Story Time Videos and Brain Breaks

Asking students to sit still for too long can leave you feeling like you want to pull your hair out! Even as adults, we can struggle to focus on one thing for too long. That’s why it is important to add some variation into your lessons and implement some strategies to help your students get rid of some of their extra energy to be able to focus. One way to do this is utilizing story time videos and brain breaks.

Research shows that scheduling breaks into your lessons helps students learn better. Taking a break helps students to refocus and stay engaged. Breaks increase productivity and add a little fun into your day! Whenever you see students starting to get antsy, use one of these breaks to help keep your class on track. It is so important to offer opportunities for physical activity and movement within your lessons, doing so helps keep students on task and keeps the blood flowing through their bodies so they are able to retain information better.

Today I am going to share a list of brain breaks and story time video ideas to help you help your students focus better. These resources can be used at any time during your lesson but are especially helpful during transition times. 

When to use story time videos or brain breaks:

• Before reading a story
• In between two different stories you have planned for the day
• After reading a story, before transitioning to check-out time
• During check-out time! This is especially great if you do not have an assistant. These resources will help keep your class engaged while you are managing check-out!

*Note: Some of these resources are found on Youtube. Safe Share offers the ability to show Youtube clips in your class without dealing with the hassle of ads. It also works well with Google classroom and allows you to show just segments of a longer video! I definitely recommend using Safe Share in your classroom! 

YouTube Videos

Jack Hartmann Kids Music YouTube channel

Jack Hartmann Kids Music Channel is a great resource for your class. This channel offers a variety of music videos and educational videos alike, it even has videos to teach students sign language! How cool is that? A few of my absolute favorites include:

• I Love to Read
• Shake Break
• Head Shoulders Knees and Toes
• Shake Your Sillies Out

Jack Hartmann’s videos vary in length so you are sure to find one to fit your class’ needs.

Laurie Berkner YouTube channel

Laurie Berkner is KNOWN for her music! She has performed many times and has a whole library of videos to choose from. She will definitely have your students singing along. A few of my favorites from her channel include:

• Look at All the Letters
• The Goldfish
• We are the Dinosaurs

Jbrary YouTube channel

These storytime videos were created by two children’s librarians. There are all kinds of fingerplays, rhymes, songs and so much more.

The Learning Station YouTube channel

The Learning Station YouTube channel is great for all grade levels. They have songs students may already know and some new ones for them to learn! They do offer videos that are a tad bit longer in length. These would be great to use during checkout time to keep your class engaged. 

Storytime Song from Fun Kids English. This fun video is approximately 3 minutes long and is great as a transition into story time! It is calming yet engaging and prepares students to sit quietly during storytime! It is sure to be a hit, especially with your primary groups!

Here are a few more Youtube videos for students. Although these videos can be used with any age group these will be especially engaging for your primary classes.

• Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
• Hop a Little, Jump a Little

Websites

Eric Litwin

This website has a handful of free audio downloads that go along with some of Eric Litwin’s books. These well-known books include Pete the Cat, Groovy Joe and The Nut Family series. There are even some downloads available in Spanish. These are sure to be a hit with your class. 

Cosmic Kids

This website is fabulous! They offer calming yoga games that students love! These are great for a class that may be coming in from recess or PE. Yoga is a foolproof way to help students decompress after running around outside! One feature I love about this website is the ability to filter by length of video and energy level. If you only have an allotted time for a break or transitional activity, Cosmic Kids allows you to filter and search by video length up to 10 minutes. You can also filter based on the energy level you would like! They do  have a YouTube channel as well. Be sure to check out these two videos:

• Be The Pond
• Zen Den – playlist of mindfulness videos

Go Noodle

This website is pretty well-known and loved by students of all ages! There are so many videos and genres of videos to choose from, your options are endless! Go Noodle offers videos that vary in length and activity type from indoor recess to mindfulness options. Students love Go Noodle. One fun feature they offer when you create an account is an avatar that grows the more videos you watch! Just another little fun way to get students engaged! Be sure to utilize that search bar to get the most out of this website. Search for topics such as mindfulness or yoga for calming videos. 

Be sure to check out some of these videos and use them with your classes during library. Your students will surely love them! Do you have a favorite go to website for brain breaks and story time videos not listed here? Drop it below in the comments. I would love to check it out.