Brain gym starters

This is how quickly your brain

forgets things
 Your brain is a muscle
• Like every other muscle it needs exercise
• Brain gym is one way to exercise your
mind so that you can learn better.
 Your brain is a muscle
• Research shows that structured physical
movement can enhance our readiness for
learning.
• Physical movement increases the oxygen
in the blood stream and leads to
improved concentration. In addition,
adding a movement or physical action to
a learning point will help recall.
 Your brain is a muscle
1. With your forefinger and thumb of each
hand pinched together, extend your
hands out in front of your face and trace
large circles in the same direction. Keep
your lips and teeth together. Now trace
the circles in the other direction. Now
try with one hand going clockwise and
the other anti-clockwise. Swap again.
 Your brain is a muscle

Simple:
Read aloud the colour that you
see.

Top tip only read the colour…..

 Your brain is a muscle

Simple:
Read aloud the colour that you
see.

Top tip only read the colour…..

 Your brain is a muscle

REMEMBER –
JUST READ THE COLOUR
NOTHING ELSE
Your brain is a muscle

JUST
THE
COLOUR
RED YELLOW PINK BLUE
BROWN GREEN BLACK
PURPLE WHITE ORANGE
GOLD BLACK YELLOW
BLACK YELLOW PURPLE
PINK RED BLACK BLACK
BLUE GREEN GOLD BLUE
BLUE ORANGE WHITE
RED WHITE YELLOW
 Your brain is a muscle
Easy?
No because your brain is working
against itself
(LEFT BRAIN/RIGHT BRAIN)
and you are likely to make
mistakes and errors.
Try again
RED YELLOW PINK BLUE
BROWN GREEN BLACK
PURPLE WHITE ORANGE
GOLD BLACK YELLOW
BLACK YELLOW PURPLE
PINK RED BLACK BLACK
BLUE GREEN GOLD BLUE
BLUE ORANGE WHITE
RED WHITE YELLOW
 Your brain is a muscle

This time simply read what you

can see
RED YELLOW PINK BLUE
BROWN GREEN BLACK
PURPLE WHITE ORANGE
GOLD BLACK YELLOW
BLACK YELLOW PURPLE
PINK RED BLACK BLACK
BLUE GREEN GOLD BLUE
BLUE ORANGE WHITE
RED WHITE YELLOW
Your brain is a muscle

Easy?
 Your brain is a muscle
1. With your writing hand hold an
imaginary pencil in front of your face
and write the keywords from your
lesson in the air. Say the letters of the
word as you write. When you have
finished try and write them backwards.
For fun, write the keywords in the air
but with your nose! Watch your
neighbour and try and guess what the
word is. Now try it with your ear!
 Your brain is a muscle
1. With your writing hand hold an
imaginary pencil in front of your face
and write the keywords from your
lesson in the air. Say the letters of the
word as you write. When you have
finished try and write them backwards.
For fun, write the keywords in the air
but with your nose! Watch your
neighbour and try and guess what the
word is. Now try it with your ear!
 Your brain is a muscle
1. Hold your ears and slowly roll your ear
lobes between finger and thumb. Do it
nice and slowly and all the way around
your ear. How does it feel?
 Your brain is a muscle
1. With your elbows at shoulder height,
practise making big circles, then small
circles, forwards and backwards.
 Your brain is a muscle
1. Do finger aerobics! With a partner sit
alongside each other or either side of your
desk. Your partner should place both hands
flat on the desk and so should you. Take turns
to lift different fingers without taking any
other fingers off the desk. Do it together and
in sequence. Start with simple lifts with each
finger in turn, then taps, then bends, then big
stretches! Now one of you be the aerobics
instructor and the other has to do exactly the
exercises the instructor demonstrates!
 Your brain is a muscle
1. Practise shoulder shrugs. Roll your
shoulders forwards, then back.
 Your brain is a muscle
1. Use finger sums by showing your
partner a number sum with your fingers
and then seeing if your partner can get
the correct answer. Remember crossed
hands means add, one hand across your
face means take away, hands in a
diagonal is multiple and a hand across
your face with a dot above and below is
divide. Start with 5 times 4 equals...?
 Your brain is a muscle - Brain
Buttons
This exercise helps improve blood flow to
the brain to "switch on" the entire brain
before a lesson begins. The increased
blood flow helps improve concentration
skills required for reading, writing,
 Your brain is a muscle - Brain
Buttons
• Put one hand so that there is as wide a space
as possible between the thumb and index
finger.
• Place your index and thumb into the slight
indentations below the collar bone on each
side of the sternum. Press lightly in a pulsing
manner.
• At the same time put the other hand over the
navel area of the stomach. Gently press on
these points for about 2 minutes.
 Your brain is a muscle - Brain
Buttons
• Put one hand so that there is as wide a space
as possible between the thumb and index
finger.
• Place your index and thumb into the slight
indentations below the collar bone on each
side of the sternum. Press lightly in a pulsing
manner.
• At the same time put the other hand over the
navel area of the stomach. Gently press on
these points for about 2 minutes.
 Your brain is a muscle - "Cross
Crawl"
• This exercise helps coordinate right and
left brain by exercising the information
flow between the two hemispheres. It is
useful for spelling, writing, listening,
reading and comprehension.
 Your brain is a muscle - Brain
Buttons
• Stand or sit. Put the right hand across
the body to the left knee as you raise it,
and then do the same thing for the left
hand on the right knee just as if you
were marching.
• Just do this either sitting or standing for
about 2 minutes.
 Your brain is a muscle -
• Hook Ups"
• This works well for nerves before a test
or special event such as making a
speech. Any situation which will cause
nervousness calls for a few "hook ups"
to calm the mind and improve
concentration.
 Your brain is a muscle -Hook
Ups"
• Stand or sit. Cross the right leg over the left
at the ankles.
• Take your right wrist and cross it over the left
wrist and link up the fingers so that the right
wrist is on top.
• Bend the elbows out and gently turn the
fingers in towards the body until they rest on
the sternum (breast bone) in the center of the
chest. Stay in this position.
• Keep the ankles crossed and the wrists
crossed and then breathe evenly in this
position for a few minutes. You will be
noticeably calmer after that time.
Your brain is a muscle -Names in
the air
• With your preferred hand write out your full
name in the air. Use large
• movements. Do it forwards and backwards.
Now use your other hand to write
• your name with both hands simultaneously. If
you are right handed, start in the
• centre and work out. If you are left-handed
start at the outside and work in. Try
• this several times before going on to another
name.
Your brain is a muscle -Names
in the air
• Another left and right brain activity that helps
establish directionality and
• orientation in space. It can be a fun way of practising
spelling, previewing or
• reviewing keywords or team building. As an
exercise, ‘names in the air’ can be
• used to help make difficult spellings memorable.
Have the student practise it with
• each hand then both hands and then on successful
completion place the drawn
• image in their upper left field of vision. Ask them to
write it in the air again but this
• time with their eyes closed.
 Your brain is a muscle –Lazy
8’s
• With one arm extended in front of you and
your thumb pointing upwards trace the
• shape of a figure eight in the air. The eight
should be on its side and as you trace
• it out in large, slow movements focus your
eyes on your thumb. Without moving
• your head trace three eights in successively
larger movements. Now do it with
• your other hand and then clasp them together
and do both.
 Your brain is a muscle –Lazy
8’s
• With one arm extended in front of you and your
thumb pointing upwards trace the
• shape of a figure eight in the air. The eight should be
on its side and as you trace
• it out in large, slow movements focus your eyes on
your thumb. Without moving your head trace three
eights in successively larger movements. Now do it
with your other hand and then clasp them together
and do both.
• Before and after research show that binocular and
peripheral vision improve after Lazy eights. The
activity connects right and left visual fields and
improves balance and co-ordination.
 Your brain is a muscle –Lazy
8’s
• With one arm extended in front of you and your
thumb pointing upwards trace the
• shape of a figure eight in the air. The eight should be
on its side and as you trace
• it out in large, slow movements focus your eyes on
your thumb. Without moving your head trace three
eights in successively larger movements. Now do it
with your other hand and then clasp them together
and do both.
• Before and after research show that binocular and
peripheral vision improve after Lazy eights. The
activity connects right and left visual fields and
improves balance and co-ordination.
 Your brain is a muscle –Rub-
a-dubs
• Gently rub your hand in a circle on your
tummy. Stop, then pat your head with the
• other hand gently, Now do both at the same
time and at a similar pace. You
• should be rubbing your tummy whilst patting
your head. Try to maintain the
• difference in each movement. Swap around.
Pat your tummy whilst rubbing your
• head. This activity connects left and right
brain and is pure fun! It focuses
• attention and can take your mind ‘off’
whatever was preoccupying it beforehand.
 Your brain is a muscle –
Cross Crawl
• While standing begin to ‘march’ in time.
Raise your knees and alternately touch
• each knee with your opposite hand.
Progressively, move your elbows to each
• knee in sequence. An alternative is to touch
each heel behind your back with
• opposite hands.
• Cross crawl activates both halves of the brain
together. Research suggests that it
• improves coordination, visual, auditory and
kinesthetic ability and can improve
• listening, writing and memory.
 Your brain is a muscle –
Alphabet edit
• Alphabet edit is a challenge. It is a very
useful activity for clearing the mind of
any baggage brought to the classroom
that may be getting in the way of
learning. It involves reading aloud the
letters of the alphabet from beginning
to end or end to beginning. It can be
used for practising spelling and for
learning the alphabet.
 Your brain is a muscle –
Alphabet edit
• Alphabet edit is a challenge. It is a very
useful activity for clearing the mind of
any baggage brought to the classroom
that may be getting in the way of
learning. It involves reading aloud the
letters of the alphabet from beginning
to end or end to beginning. It can be
used for practising spelling and for
learning the alphabet.
 Your brain is a muscle –
Alphabet edit
• ABCDEFGHIJKL
• Ltrrttllrttr
• MNOPQRSTUVWX
• Llttlrtrrtll
• YZ
• Lr
 Your brain is a muscle –
Alphabet edit
• Alphabet edit involves reading the letters of
the alphabet aloud as a class or small group
whilst completing the accompanying action,- l
left hand raise and r is a right hand raise and t
is both arms together. A further variation (and
complication) is to accompany the raise with
an opposite leg raise!
• Alphabet edit connects left and right brain,
helps hand-eye co-ordination and will improve
visual, auditory and kinesthetic ability.