We all know how much movement matters to children (and adults!) of all ages.
To read more about how I used Brain Breaks in my third and fifth grade classes, you can read more on my classroom blog HERE.
Brain Breaks in the gym are just as important. In the classroom, we find we need to energize to help our students stay involved. In PE, kids need just as much help with regulation, both energizing as well as relaxing. What I have found is that it is often easier to teach these skills when academic challenges are removed.
When a student doesn't have to worry about a difficult math problem or a challenging reading passage, they are primed to learn and implement these Brain Breaks more readily.
Plus, they are such a quick and easy activity to incorporate throughout any class, they don't add any additional hassle to the teacher or substitute at all!
One of my favorite Brain Breaks collections to use throughout the week is my Breath-Focused Brain Breaks. All children can benefit from breathwork, and these activities don't require any additional equipment or setup.
These sixteen Breath-Focused Brain Breaks will teach your students how to tune into their breath and pay attention to how it makes them feel before, during, and after the break.
Many include hand movements that can help engage your kinesthetic learners and help focus every child with a "task" to keep their hands focused along with their breath and mind.
While these breaths may seem like they work best at the end of class as a relaxation, they aren't limited to the last few minutes!
In fact, starting each PE class with breathwork helps gather students and sets the tone for the period ahead. Reinforcing them before and/or after transitions also helps bring the group together and can help diffuse any tension that may have arisen during an activity.
Ending the class with breathwork before discussion can also engage students' minds as well as bring their heart rate down before they go back to class.
No matter when you choose to incorporate these throughout your PE class, students will be able to practice and ideally incorporate them into their own personal practice when things around them get challenging, confusing, stressful, or activated.
These Breath-Focused Brain Breaks are available in two formats: smaller front-back versions that fit on top of popsicle sticks, or poster-sized PDF's that can be printed to any scale you like.
When you are first teaching them, the full-page size is nice to display. Students will become familiar with the name and graphic and older students can read the directions at the bottom.
As students become more familiar with these strategies, or if you are working with limited space, the smaller popsicle stick version features the same information that fits easily into a jar or small tub.
No matter which version(s) you use, you will be equipping all of your students with some useful and important tools they can use throughout their day, week, and year.
To see these in my TpT Store, click HERE.
Do you incorporate breathwork into your classroom or PE classes? What about in your personal practice?Let me know in the comments below!
Stay well,
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