Last week I left work on time one day and went to spend an hour getting my tootsies painted. The favorite thing is not painted tootsies, it’s taking the hour out of my day to sit and enjoy the time. I was able to let my thoughts wander or not wander. I stared out the window at the sunny sky, I chatted some with the tootsie specialists, and I enjoyed the hour. I felt refreshed and energized afterwards. Of course I also felt fancy since I had painted tootsies.

It reminded me of the times in my classroom when I remembered to take a break like this. I scrolled through my blog and found so many little tidbits about times that this break made the learning actually go faster. To be clear, these breaks were often only a minute or two long, There is much to be taught to our most inspiring cape-wearing students and hour-long breaks are much less common.

I scrolled through some blog posts and found some of my favorite short breaks. There are quite a few here, so I will just encourage you to pick one or two that strike your fancy and take a mini-break as you read some bits about my “lovies” from back in my teaching time. I enjoyed the stroll and boy do I love teaching!
Going Invisible (time–under a minute; school skills used–writing craft and vocabulary)

Pickle Skins  (time–about a minute)

European Studies (time–30 minutes; school skills used–technology integration)

Bait and Switch (time–2+ hours); school skills used–reading, writing, presentation)

A Vignette (time–2 minutes)

A Collection of Blue Things (time–immeasurable)

A Cup of Tea (time–3 minutes of me, zero minutes for student)

Campfire (an all-time favorite moment in my teaching career)

Each of these vignettes shows a small (or longer) time out that had a positive impact on at least me. Can you think of a time out that was effective for you? If not, I encourage you to take one.