Brain Breaks!

Brain breaks are a BIG part of most classrooms that you will see today.  These mental breaks help students refocus, get some wiggles out, and most importantly – have fun!  Brain breaks are important in every classroom and, especially in the virtual world where a lot of time is spent on the computer, we are always looking for ways to get our kids UP and MOVING!  We meet with our students for one-hour sessions and we always put a brain break song in the middle of that hour.  We have tried brain breaks that don’t involve a video/song, but our students seem to like the songs we play the most.

How do we do a brain break like this in a virtual classroom?  This is very simple; we share a link and the song/video plays right there on the screen for our students.  My favorite part is the students will turn their cameras on during brain breaks and show off their dance moves.  All the brain breaks we use are found on YouTube and we always make sure to convert the link to a Safe YouTube link first.  Our students have come to favor certain ones and here the ones we are LOVING right now (I have the YouTube channels linked):

Jack Hartmann

Jack has a song about almost anything you are teaching in your primary classroom.  He also has songs that are just for fun.  One of his most recent songs, The Floss Dance, is a new favorite in my class.  His Letter Sound Workout is always one of my go-tos to play for my kindergarten students.  Jack is special to us because, like us, he lives in Florida and has come to visit us (virtually) twice!

Koo Koo Kanga Roo

If you’re teaching nowadays, you’re probably familiar with their song Pop See Ko.  One of my favorites in class is Get Yo Body Movin’.

Blazer Fresh

My favorite, Banana Banana Meatball, is a great song for learning patterns!  This trio also has a lot of educational songs that would be great for mid-upper elementary.

Badanamu

You’ll find lots of dance and educational songs here, but their song Ponytail is the most popular in my class!  Warning:  This song WILL get stuck in your head for days.

The Learning Station

This group has a lot of classic favorites like Shake Your Sillies Out and Boom Chicka Boom as well as educational songs.
I am always on the hunt for new, fun brain breaks!  Share your favorites in the comments.