Exercises to wake up your brain and help it work better
Before sitting down to homework or starting the workday, our brain — just like our body — needs a warm-up. A few minutes is all it takes to trade sluggishness and distraction for clarity, focus, and the drive to get going.
I’ve put together simple, engaging exercises that literally “switch on” the brain — great for kids before homework and for adults before the start of their day. Nothing complicated — just a bit of play and attention to yourself.
And if your child asks why bother training the brain at all, remember the story “The Spark of Strength: How Lily Leveled Up Her Brain” and our conversation about neuroplasticity that I shared earlier. Every exercise like this is one more path through the forest of their mind — a little wider, a little more sure-footed than before.
Name the colour of each word, not the word itself:
RED YELLOW GREEN BLUE WHITE BLACK PURPLE GREEN BLACK BLUE LIGHT BLUE BROWN BLUE GREEN PURPLE RED BLUE
BLACK BROWN GREEN
You can change the colours and order of the words in a photo editor!
Drawing with both hands:
Hold a felt-tip pen in each hand.
Use one hand to draw a triangle and the other to draw a square.
Make it harder: now write different letters.
Next: two different words.
The ‘Maze’ Game
The child must find their way through the maze using only their eyes, without pointing with a pencil or their finger. Mazes help children to concentrate and maintain their focus, train their memory and develop their spatial awareness.
Use ANY MAZE YOU FIND ONLINE
The ‘Captain’ Game
Make a fist with one hand, with the thumb pointing upwards. Hold the other hand to your forehead, forming a visor. Then swap hands. Gradually make the exercise more challenging by adding a clap.
Drawing Upside Down
Ask your child to draw a dog, a little person, a snowman or a flower – but upside down. It’s not as easy as it sounds, because even the smile has to be turned upside down, otherwise the character won’t look cheerful – quite the opposite, in fact.
Tricky riddles:
Who’s about to fly off the flower?
A colourful …
A butterfly (not a hippopotamus)
A shoe has gone missing, what to do?
There’s only one, but we need …
Two (not nine)
A mouse is counting the holes in the cheese:
Three plus two makes …
Five (not four)
Take a look at your friend,
How many eyes does your friend have? …
Two (not three)
I catch mice in the house,
I entertain the little ones.
Tell me, children, out loud, my name is…
A cat (not a rooster)
Everything’s covered in white snow –
That means…
Winter (not summer)
Curled up into a ball – go on, give it a nudge!
Prickly all over…
A hedgehog (not a horse)
I found five berries in the grass and ate one, leaving…
Four (not two)
With love for children,
Pediatric Perinatal Psychologist and Art Therapist