Whenever my kids start to get sluggish or de-motivated with their homeschooling, I try to give them “brain breaks.” Basically this means time away from their current work to de-stress and divert their attention to a more relaxing activity. However, it’s called a brain break because they are still doing something purposeful and beneficial for their brain.
Elijah is seen here taking a pause from his writing work, playing with a Perplexus maze toy. (The boys have several of these that they have collected over the years. Got them on Amazon.) Boys often need breaks from composition!
After about five to ten minutes, he returned to his work re-energized.
Here, Edan and Titus are helping Catalina assemble an art toy she got for Christmas.
Sometimes, I let Titus hold a globe and quiz him on locations of countries, cities, bodies of water. He loves geography so this is a fun brain break for him.
Edan is teaching Catalina reading for me while he waits to do his next assignment…(He really likes doing this which is a blessing to me!)
During other times, I let my sons read a page or two of a book they are enjoying in between what they are doing, just to break up the monotony.
Brain breaks can also include doing some art, eating a snack, singing or dancing, doing some research about a topic online, or solving a fun puzzle. Basically, the idea is a five to ten minute period to get them away from something that may feel long and tedious in order to give the brain time to rest and relax over an activity that is enjoyable to a child. It’s also necessary to know what my kids like and are interested in otherwise a brain break will feel more burdensome than de-stressing. After a brain break, I find that my children come back to the task at hand with renewed energy and resolve, and we get through the homeschool morning just fine, as well as finish the day by noon or 1 pm. So these breaks don’t actually take away from academic time. They allow for maximization of academic time better because my kids can focus and re-focus without getting over-fatigued.
Hope this tip helps you!
My kids love to draw so to de-stress I let them do some sketching in between, a friend from church gave me this idea because as you have said, it lets them relax and they become more receptive and can concetrate well during school work. I hope to read tips on time-management during study time. I only have two kids and I feel like one or the other suffers because I can’t give both my full attentiion during study time. It’s extremely stressful to all of us especially during exams. Ayayayayay.
de-stress and relaxation is for pussies.. stress makes you send your flowers of december
Hey Joy can I ask are your boys CIRCUMCISED? If so read Galatian 5:2 and tell me your reaction haha
Elijah might have Marian’s syndrome. He is quite tall and thin. His arm span also looks wide. You might want to get him checked. It can cause heart abnormalities.
Thanks for the concern. He’s just in a growth spurt right now. I’m sure it will all fit together well in the end! ha ha ha. My side of the family has lanky arms and legs. It’s from our American side…