1st Grade Brain Gym

How 1st Grade Brain Gym All Began…
I was interested in finding resources for my
classroom that would captivate students and provide
challenging fun when they were finished with their
assignments.
1st Grade Brain Gym started as a means to extend my
gifted learners.
All of my students have benefited from the vast
assortment of educational resources I have been
able to provide to my students because of the AGATE
mini-grant.
1st Grade Brain Gym is:
An opportunity for students in my classroom to
continue their learning after their assignments are
completed.
Full of challenging games and building tools for
creation and extension.
Hands on fun while learning and exploring.
Promotes perseverance, improved spatial skills,
memory, and problem solving on many levels.
Goobi is…
Magnetic Fun!
Goobi Magnetic Building Sets
Allows students to build with magnetic bars,
spheres, and tripods.
Endless creative possibilities as students use
their imaginations to assemble different
projects.
Strengthens spatial skills and problem solving
strategies.
Contraptions
Building with Wooden Planks
Contraptions
Building with wooden planks
A ball and wooden track building system
Award winning toy – Creative Child Toy Magazine,
Major Fun Award, and more!
Helps children to creatively build with wooden planks
Students strengthen team building and cooperation
with Contraptions
Crazy Action Contraptions
Lego Fun!
Lego building game that allows students to create
cars, vehicles, or contraptions
Includes 16 different building cards
Includes all Lego brick pieces
Students can also make their own projects instead of
following a step-by-step project card
Students have demonstrated great concentration
with Crazy Action Contraptions!
Perplexus – Puzzle Balls
Move the metal ball through the mazes of tunnels, twists, and turns.
Can be a solitary or a partner activity
Helps to promote stronger hand eye coordination
Perplexus Rookie, Perplexus, and the more challenging Perplexus
Epic have all been class favorites!
It has been so fun to watch students continue to work to master
these mazes!
4th graders have even stopped by my classroom to give them a try!

ZOOB Mobile
Car Designer
ZOOB Mobile Car
Designer
Contains 25 different building cards or students can
make their own creations
Perseverance, step-by-step direction following, and
problem solving skills can be tested by students.
Students enjoy collaborating or working solo in this
building activity
Students have made some very unique and creative
projects!
Q-Bit
Spatial Puzzles
Q-Bit
Spatial Puzzles
Sharpens memory and spatial skills
Students focus on recreating the color patterns
An award winning educational activity
This has also become a class favorite for some
even though it can be challenging for 1st graders.
Spirograph
Create intricate designs
Spirograph
Create intricate designs
This has appealed to all types of learners and
both girls and boys.
They are very interested in creating fun,
geometrical types of shapes and designs.
This does require patience and perseverance to
create interesting shapes, which has been very
helpful for many of my 1st grade students.
ColorKu
Sudoku with colors
ColoKu
Sudoku with colors
Helps students to improve in their logical
problem solving skills
Clue cards are used to recreate the correct
colored ball placement on the game board.
Students have enjoyed this activity
tremendously!
Banagrams
Word Building
Banagrams
Word Building
Spelling and Language game
Banagrams has been an award winning
educational toy nominee
Designed to replicate the game of Scrabble
Helpful for 1st graders as they improve in writing
and spelling
Extreme Mosaics
and Extreme Dot-to-Dots Persevere to find the picture!
Extreme Mosaics
Electronic Math Facts Practice
Electronic Math Facts Practice
Builds fluency in addition and subtraction facts
which corresponds with Common Core
Curriculum
Also has options to practice division and
multiplication
Challenges students to think quickly!
Extreme Mosaics
and Dot-to-Dots
These puzzles have been very fun for students as they
work to finish the different pages.
They are challenged to find numbers into the 100’s. This
aligns with the Common Core Curriculum for 1st grade.
Sharpens students ability to follow directions, improve
counting skills, and to follow the picture through to the
end.
They are so proud when they can complete a picture!
1st Grade Brain Gym
My students were in awe each time a package was
delivered to our classroom. They were so excited to
learn about the next new “toy.”
The resources will encourage and challenge my
young 1st grade students for many years to come.
A sincere “Thank You” to the Montana AGATE
organization for providing me with the gift of a 2014
Mini-Grant.