With kids at home, it’s important to include educational brain breaks into their schedules. They may need a movement break to get the wiggles out. Or a quiet moment to be still. Research shows that giving kids frequent brain breaks to reset their energy level improves their ability to focus, retain more, and stay on task. 

Here are 5 of our favorite educational brain breaks that increase productivity in any learning environment. 

1. Catch off guard 5,4,3,2,1!

Get hearts pumping with a quick sequence of exercises. Call out 5 actions for your child/students to do as quickly as they can. For instance, 5 toe taps, 4 pushups, 3 situps, 2 squat jumps, and a 1-minute plank.  

2. Practice another language

Teach your kids the alphabet in Sign Language. Use brain breaks to practice by singing the ABCs while signing the letters.

3. Boom Snap Clap

Is a challenging partner clapping game for older kids. Great parent-child or sibling activity!

4. Start a seed garden

Gardening can be rewarding and educational for children. A simple and inexpensive way to teach children about gardening is to start seeds. Have the kids read the planting instructions, plant and then tend to the seeds and seedlings as they grow.

5. Soothing ground

let your children play outside without their shoes on. Earthing helps lessen anxiety and depression, increases energy while promoting calmness, and enhances overall health.

Children learn in a variety of different ways. Some may be visual, while others may be auditory learners. For this reason, teachers teach in a multitude of ways to engage each and every sense. Multisensory environments improve the development of thought, intelligence and social skills. Younger students who have not fully developed all their senses, benefit from multisensory environments. These environments improve concentration, alertness, memory, creativity and communication. Each of these qualities promotes learning and retention to help students grow into successful and engaged learners. At home learning presents a great opportunity to personalize a learning environment specifically to your child’s learning style.

Here are some ways you can create a multi-sensory space for an optimal learning environment.

Smell

Smell is the strongest of the five senses and can directly impact brain activity. Our sense of smell is tied to the limbic system and directly connects to parts of the brain responsible for processing emotions and learning. The following scents are great for your child’s learning space.

Rosemary: improves memory retention and properties that increase energy and mental blocks

Lavender: provides calming elements that control emotional stress. It relaxes the nerves and helps increase attention.

Peppermint: increases energy and promotes concentration and clear thinking

Touch

Control temperature: according to a study done by the University of Scranton, the optimal temperature for students to learn is 72 degrees. Other studies done by multiple universities have found similar findings.

Flexible Seating: allows learners to wobble, rock, bounce, lean, or stand, which increases oxygen flow to the brain, blood flow, and core strength; increasing metabolism and burning calories. It also helps keep young minds more alert and focused.

Finger paint: Not only is finger painting a fun activity, but the touch of paint soothes the mind and calms emotions. Finger painting also encourages cognitive development and strengthens motor skills. 

Taste

Nutrition: a balanced diet that includes protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, and fiber can reduce bad behavior due to malnutrition

Fact Food: associating a fact with a taste can boost memory and help students retain the information better. And it’s lots of yummy fun!

Sight

Use colors: certain colors are known to promote learning. Yellow stimulates mental activity and prevents boredom. Cool colors like blue and green are known to calm students and can help them if they feel something is too complicated.

Lively Visuals: words are powerfully motivating. Quotes or lively information posters inspire us to work harder and find information with ease.

Sound

Use a positive tone: Praise your child often, praise is encouraging and builds children’s confidence and self-esteem. Smile when you are talking and your tone will sound positive.

Neutralize background noise: background noise is associated with several auditory and learning problems. It contributes to neural noise this is when the brain neurons fire spontaneously and distract the student from learning.

Incorporate music:  music is a great way to help children grasp a new concept. There is a strong link between music and cognitive ability. It increases learning, memory, language, and attention.

Our five senses are at work every minute of every day, but if we can control the senses and steer them towards certain activities it can be beneficial for our ability to learn and grow. With a multisensory learning environment, your child will learn quicker, faster, and retain information longer in any room in your home.