and emotional health needs as well as increased screen time. These needs occur during a pivotal time in executive functioning skill development.

Shifts from technology and screen use to movement-based learning is an asset to the high school student. In this way, brain breaks for high school are not only a benefit. It's actually essential to cognitive learning and cognitive development for highschoolers.

How to incorporate brain breaks into the high school setting

Brain breaks for high school are kind of a challenge because typically, the term "brain breaks" leads to thoughts of yoga or a movement break during learning.

These types of breaks are easy for primary school students or younger learners because you can incorporate silly wiggle songs or kinesthetic learning tasks where the young learner is moving in the classroom.

However, for highschoolers, it's more of a challenge because of the age of the students, educational expectations, and the high school curriculum.

However, this is not to say that brain breaks in high school are not impossible.

Brain breaks in the high school setting actually can become a learning strategy that supports the learner even after high school, in college, and beyond.

For example, adults have likely included various strategies for brain breaks that are used throughout the day.

Think about a time when you are doing a task repetitively. Sometimes we stretch or we roll our shoulders. Maybe we crack our gum, or we change positions in our chair. Perhaps you click the top of your pen or bounce your knee. All of these are brain breaks that are natural to us. We do these things throughout our day without even thinking about it.

This is the concept of interoception and the awareness of our sensory, movement, and subconscious needs. It becomes natural that the body has an awareness of the need for that shift in movement in order to complete the task at hand.

Most of us do these movement breaks naturally and incorporate them into the task at hand. However, we may notice that when additional stressors are added, things become out of control. This might happen when a mental or emotional stressor is involved. Maybe we are overly focused on a work task or we are under a strict deadline and we keep getting distracted by calls or emails. The compound impact of added cognitive, social, or emotional stressors on top of our normal tasks can make us feel like we might "break".

This is when we see anxiety. We see the heart rate rise. We see examples of stress. All of these signs are typical of stress responses. At this this point, as a functioning adult, we might know that we need to take a break. We need to go outside for a walk. We need to take some deep breaths get a drink of water.

Stressors are a natural part of life and responding to them is part of functioning.

But for our students in high school, this can be an opportunity during a pivotal time of their development that we can help them to gain these strategies so that they can incorporate them naturally into day-to-day tasks.

Brain Break Strategies for High School

Multisensory learning- One tool in our toolbox is multi-sensory learning as a teaching approach in the high school. Multi-sensory learning offers input through various sensory systems: the visual sensory system, auditory sensory system, kinesthetic sensory system, tactile sensory system, etc.

Incorporating these strategies not only enhances learning and retention, but it also offers an opportunity for improved engagement.

Role-playing- One way to add meaningful brain breaks for the entire class is through role-playing. This strategy is possible in the high school setting by engaging groups of students into scenes including learning experiences. A typical high school curriculum includes fast-paced learning, many different topics, and sometimes for just a single semester. In these different courses, it's possible to enhance learning through role-play.

Role-play education is also a way to add movement to the lessons. This gives the students an opportunity to get up out of their chair, move around and actually practice what they're learning. At the same time that they are acting out information, they're also incorporating movement in their day.

The Use of Multimedia- Another tool to incorporate brain breaks in the high school setting is through multimedia. When we refer to multimedia in high school, it can include various tools for multi-sensory learning that includes various technology.

This might include things like creating videos, interactive activities, STEM or STEAM lessons, and different sensory activities that are also age-appropriate for the high school student.

In most cases this multimedia offers a chance for movement by the students obtaining materials that are needed for the activity. Re-arranging desks and chairs for group work, or standing at a desk are strategies to add movement and offer a change from their typical seated position.

Hands-on learning- Another strategy for brain breaks in the high school setting is through hands-on activities. This goes back to the multi-media example, but to take this a step further, brain breaks for high schoolers can include using various sensory activities like experiments which incorporate the kinesthetic sense. Hands-on learning also makes the lessons more engaging and interactive.

When we incorporate that interactive component, you're adding movement and switching up how the brain is working because you're asking them to incorporate various senses into the learning situation.

Deep breathing lessons- One strategy that is extremely effective for stress, reduction, relaxation, and overall overall well-being and mental health is by using deep breathing exercises.

More than ever in the high school setting, students should be taught deep breathing strategies because this is a tool that they can carry with them throughout their life.

When they transition after high school into the college setting, students will be presented with more stressful situations and more responsibilities.

Deep breathing strategies can be such an asset. Because of the life skill application, teaching teens about brain breaks and the tools they have in their toolbox is an important part in transition services for post-high school, as well.

Highschool is the perfect time to discuss rhythm of breathing, relaxation breathing, breath control, interoception, the limbic system and how these things impact daily functioning.

Brain Break Games in high school

One way to really hone in on a lesson and engage the students in a motivating and meaningful activity is through the use of games. But there's another benefit to playing games as well.

Using games as a brain break offers an opportunity for movement in an age-appropriate activity. You can incorporate things like Jeopardy or Cahoots with movements where the student needs to get up and move to a SMART board and touch an area on the board in order to enter their answer.

Students can work together with groups or individually, but just offering that chance to move in the classroom is an asset to the student as well as incorporating learning for the whole group of classmates.

All of these ideas are perfect for older students and offer the opportunity for a mental break, physical movement (increasing blood flow), and supports creativity in work and learning.

Other ideas for brain breaks for high school include:

Elective classes

Games

Multi-media learning opportunities

Puzzles

Exercise like yoga poses, jumping jacks, or push-ups, walking outside

Use of a high school outdoor space such as a plaza, nature walk, or outdoor learning space

Crosswords

Identify and talk about natural brain breaks that we all do naturally: twiddling our hair, bouncing a knee, doodling with a pencil, fidgeting, etc.

Card games or card tricks

Scheduled downtime

Use of a therapy dog in the school (available for any student)

A mental health room

Meditation exercises

Physical brain breaks like using a standing desk, taking a stretch break, or fun games

Brain break Youtube videos on deep breathing or meditation

Educate high school students on the benefits of brain breaks. This can support the learner as they move out of high school and onto either higher learning or the stressors of the real world.

Deep breathing exercises

Deep breathing posters hung in classrooms

Hands-on learning

Role-playing learning opportunities

High School Brain Breaks...elective classes?

In the high school setting we see course elective opportunities based on their interests and future goals after high school. High school students are encouraged to try different electives as an opportunity to experience different things that they might want to try post-high school.

These electives are very vast and can include things like woodworking, jewelry making, pottery, aerobics, or even business and finance, among many other options. Best of all, elective classes have short breaks incorporated right into the class. Hands-on tasks require short periods of education or lecture followed by active learning and activity.

All of these movement-based learning opportunities are an option for students to not only advance in their post-high school goals, but also offer an opportunity to move during their school day.

This is a meaningful and motivated break from sitting and taking notes or working at a tablet or laptop in their school day, particularly when the student has selected elective offerings that align with their personal interests and goals.

To make the most of alerting opportunities in battling fatigue through physical activities, consider schedules that prime the student for learning. Consider scheduling electives mixed within the day of the main core classes. This becomes a natural brain break for high school students and a way to promote spikes in mood and motivation naturally throughout the high school day.

Active High School Schedule, Active Brain!

Taking that a step further, high school students are required to participate in physical education classes. However, physical education in high school is not the same as it used to be with the same gym class offered to every student.

High school students now have an opportunity to try different types of physical education, and these are all ways to offer different movements and brain breaks throughout the school day. Physical education brain breaks might include classes like swimming, dance, yoga, Pilates, aerobic fitness, weight training, weightlifting training, kickboxing, and other activities.

All of these classes can support activity movement that prepares the teen for the next task of learning as they move through their daily schedule.

A final note on brain breaks for high school

Hopefully these ideas have given you some ideas some ways to incorporate movement into the high school setting! Brain breaks in high school are a tool for self regulation, executive functioning development, focus, attention, relaxation, and overall mental health awareness.

The ideas listed here support teenagers and all the stressors of school, home, work, social situations, and more. Perhaps most importantly, the classroom management strategies used by teens in the high school setting can be carried over to adulthood!

For more information check out, our resource on middle school brain breaks for brain breaks in the classroom.

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Brain Breaks for High School - The OT Toolbox

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Brain breaks for high school students are a powerful tool to equip teenage students in battling anxiety, stress, and overwhelm.

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Animals Yawning Is So Soothing To Watch | The Dodo

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Animals Yawning Is So Soothing To Watch | Here's the most relaxing thing you'll see all day 💚💚💚 Partial credit: Jace Green via JukinVideo (https://www.jukinmedia.com/) & ViralHog: (https://www.facebook.com/viralhog/) Introducing Dodo swag! https://thedo.do/2N3zRSb Love Animals?

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FREE printable for Conscious Discipline Safe Breathing

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FREE printable for Conscious Discipline Safe Breathing

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A 60-second meditation tool to help clear your mind

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A 60-second meditation tool to help clear your mind

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Fall Dance Freeze - Brain Break Workout Game

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Cozy Autumn Cafe Ambience ASMR & Relaxing Guitar Music , Fall Nature Sound Autumn for Sleep, Work

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You spend Halloween at Hogwarts 🎃 Exploring the Castle ◈ Thuderstorm Ambience / Rainy Night [3Hours]

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Autumn Forest - River Sounds - Relaxing Nature Video - White Water - HD - 1080p

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AUTUMN LAKE HOUSE AMBIENCE: Crackling Fire Sounds, Autumn Nature Sounds, Owls, Crunching Leaves

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Fall Coffee Shop Bookstore Ambience with Relaxing Jazz Music & Rain Sounds

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Autumn Rainy Day Cozy Coffee Shop 4K ☕ Smooth Jazz Music to Relax/Study/Work to

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Top 9 Breathing Exercise Videos from Seek Freaks

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Top 9 Breathing Exercise Videos from Seek Freaks

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Mindful Moments Cards (English and Spanish)

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Mindful Moments Cards (English and Spanish)

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Choose one of the videos below.

The kitchen sequence focuses on building energy, awakening and warmth. This sequence is great for when teens have just awaken, are feeling sluggish or just need a burst of warmth.

The bedroom sequence can be done any time for restfulness and peacefulness. It would be a great one to do before bed for a better night's sleep.

The study/den sequence can be done on a chair, before a test, or anywhere teens would like to draw their focus back to the present moment but have no place to stand or lay down.

The hallway sequence is for when teens are feeling stagnant, in transition (a bit scattered without purpose), or simply needing some balance.

Mindful Movement for Any Room: Kitchen Mindful Movement for Any Room: Bedroom Mindful Movement for Any Room: Study/Den Mindful Movement for Any Room: Hallway

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Take a Chill Break | 2 Minute & 5 Minute Meditation & Mindfulness

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Take a chill break or quick meditation moment! Try all of our 2-10 minute mindfulness exercises tounwind and rejuvenate your mind for the day.

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Guess the Sound Game | 20 Sounds to Guess

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Brain Break Activities - YouTube

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Since I have been teaching for several years, I have learned that my students need brain breaks every so often. As adults, we sometimes need to take a day off to give our brain a break. Therefore, it is no coincidence that children may need a brain break from their studies too. High school is one of the hardest times in a person’s life. You most likely can think back and remember what it was like to be in high school. The repetition of lectures, notetaking, presentations, and exams was daunting.

From my personal experience, the high school years were a terrible experience, and I could not wait to get out. So, I quickly decided that I did not want my students to feel the same way. I want them to enjoy their high school years by having periods of time to take breaks and have some fun, which is what led me to writing this article. The goal is for other teachers to read this article and decide to implement brain breaks for high school students into their curriculum to provide students around the world with a better high school experience than what we once had. I believe that we can improve the mental health and well-being of future generations by incorporating this small gesture into our lesson plans.

After reading this article, you will officially know:

What a brain break is→

The benefits of brain breaks→

And several fun brain break activities for high school students→

11 Brain Break Activities for High School

In my classes over the years, I have tried out many different brain break activities to see what works best.

Certain activities worked better for some of my classes, while others worked better for other classes. It is all about your students and their preferences, which is why my advice is to try out different ones.

1. Card Tricks→
2. Activity Pages→
3. Dance and Music Party→
4. Would You Rather Game→
5. Quiet Ball Activity→
6. The Atom Game→
7. Order Game→
8. Four Corners→
9. Relay Race→
10. Rhythm Activity→
11. Back Writing Activity→

Below, I will tell you about 11 different brain break activities that I recommend starting out with…

1. Card Tricks

Take out some cards and do magic tricks for your students. You may even have a student who knows how to do the magic tricks and can show other students. Look up various card tricks to keep your high school students entertained.

2. Activity Pages

No matter the age, everyone enjoys doing crossword puzzles, wordsearches, and sudoku. A lot of students will enjoy coloring as well. You can hand out activity pages to keep your students quiet and engaged.

3. Dance and Music Party

Turn on some music and let your students sing and show off their dance moves. This will give them a minute to mingle and take a break from the classroom plans.

4. Would You Rather Game

“Would you rather” is a popular game these days. It is fun for students to come up with “would you rather” scenarios and see what their friends say. It will get everyone thinking and having a good time.

5. Quiet Ball Activity

Grab a ball and have your students toss it around to each other quietly. The objective is for everyone to remain quiet. If someone talks, throws the ball too hard, or drops it, they will be out of the game. The last person standing wins.

6. The Atom Game

This is a fun game for all ages. Simply tell your students to move around the room a specific way. Examples of this is to tell your students to move around the room like an animal, a famous person, or a detective. While they are doing this, you shout a number with the word atom. For example, if you yell out “Atom Five,” your students will have to form groups of five quickly. Anyone left out of the groups is out of the game.

7. Order Game

This is a quick, fun game. All you need to do is tell your students to form a line by a certain order. You can do order for their first names, last names, birthdays, and height.

8. Four Corners

A classroom usually has four corners. Therefore, you should ask four questions that have four possible answers. Students are supposed to pick a corner of the room to go to depending on their answer.

9. Relay Race

If you cannot safely do this in your classroom, my suggestion is to take your students outside. Encourage them to race relay-style and pick up specific objects. For example, you may ask them to retrieve a flower, a leaf, a stick, a rock, and grass. The first team to gather everything wins.

10. Rhythm Activity

This is almost like Simon Says except with rhythm. Have a student start a rhythm and tell the rest of the class to repeat it. Each student should add on to the rhythm. If anyone misses a beat, they are out of the game.

11. Back Writing Activity

Tell your students to pair up. Give only one student in each pair a secret word that the other does not know. The goal is for the student to write that word on their partner’s back, either on pen and paper or with their finger in an imaginary way. The student must guess what the other person wrote.

One of my favorite brain break activities to do with my students is the figure eight game. The reason for this is because it is a lot of fun and will get your students up and moving. Kids have so much energy, so why not put that toward something like this activity? Check out a classroom participating in the figure eight game by watching David Sladkey’s YouTube video below.

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It is important to remember that sometimes your students may just be having an “off” day where they are not fully present. It is quite normal as adults have these days as well. When this happens, my advice is to make use of your camera for recording lectures. These gadgets are perfect because your students can go back and listen to your lecture if they were unable to be there or had a hard time paying attention. For more information on these cameras, head over to my other article by clicking here.

What is a brain break?

Brain breaks are just as they sound, a break for your brain. Every individual can use a break from time to time, especially your students who are bombarded with tests, homework, and projects. If you notice that your students have done so well with studying and turning in their homework, why not give them a brain break every so often? It really can make a difference as breaks typically help students refocus and gain motivation.

With students having lots of energy, scheduling breaks will help them get some of their wiggles out and have some fun. In 2016, it was proven by a psychologist, Karrie Godwin, and her researchers that brain breaks not only give students a moment of downtime but also “increase their productivity and provide them with opportunities to develop creativity and social skills.” According to the study that was conducted by this team, brain breaks also “decrease stress, boost brain function, and are an essential part of learning.” You can read more about the results of the research.

You can give your students a brain break by letting them do an activity of their choosing for a certain amount of time, or you can plan a learning activity that will still get them thinking and using different parts of their brain. I recommend doing both often to switch things up. Brain breaks are wonderful because they motivate other parts of the brain while giving the other parts time to rest and refocus. By routinely incorporating these activities into your classes, you will give your students the opportunity to improve their mood, memory, and attention. It is also important to note that you do not always have to play a game or do an activity to give your students a brain break. Stretching, moving around the room, or singing a simple song will also give them a moment to re-energize their brains.

If you are looking for an activity to do during a brain break, check out Mind Oddities’ YouTube video. In the video, you will be shown 12 illusions that will test your brain. These are fun and intriguing activities you can try with your students that will give them a break as well as exercise their brain.

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During a brain break, using objects in the classroom to get your students’ minds off the books and lectures is a great idea. I recommend doing this by using your interactive whiteboard, which is a fun tool that can do so much. If you would like to learn more about interactive whiteboards and see which one would be best for your classroom, read my other article by clicking here.

Benefits of brain breaks

Research shows the positivity of brain breaks in the classroom. In fact, the positive benefits impact students of all ages. Some of the changes that you may see after enforcing break breaks in your classes include great behavior, better productivity, enhanced creative thinking and problem-solving skills, and more comprehension.

Even high school students enjoy @GoNoodle for brain breaks! 🤪 @fortheluvoflang @YOUR_WCHS pic.twitter.com/YAvbXFyAtf

— Christa Rinehold (@crinehold) September 16, 2019

I see brain breaks as a win-win for both students and teachers. Students need these types of breaks continuously throughout the school year, which will maximize their performance and efficiency at school. In return, the teachers will be able to have a better teaching experience as the students will be able to listen, understand, and retain the information better.

This will also lead to higher test scores, meaning the teacher did their job well. Stress and frustration will be decreased for teachers and students, while attention and productivity will be increased. Isn’t it amazing that something so little can make a difference for so many people? For that reason, you should think about including brain breaks for high school students into your educational plan for the year.

To give your students a brain break, consider doing the acting game. This consists of going around the room and letting your students take turns at doing a one sentence story. For a demonstration showing you how this works, watch Liana Rivas’ YouTube video.

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Another activity to try while giving your students a brain break is the blink game. To see how to do this, take a look at David Sladkey’s YouTube video. He believes that this will help refresh and refocus your students’ attention.

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I recently purchased a document camera because these devices are great for students with all types of learning styles. I have also learned that they are handy when it comes to brain breaks. You can place papers or objects underneath them and have your students guess what is being shown. If you would like to learn more about these devices, you can do so in this article.

Useful Resources:

Lesson planning

How to get kids to (REALLY) listen: 7 steps for success

How to be a confident teacher

Conclusion

I hope this article helped you understand why brain breaks for high school students are necessary for the health and happiness of generations to come. Every single person needs the opportunity to be able to catch their breath and live in the moment for a few seconds. Therefore, your students may come back and thank you in the future for giving them the time to be a kid when it felt like the world was on their shoulders. These breaks may seem simple and small, but I guarantee that they will help in big ways.

Simona Johnes

Simona Johnes is the visionary being the creation of Science and Literacy. Johnes worked to create a curriculum to help high school students build their literacy skills as they engage in learning and exploring scientific theories.

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Key For Good Mental Health: 11 Brain Breaks for High School

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How to help high school students maintain good mental health by giving brain breaks? You will learn what these are and the benefit.

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Printable Coloring Pages for Older Students

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Printable Coloring Pages for Older Students

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Coloring is not just an activity that kids enjoy; it's also something adults can do with plenty of surprising health benefits. Stress relief, improved sleep, and enhanced brain function are a handful of the therapeutic reasons why you should start coloring as soon as possible.

These days, it's not necessary to go out and buy an actual coloring book. Instead, you can simply use these free coloring websites to color online or download various coloring pages.

Download and Color Online With These Sites:

While you can use an adult coloring book app to color, these websites feature online tools so that you can color the image online. Additionally, you can download or print the coloring pages for free.

Paint the World Super Coloring boasts more than 80,000 colorings, dot to dots, tutorials, and silhouettes. This coloring page, which is specifically for adults, gives you an extensive number of categories to choose from.

A few of the categories include Sugar Skulls, Mandalas, Cars, Anime & Manga, and even advanced color by numbers. If you want to upgrade your creative skills, you can get plenty of paint-by-number apps on Android.

An interesting category to check out is the famous fine art and artwork coloring pages from popular artists like Andy Warhol, Vincent van Gogh, and Salvador Dali. Once you've picked what you want to color, you can print it, save it as a PDF, or color it online.

Coloring Online allows you to select a coloring page from a range of beautiful drawings for adults. The selection includes different designs of mandalas, animals, and nature. Additionally, there are a couple of coloring pages that kids can enjoy too.

The coloring pages under the Animals category are incredibly intricate and beautiful, so feel free to browse through and find one you love. Once your masterpiece is complete, save it or share it on social media for your friends and family to see.

Hello Kids is a great website to find kids' activities like coloring pages and crafts, but did you know that you as an adult can use it to color too? Fortunately, the website features an advanced coloring page for adults.

The page doesn't have plenty of worksheets to choose from, and all of them are mandalas, but it's still a fun website to do some online coloring. Additionally, Hello Kids has a free children's coloring app that you can download for your little one to use on an iPhone or iPad.

HiColoring is a site that encourages you to switch off completely and use its coloring pages to distract yourself from any stress in your life. There are many delightful online coloring pages, all of which you can filter by most voted, viewed, discussed, or recent additions.

To use this website to color online, select a color and click on an area in the picture. The coloring tool then neatly fills in the sections to create a beautiful piece of art. Afterward, you can download your creation or clear it and start something new.

Coloring Pages Only has a vast collection of coloring options for adults and kids. This website is particularly distinctive because of its unique coloring collections covering things like WWE, Dr. Seuss, and Call of Duty.

However, if you're a movie and TV buff, you can even color in your favorite on-screen characters from Stranger Things, Lord of the Rings, and Avatar. Coloring Pages Online also lets you download, print, share, or color your chosen picture online.

Download-Only Websites for Coloring:

These websites do not give you the option to color in your chosen image online. However, they do offer free downloadable and printable coloring pages.

The best part of Best Coloring Pages For Kids and Adults are the countless pages of options to choose from. However, if you're new to the world of coloring, stick to the easy coloring page that helps beginners quickly get the hang of the art.

For those who love animals, the site offers several different images, whether you're fond of horses, dogs, elephants, cats, etc. Use your imagination and go wild, and don't forget that all the images are free to download and print.

Just Color is an amazing website with over 1500 coloring pages that are free to use, download, or print. The pages are neatly categorized by themes, popularity, styles, and featured artists. If you want to use coloring to de-stress, the mandala and art therapy gallery is full of original designs, from dream catchers to zentangle patterns and doodle art.

The images on this website are gorgeous because they're created by talented partner artists. These partner artists regularly upload new and authentic coloring pages for you to enjoy.

If you're looking for a website with loads of inspirational hand-drawn artwork, you need to visit Coloring Bliss. Unlike all the previously mentioned sites, you have to become a member to gain access, and after that, you receive a 30-day free trial of free downloads.

Each day you're a member, a new coloring page becomes available, and each one is an original piece of art created by artist Jennifer Stay. To unlock hundreds of coloring pages, you have the option to sign up and pay a monthly or yearly fee.

The Art is Fun website, created by artist Thaneeya McArdle, is full of fun and quirky designs. Here, you will find several free coloring pages taken from her range of coloring e-books that you can click on and download or print.

There are plenty of hand-drawn illustrations, including a whimsical owl mandala, a hippie camel, and a special heart, perfect for sending to a loved one when you're done coloring it in. Take a look at the free abstract patterns images if you enjoy coloring a design that requires more patience and detail.

Faber-Castell is well known for being one of the best manufacturers of products made for writing, drawing, crafting, painting, calligraphy, and anything creative. Because their products go hand-in-hand with coloring, their website features a fantastic coloring page for adults.

This website has it all, whether you're looking for mandalas, Creative Haven sample pages, holiday-themed images, or coloring pages that you and your kids can enjoy together. All you have to do is click on the picture of your choice, and from there, you can download or print it for free!

Adult Coloring Is an Entertaining and Therapeutic Activity

Over the past few years, adult coloring has become a massive trend. Not only has it gained popularity because it's plain old fun, but because it has many emotional and mental benefits.

If you want to reap some of the benefits of coloring, like reduced anxiety or increased mindfulness, be sure to look at these inspirational coloring websites.

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The 10 Best Coloring Websites Even Adults Will Love

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Coloring is not just an activity that kids enjoy; it's also something adults can do with plenty of surprising health benefits. Stress relief, improved sleep, and enhanced brain function are a handful of the therapeutic reasons why you should start coloring as soon as possible.

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How To Draw A Camping Tent - #CampYouTube Draw #WithMe

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Hey, art friends! Welcome to Art For Kids Hub! 🎨✏️ Here, you’ll discover all sorts of awesome art lessons, from drawing to painting, and even some super cool origami. Whether you’re a beginner or a budding artist, there’s something fun for everyone! I’m Rob, and along with my amazing wife, Teryn,…

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Get your kids moving with this gross motor activity

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Take your weather unit up a notch with this exciting game!

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Are you looking for an easy strategy to increase motivation, focus and engagement in your classroom? You should try incorporating brain breaks for high school students! This strategy is so quick, easy, and effective that it's one of my favourite tips for teachers. This strategy is so versatile that it can be used in any learning area and with almost any age group, however, my experience is with middle school and high school students so that will me my focus in this article.

What are brain breaks for high school students?

Let's start at the beginning, a 'brain break' is simply a short mental break from a learning task. Brain breaks for high schoolers can take many forms. They can be short movement breaks that allow students to get their blood pumping. They can be conversational breaks where an unrelated interesting, funny, or engaging topic is discussed. Or they can simply take the form of a short rest like a guided meditation. There are plenty of ways to incorporate brain breaks in the classroom, the method you choose will largely depend on the type of students in your class. I'll discuss some of my favourite high school brain break activities in this article, give you some brain break ideas for high school and let you know where you can find some great brain break resources.

Why are brain breaks for kids important?

I'm sure we've all been there - a looooong meeting, university class or presentation. We get bored, restless and yawny, why should we expect anything different from our students? Especially if it's the last period of the day and they've been sitting in class for hours!

Studies show that student lapses in in concentration occur more frequently as a lesson (particularly lecture or 'chalk and talk' style) continues. Shifting focus to something unrelated if only for a short time can improve mental clarity, therefore breaking up a lesson with brain breaks can help students refresh and in turn concentrate for longer. But what does that mean for your classroom?

How can brain breaks for students improve your classroom teaching?

The number one way that brain break activities can improve your classroom teaching is by improving student focus. Isn't that the dream? A class full of bright-eyed and bushy tailed students! Of course, this isn't a magical solution to the dilemma of the unfocused student but taking these short mental breaks can certainly help.

When students are focused, they can become more engaged in the content of the lesson. Bonus points if your brain break activities are engaging in themselves! I personally like to use thought provoking or funny brain break activities.

Engaging students is also the easiest way to improve behaviour in the classroom. Students who are actively engaged in the lesson are less likely to participate in off-task activities, therefore brain breaks for high school students can also help improve classroom management in your classroom.

Finally, these activities can hugely benefit students with particular learning needs. I see huge benefit using these activities among my students with attention difficulties such as ADHD. Giving these students frequent short breaks after periods of sustained effort can lead to a more productive lesson overall.

What are some brain break activities for high school students?

There are plenty of different formats you can use to deliver your brain breaks for high school students, here I'll discuss my two favourites - brain break sticks and cubes. I'll also discuss my favourite brain break activities.

Brain break sticks

Perhaps the easiest way to incorporate brain breaks into your lesson is to use brain break sticks. These are questions or activities printed on sticks of cardboard or written on pop sticks. When a brain break is needed you can draw one of these from the container for your class to answer/complete.

Brain break cubes

Another great format for brain break activities is using brain break cubes. These are cubes with a different activity or action on each face. Students can roll the cube and perform the action or answer the question that is shown on the cube. This brain break format works better in small groups and provides more variety for the students.

Brain break ideas - Would you rather...?

Would you rather questions are super trendy in education at the moment! My students in particular like gross would you rather questions, like "would you rather drink a cup of snot or cup of sweat?". Next time your students need a break pose one of these questions and watch the debate and laughs around the room! To see some other ways I use 'would you rather' questions, check out my article on starter activities.

Brain break ideas - Non-googlable questions

A non-googleable question is one which can't be answered with a quick Google search. These questions stimulate curiosity and problem solving and challenges student thinking. An example of a non-googleable question is "Why do horror movies make us scared?". These questions can break up a lesson by having students think about a different topic and can encourage classroom discussion and debate.

Brain break ideas - moral dilemma questions

A moral dilemma question is one in which you picture a difficult scenario and need to make a choice between what you believe is the morally right or wrong action - but there is no correct answer.

An example of a moral dilemma question is: "You see a man rob a bank, but he doesn't keep the money for himself, he gives it to orphaned children in need. If you tell the police who committed the crime the money will likely go back to the bank and not to the children in need. What do you do?"

Again, this type of brain break question encourages plenty of classroom discussion and debate.

Brain break ideas - physical activity brain break

Studies have shown that incorporating short exercise breaks in class can improve concentration of high school students. Short physical activity brain breaks that are easy to incorporate into the classroom are simple stretches, cardio which can be done on the spot such as jumping jacks/star jumps and yoga poses.

Brain break ideas - mindfulness

Another great brain break for high school students idea is to do a short mindfulness activity. I find these brain break activities to be particularly useful for my upper school students who are covering complicated and detailed topics - it gives them a moment to completely zone out and refresh.

The Headspace YouTube channel has some great short guided meditation videos, I recommend starting with Find Your Focus Mini Meditation.

Another of my favourite mindfulness activities in the classroom is drawing your breath from creativity in therapy. Here students quietly grab a pencil and paper and close their eyes. They then try to draw a line that represents their breathing. Taking this quiet time out to focus on breathing can refresh students.

Where can you find brain breaks for high school students resources?

I'm giving my blog audience the opportunity to download my Brain Break Sticks - Would you rather questions activity for free! This resource is exclusively available for free by signing up to my mailing list below. This resource contains 100 "would you rather" brain break questions that can be printed and made into brain break sticks - perfect for refreshing your students! I hope you try it out! And if you're looking for more resources for high school students, check out my other blog posts, like Best Teaching Strategies for Science: Quiz Quiz Trade, for ideas.

You can also visit my store on Teachers Pay Teachers to check out my growing range of brain break resources.

Have you tried using brain break activities in your class? Do you use them differently?

If you're looking for more strategies you can implement into your classroom check out my other tips for teachers.

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Tips for teachers: Brain breaks for high school students - Science Room

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Are you looking for an easy strategy to increase motivation, focus and engagement in your classroom? You should try incorporating brain breaks for high school students! This strategy is so quick, easy, and effective that it's one of my favourite tips for teachers.

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At a Glance

Researchers discovered that the awake resting brain repeatedly replays compressed memories of a new skill being learned.

The findings give insights into how people acquire skills and may help those recovering from stroke or other brain injury.

Practice is important for learning something new. Repeating an action over and over increases the likelihood of mastering it. But recent research shows that taking short breaks may be just as critical.

A 2019 study found that short, frequent breaks were key to improving performance on a new task. These short rest periods strengthen memories of the new skill just practiced. The findings challenged the idea that only long periods of rest, like a good night's sleep, are necessary to strengthen memories of a newly learned skill. However, it wasn't clear how these short breaks help the brain master a new task.

A research team led by Leonardo G. Cohen of NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) set out to understand how short periods of rest while awake aid skill learning. Their findings were published in Cell Reports on June 8, 2021.

The team mapped the brain activity of 33 right-handed volunteers as they learned to type a five-digit code with their left hands. Brain waves were recorded using a sensitive scanning technique called magnetoencephalography. Participants were shown a code on a screen and asked to type it out as many times as possible for 10 seconds and then take a 10 second break. They repeated this cycle 35 times.

The team analyzed the data with a computer program they developed, which allowed them to decipher the brain wave activity associated with typing each number in the code. They discovered that a much faster version-about 20 times faster-of the brain activity seen during typing was replayed during the brief rest periods.

Over the course of the first eleven practice trials, these compressed versions of the activity were replayed about 25 times per rest period. This was two to three times more often than the activity seen during later rest periods or after the experiments had ended.

The researchers also found that participants whose brains replayed the typing activity more often showed greater jumps in performance after each trial than those who replayed it less often. Together, the findings suggest that brief rest periods serve to bind together the memories required to learn a new skill.

The team also examined the brain regions where replay occurred. As expected, replay activity often happened in the sensorimotor regions of the brain, which are responsible for controlling movements. However, they also saw activity in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex. These regions were not previously thought to play a major role in the memories needed to perform new tasks.

"Our results support the idea that wakeful rest plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill," Cohen says. "It appears to be the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced. Understanding this role of neural replay may not only help shape how we learn new skills but also how we help patients recover skills lost after neurological injury like stroke."

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How short breaks help the brain learn new skills

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Researchers discovered that the awake resting brain repeatedly replays compressed memories of a new skill being learned. The findings give insights into how people acquire skills and may help those recovering from stroke or other brain injury. Practice is important for learning something new. Repeating an action over and over increases the likelihood of mastering it.

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Learn To Bring Down Stress | Guided Meditiation For Kids | Breathing Exercises | GoNoodle

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Spidey Superpowers | Brain Breaks for Kids | Cosmic Kids

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(44) Brain Break - Summer Would You Rather? - YouTube

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(44) Brain Break - Summer Would You Rather? - YouTube

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We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks- Edutopia

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We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks- Edutopia

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Practice makes perfect. To become ambidextrous in basketball, dribble with your left hand, switch to your right, and repeat the process again and again. Likewise, to solve differential equations in math, pile them up and work your way through them diligently.

According to one popular school of thought, it's this active, repeated manipulation of material that lays the neural foundations for skill development. All too often, time away from the basketball court-or the math books-is seen as a break in the learning process, a way to cool off, reenergize, and then return to the vital work of actual practice.

But for Leonardo Cohen, a neuroscientist at the National Institutes of Health and the senior author of a June 2021 study published in the journal Cell, the idea that breaks are a cooling-off period is a misconception.

Cohen and his colleagues used magnetoencephalography-a highly sensitive brain-scanning technique-to observe the neural activity of young adults as they learned how to type with their nondominant hand. After a practice session, the study participants were given a short break and then continued practicing for a total of 35 sessions.

When analyzing the data, Cohen's team made an intriguing discovery: They observed a spike in brain activity, mimicking the neural pattern seen during the practice session, but compressed by twentyfold. Rather than being idle, the brain was replaying the practice session over and over at an astonishingly high rate of speed-flipping the material from the neocortex, where sensory and motor skills are processed, to the hippocampus, the brain's memory center, over two dozen times in the span of 10 seconds. Stepping away from the activity, it turns out, is not stepping away from the activity at all.

The findings echo the groundbreaking discovery in 2001 that after successfully running through a maze, rats replayed those memories repeatedly during REM sleep, with the same spatial circuitry flickering to life as they slept.

An Inside Look

When we learn a new skill, we need to connect it to previous memories, explains Cohen, a process called "binding." For example, when learning how to play piano, our brains need to link a simple action-pressing a piano key-with a larger, more complex skill, such as playing a song. Until now, scientists have been unable to decipher how the brain connects these two discrete actions into a consolidated skill.

Cohen's team discovered that after learning new information, our brains continue to whir, using cognitive downtime as a virtual staging ground to process, organize, and integrate learned information. The key, they believe, lies in neural replay, the "temporally compressed reactivation of neural activity patterns representing behavioral sequences during rest." In other words, after practicing a skill, our brains rapidly cycle through the experience, compressing and imprinting the material to optimize storage and recall.

We greatly underestimate the value of breaks when learning, Cohen and his colleagues assert, commonly opting for an approach that views active practice as the only way to advance. But that's a mistake, because incorporating breaks into learning "plays just as important a role as practice in learning a new skill. It appears to be the period when our brains compress and consolidate memories of what we just practiced."

Brain Breaks During School

In the classroom, "brain breaks should take place before fatigue, boredom, distraction, and inattention set in," writes neurologist and classroom teacher Judy Willis, and that means they should be far more frequent. "As a general rule," Willis continues, basing her conclusions on decades of research, "concentrated study of 10 to 15 minutes for elementary school and 20 to 30 minutes for middle and high school students calls for a three- to five-minute break."

You don't have to overthink it, or add to your workload by planning entertaining activities. Willis recommends simple techniques, such as a stretch break, moving to a different part of the room, or singing a song to give students time to "replay" what they've learned and to prepare them for more practice or new material. Letting students chat informally for a few minutes should also work well.

As the school day progresses, there's evidence that brain breaks become increasingly important. A 2016 study found that "cognitive fatigue" sets in toward the end of the day, leading to a notable drop in test performance: For every hour later in the day, test performance decreased by 0.9 percent of a standard deviation, the researchers found-roughly the equivalent of losing 10 school days' worth of learning. Incorporating breaks, however, not only eliminated the decrease but actually increased performance. "Importantly, a break causes an improvement in test scores that is larger than the hourly deterioration," the researchers discovered. "Breaks, it appears, recharge students' cognitive energy, thus leading to better test scores."

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We Drastically Underestimate the Importance of Brain Breaks

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When it comes to optimizing learning, we don't value breaks enough, neuroscientists suggest in a new study.

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54 Different Movement Breaks, all 1-Minute or Under

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54 Different Movement Breaks, all 1-Minute or Under

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11 Short Videos Including "Chair Triathlon"

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11 Short Videos Including "Chair Triathlon"

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Can You Guess the Correct Logo? | Memory Challenge | This or That Brain Break Trivia

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Mindful Moments Printables from Sanford Fit

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Put your DIY skills to use! This video shows you how to make a brain break spinner your kiddos will L-O-V-E. Pair it with our fitBoost to get your students up and moving.

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The Encanto Run | Brain Break & Movement Activity | GoNoodle Inspired

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Breathing for middle and high school students

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Breathing for middle and high school students

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To the Teacher:
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to play out and schools remain closed, we're hearing from teachers and students alike that the long-term reality of the situation is sinking in.

This new Covid world is lasting longer than most of us had anticipated. The changes and losses so far have been hard to handle, overwhelming at times. And, as is too often the case, they've been disproportionately devastating for poor families and families of color. And now the uncertainty around when this will all be over, how we will transition out of it, and what will be on the other end, is starting to dawn, and wear, on people. It's uncomfortable and brings with it further anxiety, stress and exhaustion.

Young people are absorbing all this, including the changing moods of the adults in their lives, as family members are forced to do hazardous work, are laid off, face illness or death. Some are also struggling with new responsibilities, uncertainty, isolation, and grief.

Self care for us, the adults, is key so we can stay strong and healthy ourselves to support our children at this time. Self-care may also be one of the most important things we can teach young people at a time like this. In this part four of our series of lessons and activities for the corona age, we'll focus on self-care practices for all of our K-12 students, from the youngest to the oldest.

About Self Care With Students

In the process of engaging young people in social and emotional learning (SEL) and mindful awareness practice, we naturally begin to teach them about self-care. One of the core competencies of SEL is "self awareness." With increased self-awareness, students can begin developing practices and skills that they can employ to take care of themselves. This can include learning how to center themselves, stay grounded and present, calm themselves down, gain insight and perspective, and decide on possible next steps to meet their needs - all while recognizing and respecting the needs of others.

Rather than telling young people what to do and how to do it, our goal should be to support students in cultivating the awareness, skills and practices, that they find useful. They need to be able to make their own choices in the moment about how to handle themselves and the situation at hand - whether we, as adults, are around or not. Building on the activities already shared in our Covid series (especially those around recognizing and naming feelings and then managing those feelings, a.k.a "naming to tame our feelings") the activities below support young people in developing the capacity for self-care.

Before we continue, you might consider the tree of contemplative practices created by the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. Consider the multiple branches as ways to practice different kinds of self (and community) care and healing.

Think about your own practices. What has worked for you? How did you come to that practice? Now think about your students, their life experiences, their personalities, and who they are in the world. What might work for them? Have you asked? Have you given them opportunities to try different ways, to share practices that have worked for them perhaps?

Consider this series on self-care as a joint exploration with your students so that you can all learn together.

Introducing Students to the Breath

Simple breathing exercises can help students transition from one space into another, from one activity into the next, especially when they need to focus their attention. Exercises that help students breathe more intentionally can also help them regulate their feelings. Breathing of this kind can help kids deal with their stresses, frustrations, fears and concerns. It can help to ground them and be more present in the moment.

Consider talking young people through the process of why taking some deep breaths, in through the nose, and out through the mouth, can be useful.

First off: Fight Flight Freeze - Anxiety Explained for Teens is a useful video to explain our "fight, flight or freeze" response.

If you can't or don't want to use the video, you can elicit and explain yourself what happens in the brain when we experience stress, using some of the following language:

There is a part of the brain called the amygdala. It is always on the look out to make sure we are safe. When the amygdala notices something scary, stressful or worrisome, it sets off alarm bells. When this happens, our bodies respond with what we call the "fight, flight or freeze" or "stress" response. Sometimes this response helps to keep us safe, but other times it just makes it hard for us to think straight.

Think about a peaceful place or something that makes you feel peaceful. Try to go there in your mind. Think about what you see there. What colors and shapes do you see? What sounds do you hear? Are there other people? Who? Check in with yourself. How does your body feel? It's likely to feel calm and relaxed. Check your heart rate? It's likely to be slow and steady. What about your breathing? It too is likely to be slow and steady.

Now think about the last time you surprised, startled someone, maybe you got startled yourself. How did they react? How did you? Some people react by leaning in. They might look angry. This is what we call a fight response. Others might turn or back away. This is the flight response. Still others may just stand there speechless and shocked. This we call the freeze response.

These are not voluntary responses. They are automatic responses to the amygdala setting off our brain's alarm system, in response to threats or perceived threats. When this happens our heart rate goes up, we might get flushed, with sweaty palms, while our breathing speeds up and gets more shallow. This is how our body gets ready for "fight, flight or freeze." We all have this response, so that we can keep ourselves safe in threatening situations (or situations that the brain perceives as threatening), though most people have one reaction more often than others.

One of the ways to counteract "fight, flight or freeze," is to take a few deep breaths in through the nose, and back out through the mouth. This may take practice for some of us because, since early childhood, many have lost the practice of breathing deeply in through the nose. We may instead have learned to use shallow breathing from the chest and breathe mostly through our mouths.

The kind of breathing from the primary breathing muscle called the diaphragm, is also known as belly, or abdominal, breathing. Some of today's breathing exercises will help us work up to that, in the hope that with practice, we'll get better at it so that it will be more accessible when stress or anxiety kick in.

Note to the Teacher (Chronic Stress and Trauma):

Deep belly breathing is a soothing practice for many, but not for all. Students living with chronic stress or PTSD may have developed coping mechanisms that have stopped them from breathing (and feeling) too deeply. Telling them to breathe deeply, especially for longer periods of time, can be triggering, disorienting, and anxiety provoking, the opposite of the relaxation we're going for. Keep this in mind when introducing breathing exercises to your students.

For people who live with chronic stress or PTSD, having what is known as an internal anchor when practicing any kind of mindful awareness can be problematic. It is hard to go inside a body, that is holding much hurt and anxiety. It can be overwhelming.

For this reason several of the breathing activities below use touch and visuals, in addition to the breath. This allows students to use, what we call an external anchor, a place to focus their attention that is not inside, where the hurt and anxiety reside. Moreover, the breathing activities below are short, no more than a few minutes, so as not to push students too far or too deep all at once.

Just remember, for some people deep breathing takes time, because they first need to feel safe in their own bodies. So don't push students to breathe too deep, too soon.

And while we're on the topic, never tell students what or how to do any kind of mindful awareness practice. Always use invitational language and provide options, e.g. don't tell students to close their eyes. If you think it might be beneficial for the activity, consider some of the following language instead: "I invite you to close your eyes ..." "You can close your eyes ..." "Maybe close your eyes ..." "or you can find a spot on the rug or wall in front of you to look at." It is important for young people to find their own way, go at their own pace, and be in charge of their own practice.

Take Five or Five Finger Breathing

Five Finger Breathing brings several of the senses together at the same time. You watch and feel your fingers, while you're also paying attention to your breath. This requires multisensory and it multi locational awareness - you're feeling two of your fingers, one on each hand, as well as your breath. This takes a lot of brain capacity, easily crowding out any worry thoughts you might be having. As you do this for a minute or two, you also calm your physiology, so that if (when) those worry thoughts come back they won't take hold in the same way because they won't have the same emotional charge as before.

Talk students through the Five Finger Breathing method, by inviting them to stretch their hand out like a star. Show them how, by holding up your own hand in this way, palm facing the screen. Have the pointer finger of your other hand ready to trace your thumb and fingers up and down. Start by placing the pointer finger at the bottom of your thumb. Invite students to do the same. And as you ask them to breathe in through their nose, have them slowly slide their pointer finger up their thumb, following your lead. Then as they breathe out through their mouth, have them slide their pointer finger down the thumb on the other side, again following your lead. Breathing back in through their nose, show them how to slide their pointer finger up their other pointer finger, and as they breathe back out through their mouth, have them slide their finger down that same pointer finger. Keep going until you've traced every finger. Consider going back again to the thumb for a slightly longer activity.
Ask students at the end:

What was that like for them?

How did they feel at the start? How do they feel now?

Would they like to do another cycle, or two?

And if you'd prefer to have a video guide you and your students, in this process, variations are:

A slightly different variation of Take Five can be found on the Mindfulness Without Borders website, as an audio both English and Spanish at

Different Shapes to Help Us Breath

Triangle breathing is a simple breathing technique that can help reduce stress and improve our moods. Imagine a triangle or if your students do better with a visual, one can be found here or at Coping Skills for Kids. Start at the bottom left of the triangle. Breathe in through your nose for three counts, as you trace up the side of the triangle in your mind's eye, or with your pointer finger in the air in front of you. Hold the breath for three counts, as you trace down the other side of triangle. And breathe out through your mouth, for three counts as you go along the bottom of the triangle back to the starting point.

Continue the breathing and tracing, another 4 or 5 times to start with. Consider having students print or draw their own triangle they think they'd do better with a hard copy to trace.

Videos to consider using for triangle breathing are listed below:

Star Breathing is a variation of triangle breathing but rather than starting anew with the triangle after each breath, you can keep going. Consider using a star breathing image as your guide. Another image can be found at Coping Skills for Kids or you can have your students draw their own.

In your mind's eye start with any (breathe in) side of the star. Maybe imagine using your finger to trace the star, if you think that would help. As you breathe in through your nose for three counts, trace up the (breathe in) side of the star to the point. Hold the breath for three counts on the point. Then breathe out through your mouth for three counts as you trace down the (breathe out) side. Going up to the next point of the star, breathing in through your nose, for three counts. Hold the breath for three counts. And trace back down the other side of the point for three counts as you breathe out through your mouth. Continue this process until you get back to where you started.

Box or square breathing is another simple breathing technique that can help reduce stress and improve our moods. It slows down the breath a bit further as we move to a four count with two pauses.

Box breathing invites us to inhale to a count of four, holding the breath for four counts, exhaling to a count of four, and again holding it for four counts. The count can be faster or slower depending on what works for your students. Repeat the process 4 to 5 times to start with as you familiarize students with this form of breathing. As you introduce box or square breathing more regularly, and it becomes a practice, you can slow down the count, or work up to a 5 or 6 count box breath.

You can invite young people to close their eyes, as you talk them through the practice, or have them rest their gaze on the floor, wall or screen in front of them. You can also have them trace an imaginary box with their pointer finger or the outline of a window in their room. Some kids may find it helpful to trace the physical edges of an item (like a picture frame, small box, a book, a post-it, or their computer monitor). Tracing a square on the screen or piece of paper can also help. Invite students to print out a square breathing image at Coping Skills for Kids or they can draw their own, to trace on paper during the breathing exercise.

Videos to consider using for box breathing are listed below:

If students find it hard to breathe in, out, or hold their breath, for a full four seconds, consider the following videos that use a slightly faster count, in different places, to get started. Don't feel you need to use the full length of the longer videos right from the start. Longer breathing sessions may be something to work up to as you practice triangle, star, box or any other breathing that resonates with your students:

Breathing with Imagery and Sound

Having practiced some of the other breathing exercises, with your students over time, you might try the following guided breathing meditations as you work with students towards slowing and deepening their breath. Invite students to keep their eyes open if they like to focus on the clouds, river or waves.

The videos below use imagery and sound as focal points

And if guided meditation doesn't work with you students, maybe simply sitting with some soothing video imagery and sound for a few minutes will help them relax and slow down their breath. Try the following videos for however long makes sense for your students:
Have students check in with themselves at the end of any of these breathing activities by asking:

What was that like for you?

How did you feel before? How do you feel now?

And:

Out of the various practices, we've tried together, which worked for you?

Which would you be interested in trying again/more of?

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Teaching Self-Care for Middle & High School: Breathing

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To the Teacher: As the coronavirus pandemic continues to play out and schools remain closed, we're hearing from teachers and students alike that the long-term reality of the situation is sinking in. This new Covid world is lasting longer than most of us had anticipated.

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Dinosaur Stomp (Dance-A-Long) /// Koo Koo

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Winter Coffee Shop Bookstore Ambience with Relaxing Smooth Jazz Music and Crackling Fireplace

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Cozy Cafe, Coffee shop in misty forest - Rain, howling wind, crackling fire ambience [1 hour]

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I love that something as simple as gross motor can get kids up and move. We love doing gross motor and books and this time we are taking some fun arctic animals and adding gross motor movements.

The Free Arctic Animals Gross motor Dice are a fun way to get kids moving for brain brakes or just a fun time.

You will enjoy having fun acting out the movements while learning about the arctic animals.
We have included links to some of the products and resources we have used with this activity. If you purchase via the links we may earn a small commission.
I love that each set of animals is fun to learn about. The arctic animals are similar and different but that makes them fun.

The dice has the following arctic animal movements: polar bear, arctic snowy owl, arctic wolf, walrus, beluga whale, and snowshoe hare.

Things to use with the Arctic Animals Gross Motor Dice

I often get asked about what dice we use or other items. And this is a list of all the items we have used with the arctic animals gross motor dice.

How to use the Arctic Animals Gross Motor Dice Inserts

I love the cube dice. They are so easy to use. PLUS they make the gross motor dice loads of fun and easy to change up!

You start by cutting the arctic animal movements and speed dice.

Once the dice cube dice are cut out it is simple and easy to switch them out. You just slide them right in the dice. Simple and easy. plus you can remove them just as easily to store and use later.

Another reason I love the gross motor cube dice is that they last so much longer than the paper folder ones. My girls LOVE to throw the dice up in the air!

How to use the Arctic Animals Gross Motor Dice

No matter if we have done the movements before we always start off by reviewing the movements. This helps everyone make sure of spacing and what they are doing. That way there are no surprises.

The Arctic Animals Movements

Polar Bear You do a bear walk. You keep your arms and legs straight with your bottom in the air.

Arctic Snowy Owl You flap your arms up and down.

Arctic Wolf You run in place or run around.

Walrus You lay on your stomach and pull yourself across the room using your arms.

Beluga Whale You swim through the water.

Snowshoe Hare You jump like a rabbit.

Now after they have the movements down add in the speed dice and if you want a number dice! It is a fun way to change up the movements with speed and how many you do!

What you will find in the Free Arctic Animals Gross Motor Dice

Dice for arctic animals themed movements

Dice for different speeds: slow, fast, normal

Two types: cube dice or make your own die

What you will find in the Arctic Animals Gross Motor Set

This is a full set with gross motor dice, gross motor chart, rolling games, and gross motor task cards. Loads of fun ways to explore the Arctic Animals themed movements that can work for many different settings.

What is in the Arctic Animals Gross Motor Set

Gross motor movement dice with folding and two cube dice options

Speed dice with folding and two cube dice options

Number dice with 1 to 12 options with folding and two cube dice options

Arctic Animals Gross Motor Movement Chart

Arctic Animals Gross Motor Spinning Mat

Arctic Animals Gross Motor Movement Task Cards with 8 cards total

Rolling Arctic Animals Gross Motor - Single Movement

Rolling Arctic Animals Gross Motor - Two movements to match each die roll

22 pages

Price: $3.00

Check out these other Gross Motor Dice
Winter Sports Gross Motor Dice Snowy Winter Gross Motor Dice Dinosaur Gross Motor Dice Space Gross Motor Dice
Check out these Arctic Animal Activities & Printables
Arctic Animals No-Prep Weekly Packs Polar Bear Weekly Winter Reading Charts Arctic Animals Easy Reader Book Polar Animals Dot the Number & Count the Number
Check out all the fun Polar Animal activities on 3 Dinosaurs.

Check out all the fun Gross Motor Activities on 3 Dinosaurs.

Cassie - 3Dinosaurs.com

About Cassie

Cassie is a mom of three stomping, romping, and roaring girls. She blogs about fun art and craft activities and printables she makes. She includes the odd review of products every now and then. She also blogs about the places that she has taken the girls called trip reviews. She has a few free printable pack for kids ages 2 to 8 and always adding more. She loves to get comments and feedback and always looking for new things to try or do with her girls.

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I love that something as simple as gross motor can get kids up and move. We love doing gross motor and books and this time we are taking some fun arctic animals and adding gross motor movements. The Free Arctic Animals Gross motor Dice are a fun way to get kids moving for brain brakes or just a fun time.

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Welcome to our fantastic collection of random name pickers, list pickers, winner pickers, and more!

These visual name pickers feature sounds, and they are all free to use :-)

Got an idea for another Random Name Picker? Or Number Generator? Let us know! :-)

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A massive collection of Random Name Pickers, Random Number Generators - and More! Choose a random Selection of Names, Numbers, Lists and More!

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Brain breaks and focused attention practices help students feel relaxed and alert and ready to learn.

©Shutterstock/Robert Kneschke

I've enjoyed creating and sharing brain breaks and focused attention practices here over the past few years-practices that benefit every student as their brains prepare to learn. Brain breaks create a state of relaxed alertness, while focused attention practices help students slow down and focus on a stimulus, enhancing their executive functions of sustained attention and emotional regulation. These practices address discipline proactively, before any problems arise.

I hope you and your students enjoy these activities as you prime the brain for attention and a state of relaxed alertness. These all work well with elementary students, and some can be used with older students as well.

Brain Breaks

Peeling a tangerine: Give every student a tangerine. To begin, ask them to guess what they might be doing in the next couple of minutes before they eat the fruit. You can prompt them with a question such as: How is this tangerine like our brains?

Next, ask them to hold the tangerine behind their backs-or just close their eyes-and peel it without looking. Can they peel it without splitting the fruit? Was this easy? Harder than they expected? How fast could they do it? As they eat the fruit, ask what sensations, feelings, or memories they experienced.

Paired mirror drawings: Have students find a partner. Each student will take a pen or pencil and a sheet of paper, and sit facing the other. One student will lead and the other will follow: The leader starts drawing an image related to the class subject matter, and the follower copies the drawing and tries to guess what the drawing is supposed to represent.

Have students switch roles, so the other person can lead. Once again, as the leader begins to draw, the follower should mimic the leader's drawing and guess what the drawing is.

Pouring water: Give each student two small paper cups, and fill one with water. Have students practice pouring the water back and forth from cup to cup, finding a rhythm in the pouring. After a few times, have students close their eyes and see if they can continue to gently and carefully pour the water back and forth without spilling too much of it. Give them 30 seconds for this, and then see who still has water in their cups.

Focused Attention Practices

Breathing: Have students inhale deeply, lifting both arms in the air over their heads and holding their breath for four seconds. As they exhale, have them slowly place their hands on the back of their neck and massage their neck. They can repeat this three or four times until they feel more relaxed.

Tracing a hand: Have students take a marker, crayon, or pen and trace their nondominant hand without lifting the pen as many times as they can until they begin to feel calmer. They should focus on their breathing during this activity.

Swimming in the deep end: Have students lay on their bellies and move their arms and legs, breathing in and out five times; on the sixth breath, they should slowly relax their arms while still kicking their legs. On the seventh breath, they should stop kicking and lay still, imagining that the water is pulling them down or the clouds are pulling them up into the sky. Tell them to imagine they're weightless and drifting or floating to their favorite place. They can imagine the colors and sounds as they breathe deeply for a minute.

Melting an ice cube: Give each student a small ice cube to place in their mouth or hold in their hands. Ask them not to crunch or chew it but to notice how it slowly melts. They can imagine a worry or concern meting away with the ice chip, taking deep breaths until it has disappeared.

Balancing tree: Have students place both feet solidly on the ground. They should slowly lift one foot and touch it to the inside of the other calf or upper leg, and raise their arms in the air over their head. Next have them wave their arms as if they were a tree with its branches blowing in the wind. Have them switch legs and repeat this motion. Next ask them to show a tree in a rainstorm and to notice how the trunk of the tree-their body-stays strong: Even though they might wobble, they're still standing tall.

Focusing on balance: Ask students to stand on one foot, holding the other foot off the ground and keeping their balance. With each breath, they should try to lift their foot higher. Have them pay attention to how high they can lift each foot.

Not chewing gum: Give each student a piece of gum and have them hold it in their mouth for one minute without chewing, just feeling the sensation. Ask what they noticed as they tasted the gum but did not chew.

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Activities That Prime the Brain for Learning

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Brain breaks and focused attention practices help students feel relaxed and alert and ready to learn. ©Shutterstock/Robert Kneschke I've enjoyed creating and sharing brain breaks and focused attention practices here over the past few years-practices that benefit every student as their brains prepare to learn.