Click above to participate in Marissa's Linky Party.
I love my Mr. Moody. I work with very young children. My youngest students are 18 months, so I use Mr. Moody to help them express emotion. However, most of the time kids just want to cuddle with him.
Tangles are great to have for students that feel uncomfortable or nervous. If I am seeing a kid for the first time in an individual session, I hand them one of these to play with. Tangles did wonders for a student I had this year that suffered from anxiety.
The board game Consequences was a great resource for me this year. I used this game with all my students on behavior plans. I made my own cards based on the students' behavior plan goals. This is a great resource for all counselors.
Thumb balls are great for group activities. I have the debriefing ball shown here. I also have a warm-up ball and a few topical balls. The kids love this activity. You can also make your own with beach balls and permanent markers.
Unfortunately, I used this resource this year. This is a coloring book written by two of my counseling professors. It is a great book to have for addressing grief with students. They write other great coloring books as well.
I love using books in therapy. The A First Look At Series was very helpful to me this year. They address all kinds of topics. I used this particular book with my students going through divorce. They have a book for almost any situation.
An artist at my school created this drawing for me when I was trying to teach appropriate and inappropriate touch to our young students. It came in handy later when I individually counseled a student about the same topic.
I used these yoga cards for kids in a guidance lesson about relaxation techniques. The kids LOVED them. They are also a great ice breaker for group activities as well.
I love the book A Boy and A Turtle. I used this great guided imagery therapy book with a student that struggled with anxiety. It is a great resource to have for students that get worked up easily.
This year our school decided to implement a 1 to 1 program with iPads. I was given a mini and told to explore what I could use it for. Oh my goodness!!! I use my iPad all the time for administrative responsibilities as a counselor and for actual therapy as well. I LOVE my iPad!
Thank you for participating! I love your ideas - I have some of those items, but I'll have to look into some of the other ones. Thanks again! Have a wonderful summer :)
Reply
Alyssa Hall
6/18/2013 12:07:21 pm
I love your Linky Parties! Keep them coming! :)
Reply
Mary
6/20/2013 06:32:53 pm
Hi Alyssa,
I found a great social skills ipad app--for the younger kids--it's called "The Allen Adventure." The kids loved it.
Reply
Alyssa Hall
6/24/2013 01:07:06 pm
Thanks!!! I will definitely check it out! Thanks for sharing! :)
Reply
Sue Cerrone
7/2/2013 11:17:00 am
Hi Alyssa,
Can you tell me how you use your iPad for administrative responsibilities? Thanks. Sue
Reply
Alyssa
7/8/2013 10:20:09 am
I take my iPad with me everywhere. It allows me to check emails in between different responsibilities like classroom lessons, small groups, school meetings, etc. I often take notes using the app, Notability. If a teacher catches me in the hallway with a referral (which happens a lot), I have my to do list on my iPad as well. I am responsible for data tracking at my school, and I use Excel and Word apps to keep up with data. My calendar is synced to my iPad with reminders of upcoming meetings and lessons (basically it keeps me on track). It is also synced with my Google Drive, Dropbox, and iCloud, so I have access to all my documents, spreadsheets, and movies. I use my iPad during faculty presentations, which I give a few times a year.
To be honest, I probably use it in other ways as well, but that's what came to mind first. Let me know if you have any more questions. I hope this helps! :)