Many children find it difficult to filter out the stimuli that are important at the moment from the numerous stimuli that surround them and to concentrate on them, because for these children there is no difference in importance whether it is a teacher lecturing, a classmate whispering somewhere in the class or a fly crawling around the window. But even when something captures their attention, it usually doesn’t last long, because the lack of pause between different events also leaves them no time to think quietly and thus plan the next steps in learning or even playing with others.
This ability to choose between activity and relaxation according to the situation is important for everyday school life, and reaction games, such as the stop dance, can help to increase attention. Here, everyone moves around the room dancing or jumping to motivating music, and when the music stops, everyone must immediately freeze their movement and may only move again when the music continues, whereby it is important that both phases are consistently maintained.