Brain Breaks are short activities, often only 1-3 minutes long, that help kids get ready to learn or refocus on the task at hand. They often involve physical activity and movement though relaxing activities can also boost mental brain power.
So in addition to encouraging your kids to participate in these fun breaks, join the kiddos and have some refreshing, stress-free fun yourself, too!
Supplies Needed:
A few fun jokes or riddles. Check out library books, look online, or ask around for a good joke! Here are a few jokes to get you started from Reader’s Digest.
You Can Fly
Q: Why is Peter Pan flying all the time?
A: He Neverlands!
If the Shoe Fits
Q: What’s a banana peel’s favorite type of shoe?
A: Slippers!
Just Ducky
Q: What do you call a duck that loves making jokes?
A: A wise-quacker!
Plant Pals
Q: What did the big flower say to the little flower?
A: Hi, bud!
Activity Extensions:
- Try drawing a favorite joke as a comic strip.
- Try writing your own joke or riddle.
- Check out a library joke book or a humorous tale for some read-aloud fun.
- Make a list of different words for “laugh” – giggle, chuckle, cackle, howl, and so on. Talk about how these words each have slightly different meanings.
- Have your child cut out pictures or headlines from magazines that make them laugh. Make a crazy collage from them.
- Create a “Laugh Journal.” Have your child write or draw pictures of whatever makes them laugh in a special notebook.
The Why” behind the Activity:
Sharing a good laugh can help kids get to know one another and promote strong relationships. It can help relieve stress, sooth tension, and even boost their immune systems too! And laughing is just plain fun – it makes everyone feel good!
Check out these books for more laughable fun!
Garfield’s® Knock-Knock Jokes by Mark Acey and Scott Nickel
Dippy Dinosaur Joke Book by Lisa Regan
I Spy Gold Challenger! A Book of Picture Riddles with photographs by Walter Wick; riddles by Jean Marzollo
Laugh-out-Loud Awesome Jokes for Kids by Rob Elliott