Winter Archives - Page 2 of 5

4 Engaging Brain Break Activities Your Students Will Love

December 8, 2023 teachersbrain Classroom Behavior Management, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips, Winter

Wondering if you should be adding in more brain breaks to your days with your students?

Think of brain breaks as super important timeouts for our little ones in elementary school. They’re not just about taking a break – they’re like power-ups for our students!

These short breaks do more than give a breather from lessons; they actually help our kids think better, feel happier, and make the whole classroom experience way more awesome.

In elementary, every day is a mix of excitement and learning, throwing in brain breaks is like adding a secret ingredient to help our little learners grow and have a blast.

What is a brain break?

Brain Breaks are short activities that help energize your students. They last about 1 to 5 minutes. They require no or little prep and help send oxygen to the brain to help students retain information.

Looking for brain break activities? I have you covered!

There are many things you can do like getting some physical activity, watching a short video on YouTube, taking a dance break, playing a game, or making a craft. One of my favorite brain break activities is coloring!

If you are looking for some high-quality coloring sheets that will keep your students occupied, these are perfect for you.

Dinosaur Coloring Pages

These dino coloring pages make great discussion starters and writing prompts!

Unicorn Coloring Pages

These unicorn coloring pages are the perfect magical break from learning.

Winter Coloring Pages

These help keep students and you calm and make great wall decorations!

For even more brain break fun, you can check out this brain break activity resource!

This is my favorite collection of 48 different Brain Breaks. These task cards can be used as transitions, breaks during an activity, something to raise or lower the energy of the group, team-building activities, and so much more!

What’s included?

• 48 Printable Task Cards in Black and White (4 per page) PDF

• 48 Printable Task Cards in Color (4 per page) PDF

• 48 Printable 8×10 Cards in Color (1 per page) PDF

• 48 Goofle Slides in Color for Digital Displays or Sharing at a Distance

• 2 Editable Slides to Create Your Own Brain Breaks (Google link digital option provided in the PDF)

Place them on a ring, on popsicle sticks, or in a crayon box for easy storage!

Use the Google Slides in presentation mode to randomly pick a brain break.
Looking for more classroom management tips, check out my post here!

3 Delightful Gingerbread Man Activities This Holiday Season

November 24, 2023 teachersbrain Teaching Tips, Winter

It’s officially time to get excited for the holidays! As the festive season approaches, there’s an undeniable air of excitement and joy in our classrooms. The fun holiday crafts lining the halls and the anticipation of holiday fun make this time of year truly magical for our little learners.

What are some popular Christmas activities?

There are many ways that you can bring holiday cheer to your classroom, but I wanted to share a unique spin- gingerbread-themed activities!

In the spirit of spreading holiday cheer, I’m thrilled to share some gingerbread-themed activities that will make your classroom feel like a winter wonderland. If you’re looking for Christmas activities for students or Gingerbread Man activities, you’re in the right place!

Here are my top 3 Gingerbread Man activities for kindergarten or early elementary students!

Gingerbread Man Craft and Writing Activities

Let your students turn into the gingerbread man (or girl) this holiday season! This is a fun headband or writing topper that comes with bonus writing prompts. Students will color, cut, and glue the parts together to turn themselves into a gingerbread cookie!

Build a Gingerbread House or Man Writing Activity

gingerbread man activities writing activities

Are you looking for a great way to do an engaging virtual OR in-person Holiday writing lesson with students with a gingerbread theme? I have you covered with these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts to design their own gingerbread house or person. Then, they will write a narrative, persuasive, or opinion paper about the decorated gingerbread. You can even have a virtual contest!

Gingerbread Man Craft Bulletin Board Set

Are you looking for a great way to get students to sequence events with a gingerbread man theme or maybe an interactive decorative classroom bulletin board for your classroom? This download includes different pull waffle books to use with the story, a pocket to hold the characters for students to reenact the story, and BLANK waffle books to create your own story! Just add a bow and a folded lunch bag to create a keepsake for students to give to others or use on the bulletin board.

I hope these printable Gingerbread Man activities and digital activities bring a smile to your students’ faces this year.

If you want more Christmas activities for the classroom, check out my post here!

Jingle All the Way to Learning: 5 Enchanting Christmas Activities for the Classroom

November 17, 2023 teachersbrain education, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips, Winter, Writing

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and it’s time to sprinkle a bit of holiday magic into your classroom with some Christmas activities for kids or holiday activities for elementary.

Christmas and the winter holidays are just around the corner, and I want to share some festive resources and activities that will turn your classroom into a winter wonderland of learning and joy!

If you are looking for Christmas activities for elementary students, you’re in the right place!

Teaching during the holiday season is a special opportunity to infuse the spirit of Christmas into your lessons while keeping the focus on education. Here are some of my favorite Christmas activities for kids!

Christmas Math and Literacy Worksheets

Are you looking for some holiday worksheets for your K-1 students? I have you covered with over 100 various types of worksheets, games, and printables that cover many kindergarten and 1st grade skills.

Holidays Around the World Escape Room

Looking for a GREAT activity for your students to help your students practice problem-solving and learn about different winter holidays with a focus on the main idea? Digital Escapes™ are a fun way to get students to learn without even realizing it. NO Printing and No Prep needed for this digital escape! Super EASY for in-person or Distance Learning.

Students will click an audio button for a short story and directions to help with their first clue. During the escape, students will be tasked with solving 4 lock clues in order to escape the room and break the spell a bad elf placed on them. There is a PDF included in this download with directions, the link to the site, an answer key, and an optional note-taking worksheet for students. This activity takes about 20 to 30 minutes to complete.

Christmas Ornament Poem (FREEBIE!)

Are you looking for a great poem to easily download, print, and add to an ornament filled with a ribbon the same size as the student? I have you covered. 🙂 These make perfect gifts for the family!

Christmas Door Decorations

Christmas classroom decorations Christmas activities for kids

Ready to have the cutest door at school for the holidays? This is a simple door or bulletin board you can create using these printables. Pair Santa’s Vacation display with student writing samples or have students add a personalized bulb to the palm tree.

Santa is gone to the beach!

Ugly Sweater Christmas Writing Activity

Christmas activities for kids writing activity ugly sweater

Are you looking for a great way to do an engaging virtual OR in-person Holiday WRITING lesson with students? I have you covered with these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts to DESIGN their own Ugly Sweater. Then, they will write a narrative, persuasive, or opinion paper about ugly sweaters.

‘Tis the season to be jolly and learn together! I hope you and your students love these resources as much as I do.

Looking for more Christmas fun? Check out my post here!

3 Reasons To Use Holiday Escape Rooms

October 28, 2023 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween, Halloween, St. Patrick's Day Ideas, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Winter

Let’s talk about escape rooms!

If you know me, you know that I’m a huge fan of this incredibly engaging and exciting way to teach little learners various concepts. It feels like a game and it’s just, well, fun for teachers and students! What’s not to love?!

If you’re looking for the perfect classroom escape room kit or even a fun digital escape room to use in your classroom, you’re in the right place! But first, let’s discuss some of the many benefits of escape rooms for students.

What skills do escape rooms build? What does an escape room teach?

It Boosts Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

Escape rooms are like a real-life puzzle that our young learners get to solve together. As they work their way through the challenges and riddles, they’re not just having a blast; they’re also honing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. It’s like a sneak-attack on those important cognitive abilities!

It Fosters Teamwork and Collaboration

Escape rooms are all about teamwork. Our students have to communicate, share ideas, and assign tasks to successfully complete their mission. This experience helps them learn the value of working together and teaches them essential skills for life. Plus, it’s a whole lot of fun in the process!

It Makes Learning an Exciting Adventure

The best part is that escape rooms can sneakily incorporate educational content. Think math, science, history, and language—all cleverly disguised in the form of puzzles and challenges. By turning learning into an adventure, we can keep our students engaged, curious, and excited about learning. It’s like a magic potion for knowledge retention!

With the holidays around the corner, it’s the perfect time to bring in some engaging holiday themed escape rooms to your students! Whether it’s Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or anything in between, it can be celebrated with a classroom escape room.

Luckily, I have the perfect resource for you! I created an all inclusive Holiday Escape Room bundle that will have you covered for all holidays!

Use these holiday themed Escape Rooms to guarantee student engagement while they learn and solve a classroom mystery. With little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock!

What’s inside this download?

6 escape rooms all meeting 1st and 2nd Grade Standards to use for the holidays. Several can be used with 3rd or Kindergarten too!

These escape rooms are focusing on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Veterans Day, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day.

What does an escape room look like for primary students?

You will have to spend about 40 minutes to prep your materials. Students will be separated into two groups. First students watch the YouTube video as a hook. Then, students are handed or find a mystery envelope with a clue. The clue might have them find letters to build sentences, solve puzzles, or solve a riddle. (Each escape room is different.)

Each time they complete a challenge, they get another mystery envelope. There are 3 to 4 clues in each activity. Eventually, they will discover keys that will open a box. (The keys are paper. The box can be an old paper box filled with a treat or homework pass that you will open together once each group has their key.)

Once the box is open, the student can escape the room to recess or the library.

Certificates are provided for students who are Master Mystery Problem Solvers. The activity takes about 45-60 minutes to complete!

Check it out here!

Have you tried escape rooms in your classroom? How did it go? Let me know in the comments! For more escape room fun, check out my post here!