Brain breaks – La Maestra Loca

Ten Day Brain Break Challenge!

YES!!!!!! I have been planning this for quite some time! I decided to save it for April because I think it seems to be the month that always drags on FOREVER! I will keep this blog short and sweet. I am inviting you and your students to do a 10 day Brain Break challenge. Each…

April 14, 2021Brain breaks

Brain breaks Videos

Brain Breaks Part 26! Rollercoaster, Surfer, 7th grader!

At the beginning of the school year, Brent came into my life... He is a second-year Math teacher, and he is just SO much fun! I've spent the entire year trying to convince him to become a Chinese teacher (he minored in Mandarin in college) and totally knew he thought I was kidding but lately…

March 1, 2021Brain breaks, Videos

Brain breaks

Brain Breaks Part 25: STOMP, CLAP, SNAP!

What!? Maestra Loca?! You still blog!? I know... I suck this year... oh well! Something is better than nothing I suppose! Wanted to share a Brain Break with you that I've really been loving this year! The Middle School Music teacher at my school, Ashley Johnson, shared it with me. It is essentially body percussion...…

February 20, 2021Brain breaks

Brain breaks

Brain Breaks Part 24: This or That

HEY Y'ALL! I know I know.... it HAS indeed been a while. Things are crazy here... Crazy to say the very least. I have SO much going on in my personal life right now I am barely coping with teaching... Remember to give yourself and ALL teachers grace because this year is indescribably challenging and…

November 16, 2020Brain breaks

Brain breaks Teaching Virtually Videos

Brain Breaks Part 23: Just Dance!

Soooooooo lately I've been feeling a little burned out on the Wii Fit Obstacle Course Brain Break but it continues to be one of the funniest and most enjoyable...and it is AWESOME because you can still do it virtually! Kids are used to just doing it once every couple of weeks with me so it…

September 10, 2020Brain breaks, Teaching Virtually, Videos

Brain breaks Classroom Culture and Community Videos

Brain Breaks Part 22: GIVE ME ONE!

Hello my dear friends! I was going through my pictures a couple of weeks ago to make a video compilation for my students for my usual end of the year "gift". This year, I used InShot instead of Splice because it is a free alternative and it is just as easy to use! While doing…

June 5, 2020Brain breaks, Classroom Culture and Community, Videos

Brain breaks Videos

Brain Breaks Part 21: Fast Fingers!

On March 13th, I was Vermont Foreign Language Association's Keynote speaker and workshop leader. I took three planes to get there and when I landed in New Hampshire and was in line to rent a car to drive the rest of the way I discovered that they made the decision to do it all virtually.…

April 7, 2020Brain breaks, Videos

Brain breaks

Brain Breaks Part 20: Lotería

Do y'all remember that glorious Monday in December we all woke up to find that Google had a "Doodle" for that day that was made to celebrate the traditional game of ¡Lotería!? Sigh... I remember it like it was last week... That's because we played it AGAIN last week in my classes!!! The best part…

March 9, 2020Brain breaks

Brain breaks Videos

Brain Breaks Part 19: Number game!

There are so many benefits to using Brain Breaks in your classroom! The most obvious are: increased student engagement, culture building, and JOY... one less obvious benefit is that Brain Breaks can be vocabulary builders. The parts of the body brain break is one of the first I used to "teach" parts of the body…

January 26, 2020Brain breaks, Videos

Brain breaks Videos

Brain Breaks Part 18: Obstacle Courses!

Many of y'all who stalk my blog (THANK YOU! GRACIAS! MERCI! DANKE! XIE XIE!) have already read this Brain Breaks blog (or one very similar) so it will feel like dejavu!... I wrote this several months ago but deleted it and am republishing it slightly differently! (Thank you Christopher Sutherland!) YouTube has tons of great…

September 10, 2019Brain breaks, Videos