Talking about responsibility can easily be a boring lecture for kids. We made it fun and interactive by talking about "whose job is it" for the important responsibilities in their lives!
Teaching goal setting to kids? DARE them to go after their dreams by creating realistic and do-able short and long term goals. Read more!
Use this list of free resources to use as social emotional learning activities to help you work with kids and young adults. As a special educator for 10 years, I can say without a doubt that we need more social emotional learning supports for kids and young adults. Some of my best days in the classr
Whether your district calls it PBIS, RTI-B, or MTSS-B, chances are, you are providing your students with levels of support. This is a good thing! That said, it’s also another set of things to learn and implement. Especially because it’s often on top of academic MTSS/RTI, and this wasn’t always covered in grad school. The […]
5 school counseling activities using string to focus on growth mindset, anxiety, trauma, coping skills, and impulse control.
Just a quick post to share a school counseling documentation form I created to accompany a referral packet to the special education department. It's the week after conferences and spring break, so I'm a bit short on time. There is more I would like to share about documentation and how that plays into organizing and running an elementary counseling program with 1,700+ students and just little ol'me. (Okay, I'm not that little...but I'm getting off the subject.) For the sake of time management, I leave you with a free download of my counseling services documentation form for now. I will
5 easy to implement school counseling activities with plain paper that is already in your office. Since when has prep time been part of your schedule.
"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." My "word of the year" was supposed to be "calm". I had every intention of learning calming techniques, looking into yoga, doing some meditating, etc. However, things have changed. I'm not calm right now, and that is okay. In fact, when you feel passionate,
One of my biggest strengths (and weaknesses) is that I’m outspoken. There’s not much in the realm of school counseling that I don’t have a strong opinion about. That means there’s some things that are commonplace among other counselors that I don’t do – because they just aren’t in the best interest of my students. […]
A must-read review of 10 favorite grief counseling resources for children. Perfect for any counselor working with children who have experienced grief or lo
Need to present to your faculty about the role of the school counselor? Want to educate staff about school counseling? I’ve done all the work for you with this school counseling presentation/training for faculty and staff! All the slides are complete and ready for your edits to make it the perfect fit for your school. ⭐30 slides ⭐ All text fully editable ⭐ Covers the role and services of the counselor plus relevant policies and procedures ⭐ Recommended for use in PowerPoint, only. Fonts will all change to defaults in Google Slides which will significantly alter the look and format. Here’s the outline: ABOUT About Me SC Definition Guidance ROLE Tier 1 - (including a slide about lessons) Tier 2 - (including slides about groups and consultation) Tier 3 - (including a slide about short-term counseling) School Counselor vs. SW School Counselor vs. psych School Counselor vs. therapist Other Duties POLICIES/PROCEDURES Suicide Ideation Abuse Referrals Child Study Confidentiality When to call nurse vs. counselor When to call admin vs. counselor When teacher can handle vs. counselor MY PROMISE TO FACULTY/STAFF ➡️ Open the preview for more details!
10 inexpensive rewards to use in your middle school class.
Put peacemaking skills at your students��� fingertips with Conflict Cubes they make themselves. This resource encourages collaborative efforts to develop creative and meaningful solutions to common conflicts. Includes directions and a reproducible.
Read about FREE interactive games, a virtual sandtray, art tools, and other resources to use in virtual counseling and TeleHealth sessions.
Kick-start your leadership class or student council group with these must-do activities that will set your whole year up for success.
I've been meaning to post my school counseling office tour. Here's my furniture, artwork, and organization that makes my office tick!
This is an awesome activity to use during the first week of school. You can use it as morning work or as a group activity as you are going over school rules for your class. Be sure to download it here! You Might Also Like:Sight Word StickersLeap Day Fun!Fun Noun and Verb PrintableInterpreting Remainders Handout ... Read More about School Rules Freebie!
The best "icebreaker" activity for high school students (who hate icebreaker activities). Get a jump start on creating a bond with your students.
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10 Ways School Counselings Can Help Kids With Worry: Use these strategies to help your students manage their worries at school.
Welcome to my elementary school counseling office tour! Tips and tricks for how you can make your office fun and functional!
On a limited budget, need to know the absolute must haves for an elementary school counselor? Here's the list of my favorite tools and resources.
It's hard to talk to students without making it a lecture. Empower students while you teach them about respect using hands on activities
Quick, fun, no-prep SEL lesson activities that are perfect for before and after breaks or any time you need an extra fun guidance lesson
Learn effective counseling termination activities with children. Explore 23 interventions to say goodbye, reflect on progress, and plan for success.
Ladies and Gentleman... we officially have the first week down in the books!! And what an AMAZING week it was!! #BestFirstWeekEver!! My kiddos are just awesome. We learned a lot and laughed a lot! My own children also had a great week (aside from a quick bout of a stomach bug that kept one home for a day!). My oldest, Drew, started 1st grade. My middle, Quinn, started Kindergarten. And my toddler twins, Addy and Chase, began two-mornings-a-week preschool. Additionally, Mr. Musings from the Middle School (my husband Dennis), started a new school year, too! Phew!! My head is spinning! Anyway, I hope everyone is having a great weekend and recovering from this busy time of year. This post is mainly a pictorial of some of the goings on in my classroom this week. As we settle into our routine, I'll be back with more "meaty" posts (and hopefully some new videos, too!). One of my favorite activities from the week was this Growth Mindset lesson that I adapted from here. Basically, the kids had to create the image on top using just a piece of paper and scissors. It was NOT easy... but that's exactly the point! As the kids worked, I wrote down some of the comments I heard. Things like, "this is impossible," and "I give up!" After I let them struggle for a while, I brought them back together and discussed the activity with them. It was eye-opening to see their words. They all agreed that their attitude was too negative so of course they would never have been successful. Then we read the Growth Mindset posters hanging in our room and discussed what each one meant. I closed with this video from Khan Academy. It was a fun and powerful lesson. One of the BEST purchases I made from TpT for this school year is the Icebreakers that Rock bundle from Cult of Pedagogy. This product contains three PowerPoint activities that allow students to talk to each other in an easy, comfortable way. What is great about these is that you can use them as one, big activity, or you can break them up, showing just a few slides here and there, as "brain breaks" through out the day. That is how I used them. So, on the first day, I did a big "Find Someone Who" activity with them. This allowed all the kids to learn each other's names. Next, I assigned them all their lockers and we practiced opening the combination locks (super-stressful for these first time locker users)! After that, we did a few slides from Icebreakers that Rock. Then, we went over the syllabus. Next, a few more Icebreakers that Rock slides. After that, I handed out and went over all the paperwork that had to go home and be signed (oh, the paperwork!!!). Then, a few more slides right before lunch. And then a few more right after lunch. Next up, a tour of the building. Then a few more slides before trying our lockers again. Finally, another slide right before dismissal. It was the perfect break/filler/attention-getter/distraction to use throughout the day... actually, I used the slides throughout the whole week! Run to TpT and pick this product up today! Totally worth every penny. (Some of the slides can be done silently. I LOVED these slides!!) Of course, we had to number our notebooks to get ready for ELA next week. I always tell kids that this is the easiest, most difficult task that we do all year :) I really the love smell of a Mr. Sketch anchor poster in the morning! This year, I'm starting with Reading Nonfiction: Notice and Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies. My thinking is that it will really help with getting started with Article of the Week. Here is one of several of the posters I'll be using to teach these strategies. I'm jumping on the #ObserveMe bandwagon! Read more about it here. I'll keep you updated on how this goes throughout the year! Okay... that is enough for now! The beach is calling my name... nothing beats September here at the Jersey Shore! Hope the back-to-school season is treating you well! I'd love to hear how your school year is going so far. Happy Teaching!!
30 social-emotional learning strategies for middle school kids to boost confidence and strengthen SEL skills students need for success.
This worksheet activity will help students identify their ingredients for Resiliency! What is Resiliency? Resiliency means the ability to bounce back from things that are challenging. Use this worksheet to help identify and discuss what is needed for a person to be resilient. The worksheet discusses the "ingredients" for resiliency. They are: 1. Your Mindset 2. Your Coping Skills 3. Your Support System Students will identify positive affirmations, coping skills that work for them, and positive support people in their life. These three things can help a person develop their resiliency and overcome challenges! A Recipe for Resiliency.
Where should the School Counselor be on the first days of school? Here's a post from one Elementary School Counselor to share where she goes on the first days of school.
What middle schoolers learn, how they behave, and how they interact with others can carry on into adulthood—whether positive or negative.
It's hard to talk to students without making it a lecture. Empower students while you teach them about respect using hands on activities
Restorative practices in elementary schools are incredible, but they look a little different than in the secondary levels.
Do you and I run in the same circles? Doubt it. Although we do share at least one circle: teaching. Right? And if you and I ha...
Today I am brining you the perfect combination of back to school ice-breakers and games for those first days of school! Back to school is a crazy time and we all want to hit the ground running. There are routines and procedures to teach and we are ready to get to them the second those kids walk in the door. Building community and getting to know
Inside Out is a great movie to help kids learn about their emotions! Here are my Inside Out Discussion Questions to help kids further process the story and their own feelings!
Defiance is an inevitable and generally not a welcomed part of a classroom. You are spending your day getting through your content, building community, and regularly demanding that students do tons of tasks. From time to time, they are going to have different ideas. Even walking down the hallway can be a struggle without one
