Summer Project #2
Sentence Completion Cards |
Classy Counselor |
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Summer Project #2I decided to make Sentence Completion Cards as my second summer project. I am excited about using these with my kids this year. The cards address many different issues. The topics include grief, divorce, feelings, conflict, abuse, and more. You can also use these as an ice breaker for a classroom or small-group lesson. I plan on picking and choosing what cards will benefit each individual student.
I added a few cards that address spirituality. I know that many of you cannot use these, so select the ones that are appropriate for your school.
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Summer Project #1I finally finished my first summer project. I saw an example of these on Pinterest, and I knew I wanted to make some. My first try was a complete bust, so I found better directions on Lauren's blog. Check out her project on the link below. Supplies:
Directions:
Finish Product: The pictures don't do the bottles justice. They are beautiful!
Kids Health is another wonderful website. This website is a great resource for educators, kids and parents. It addresses many different topics that might be addressed in counseling. This site even has a post about School Counselors.
1. Breathe2RelaxI use this app a lot! It coaches kids to relax through deep breathes and visuals. 2. EdmodoMy school is using Edmodo as our school management system. I have found several ways to use this app to reach students. 3. Sesame Street - DivorceSince so many kids are affected by divorce, this is a great app to have. It has all types of activities to help kids and parents. 4. Brain POPMy school has a Brain POP account. So, I use this app to show videos to my students. Great for older elementary students. 5. NotabilityThis app helps me take notes. The notes are stored in file cabinets on the app. It has lots of cool ways to keep organized! 6. Class DojoAll teachers should have this app. It is a great classroom management app. 7. Going PlacesI use this app with young children to teach appropriate behaviors in public. 8. Moody Monster ManorThis app has great games that help kids learn about emotions. 9. The GrouchiesThis app is a book that teaches kids they can adjust their attitude. 10. You TubeI use this app to show all kinds of videos to my students mostly in classroom lessons and group sessions.
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! I am excited to announce that my first Wonderful Website is Little Parachutes. This site recommends tons of topical books that help kids cope with many "kid-sized" struggles. Kids relate to books starting at a very young age. This website lists a lot of books to help adults reach kids on their level.
I am so sad that I will not be able to attend the ASCA Conference 2013 this year. It is my goal to be able to go next year. However, for those school counselors that will be attending, try to find time to join the bloggers Meet & Greet.
July 2nd at 8:00am there will be a bloggers Meet & Greet hosted by Danielle from School Counselor Blog and Andrea from JYJ Counselor Blog. They will also be presenting a session called "Get Your Blog On". I love both of these blogs, and I know that their session will be awesome! I am sad that I will be missing it, but I still wanted to advertise! :) College Day was a huge success!
At my elementary school we did a College Day instead of a Career Day this year. Next year, I plan on hosting a Career Day. I will continue to switch back and forth every year. Here are a few things we did to get our students to start thinking about college.
High Point University Tennessee State University Harding University Spellman College Memphis College of Art Duke University Westpoint, United States Military Academy
Summer is my favorite part of the year! I'm so excited it is getting close. I love the sunshine, lake trips, fresh fruit, and basically everything else that relates to summer too. I think it is important for counselors to provide all kinds of resources to families. I recently chose to encourage my families to spend time together this summer vacation. I provided a list of resources to help them decide what to do together. The lists are kind of like Bucklists for the summer. I divided them up based on general activities and Memphis activities. Some of our families do not realize that we have fun, educational places to visits right here where we live. Here are my lists... Here is a list of fun summer activities to do as a family… 1. Have a water balloon fight as a family. 2. Eat a picnic outside. 3. Finger-paint a picture. 4. Camp out in the backyard. 5. Go fishing together. 6. Make fresh lemonade to enjoy. 7. Read a good book together. 8. Go to a farm to pick fresh fruit. 9. Catch fireflies. 10. Set up sprinklers to run through. Here are a few things that are special to Memphis… 1. Visit the Pink Palace Museum. 2. Take a trip to the Memphis zoo. 3. Go to Mud Island River Park. 4. Explore the Children’s Museum. 5. Hike at Shelby Farms. 6. Go see Elvis at Graceland. 7. Learn at the Civil Rights Museum. 8. Ride the Memphis Queen Riverboat. 9. Visit Lichterman Nature Center. 10. Learn at the Rock ‘N Roll Museum. What are places that are unique to where you live? Above is a link to my newsletters.
My May newsletter is where I provided this information to my families. April has been an insanely busy month for me. I have dealt with so many situations that have arose just this month. I feel like I have seen more kids this month than all the other months of this school year combined. Of course this is not the case, but I definitely feel that way. I work very closely with the two counselors at our Upper School campus. Both of these ladies are incredible counselors. One has elementary and high school experience and the other has clinical and high school experience. I have learned so much from these counselors. I absolutely love collaboration! I loved it as a classroom teacher, and I continue to rely on it as a school counselor. It is important to have a group of professionals that can support you and collaborate with you. Recently, I was speaking to one of my counseling co-workers. I was telling her about the craziness of April. She informed me that April is the busiest month for counselors. It makes perfect sense after the month I have had. I think it is very appropriate that April is Counseling Awareness Month. However, even through the busy times, I am grateful I get to help kids everyday! Happy Counseling
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