• 40 brain breaks

Fun Brain Breaks for the Classroom, Picked at Random

Press Pick another brain break for an activity your class has not done yet, with the clock already set.

Fun Brain Breaks for the Classroom, Picked at Random

Show all 40
  1. Partner cross claps2 minutes. Face a partner. Clap your own hands, clap right hands together across the gap, clap your own, then left hands across. Speed up until it falls apart, then start again.

Next step Make random pairs for this onePick a pupil to lead it

All 40 brain breaks

Quick movement 8

  • Countdown workout 2 minutes. 10 jumping jacks, 9 toe touches, 8 arm circles, 7 knee lifts, 6 hops. Pupils call the moves for 5 down to 2, and everyone finishes on 1 big jump.
  • Freeze dance 1 minute. Clap a steady beat while everyone dances on the spot. Stop without warning and the class freezes until the beat comes back. Change the speed each time.
  • Invisible jump rope 1 minute. Everyone jumps a rope that is not there. Call the changes: slow, fast, one foot, backwards, criss-cross, double turn.
  • Pass the lead 2 minutes. One pupil leads a move on the spot, such as marching or arm circles, and everyone copies. Every 15 seconds the leader points to someone new.
  • Shake it out 1 minute. Shake your right hand 8 times, left hand 8, right foot 8, left foot 8, counting aloud. Repeat with 4 shakes, then 2, then 1, a little faster each round.
  • Slow-motion race 1 minute. Run 10 giant steps on the spot in slow motion. The last person to finish wins, but nobody may stop moving.
  • Sports replay 2 minutes. Call a sport and everyone mimes it in slow motion for 10 seconds: a free throw, a swim stroke, a penalty kick, a tennis serve. A pupil calls the next one.
  • Weather report 2 minutes. Call the weather and the class acts it out behind their chairs. Drizzle is finger taps on the desk, wind is swaying arms, thunder is stomping feet, sunshine is one long reach upward.

Crossing the midline 8

  • Elbow meets knee 1 minute. Hands behind your head. Lift your left knee and bring your right elbow down to meet it, then swap sides. 20 in total, counted aloud as a class.
  • Nose and ear switch 1 minute. Hold your nose with your left hand and reach your right hand across to hold your left ear. Clap once and switch both hands. Count your clean switches for 30 seconds.
  • Opposite heel taps 1 minute. Lift your left heel behind you and tap it with your right hand, then your right heel with your left hand. 20 taps at an even pace.
  • Opposite knee taps 1 minute. March on the spot and tap each knee with the opposite hand: right hand to left knee, left hand to right knee. Do 20, then 10 more in slow motion.
  • Partner cross claps 2 minutes. Face a partner. Clap your own hands, clap right hands together across the gap, clap your own, then left hands across. Speed up until it falls apart, then start again.
  • Rainbow arcs 1 minute. Start with your right hand at your left hip. Sweep it up over your head and down to your right hip in one big arc, watching your hand all the way. 5 arcs with each arm.
  • Shoulder tap march 1 minute. March on the spot and tap each shoulder with the opposite hand in time with your feet. After 10 steps tap opposite hips, then go back to shoulders.
  • Windmills 1 minute. Feet wide, arms straight out. Bend and touch your right hand to your left foot, stand tall, then left hand to right foot. 10 slow ones each way.

Art and doodle 8

  • Describe and draw 3 minutes. One partner describes a simple picture made of shapes, using words only. The other draws it without seeing it. Compare the two, then swap jobs.
  • Eyes-closed sketch 2 minutes. Draw your own shoe with your eyes closed for 45 seconds. Open them, then use the rest of the time to add what you missed.
  • Fold-over creature 5 minutes. Fold a sheet into 3. Draw a head on the top part, fold it back and pass it on. The next pupil adds a body, the next adds legs, and the fourth unfolds it.
  • One-line drawing 2 minutes. Pick something you can see from your seat and draw it without lifting your pencil from the paper. Hold the drawings up when the timer ends.
  • Other-hand drawing 2 minutes. Draw a house, a tree and a sun with the hand you do not write with. Sign it with that hand too.
  • Shape starters 3 minutes. Draw 6 triangles. Turn each one into something different before the timer ends: a slice of pizza, a sail, a mountain, a party hat.
  • Squiggle swap 2 minutes. Draw one quick squiggle and swap papers with a neighbor. Turn the squiggle you were given into a picture before the timer ends.
  • Two-hand mirror doodle 2 minutes. Hold a pencil in each hand and draw the same shape with both at once, as mirror images. Try a heart, then a star, then a butterfly.

Class games 8

  • Copy my rhythm 1 minute. Drum a short rhythm on your desk with flat hands and the class drums it back. Make each one a beat longer, then hand the lead to a pupil.
  • Find the leader 5 minutes. One pupil stands at the front facing the board with eyes covered. Point to a secret leader who starts a move and changes it every few seconds while everyone copies. The guesser turns around and gets 3 tries to spot the leader.
  • Heads down, thumbs up 5 minutes. 4 pickers stand. Everyone else puts their head down and one thumb up. Each picker gently presses one thumb down. Heads up: those 4 pupils guess who picked them, and a right guess swaps places.
  • Museum statues 3 minutes. One pupil is the guard and walks the room. Everyone else is a statue who may change pose only while the guard looks away. Caught moving, you sit down and help the guard watch.
  • Pass the clap 2 minutes. Send one clap around the room, each pupil clapping once as soon as the person before them has. Time a full lap, then try to beat it twice.
  • Rock-paper-scissors tournament 3 minutes. Everyone plays a partner, one throw per match. Whoever loses joins the winner's cheering section and follows them to the next match, until two players meet in a final with half the room behind each.
  • Spot the change 3 minutes. A volunteer stands at the front for 10 seconds while the class studies them. They step out, change 3 small things, such as a rolled sleeve or an untucked collar, and come back. The class finds all 3.
  • Would you rather: pick a side 2 minutes. Ask a this-or-that question, such as be a bird or be a fish, and point to a side of the room for each answer. Pupils walk to their side and one from each side says why.

At your desk 8

  • Air band 1 minute. Name an instrument and everyone plays the air version for 10 seconds: drums, violin, trumpet, piano. Finish with the whole band at once.
  • Five of a color 1 minute. Call a color. Without leaving their seats, everyone points to 5 different things of that color as fast as they can. A pupil calls the next color.
  • Guess the minute 1 minute. Start the timer at 1 min with Sound unticked. Everyone closes their eyes at the start and raises a hand when they think 60 seconds have passed. You watch the clock and say who was closest.
  • Mismatched finger count 1 minute. Count to 5 on both hands at once, but start one hand at the thumb and the other at the little finger. Then count back down.
  • Pat your head, rub your stomach 1 minute. Pat your head with one hand and rub circles on your stomach with the other. When you hear the word switch, swap hands without stopping.
  • Secret handshake 2 minutes. With the person next to you, invent a handshake with 4 moves before the timer ends. Pairs who want to can show theirs to the class.
  • Thumb and pinky switch 1 minute. Give a thumbs up with one hand and stick out the little finger of the other. Switch both at the same time. Keep switching for 30 seconds, then try it with your eyes shut.
  • Tongue twister race 1 minute. Say toy boat 5 times fast. Then try red leather, yellow leather. Pupils can bring a twister of their own for next time.

How it works

These fun brain breaks take 1 to 5 minutes and need only scrap paper and a pencil. Press Pick another brain break and 1 of 40 activities appears with how to run it. Nothing repeats until the list runs out.

Read the full guide

Run quick brain breaks from the board

Press the button or tap the space bar. The timer button over the result is already set to that activity's length. Press it, and it stops at zero. These are short brain breaks: 19 of the 40 last 1 minute and only 3 run to 5.

Filter by movement, art, games or desk

The menu that reads All brain breaks narrows the list. Art and doodle holds 8 art brain breaks for scrap paper. At your desk suits a room with no space. Crossing the midline brain breaks are moves where a hand reaches across the line that runs down the body through the navel: Opposite knee taps, Windmills, Rainbow arcs.

  • Deal three and let the class vote.
  • Teaching grades 2 to 5? The elementary list marks every activity for the younger grades, the older ones or both.

Questions and answers

What makes good brain breaks for a whole class?

They start in under 10 seconds, need no equipment, leave nobody sitting out for long and end on a clear signal. These are plain text, with no video to preview. The best are the ones your class asks for again.

Are these only elementary school brain breaks?

No. The list is sorted by kind of activity, not by grade. Most are easy enough for a first grader to follow from one spoken instruction. For older students, try the partner ones, such as Describe and draw.

Do they work as fun brain breaks for kids at home?

Most of At your desk and Art and doodle need one child and a pencil, and a parent can be the partner in Squiggle swap. Skip Class games, which need a room full of players.

Which ones work as indoor recess brain breaks?

Choose Class games in the menu. Heads down, thumbs up, Find the leader and Museum statues each fill 3 to 5 minutes. When the clock stops, press the button again for the next game.

More tools

Show 8 more

Browse Classroom Management