I love the book, Memoirs of a Goldfish, by Devin Scillian. It is a sweet picture-book depicting the life of Goldfish. Goldfish happily swim around their bowls; however, new things and fish are added every day which crowd his bowl. Goldfish has a variety of feelings, and is surprised that
My lunch bunch groups were talking about what makes us special and unique. I recently did a lesson with them that teaches about seeing beyond our first glance and looking deeper. To begin, I had students take a piece of paper and their favorite color marker. I asked them to
If you look at the definition, most people wouldn’t want to be a renegade. A traitor, a defector, a deserter. I, however, want to challenge students to become a renegade. Watch this video! What do you think it means to be a “Renegade?” A rebel? Yes. One who defies all
I tried a new lesson with my Lunch Bunch groups, and this will be going into the “keep” pile. I loved the message and the kids loved the project that went along with it. When the kids came in I asked them, “How many of you have been to, or
I found these giant puzzle pieces at Oriental Trading Post and knew I had to use them because we have been talking about our uniqueness. I also wanted everyone to see how everyone’s special talents and abilities allow us to work together and become something great. The girls worked on
I don’t always do separate lessons for my girls groups and my boys groups, but this one I did just for the boys. I knew that I wanted them to have an understanding of what integrity was, so as they were eating their lunches I started to ask them what
There is no doubt that our students love playing games. Some of my favorite sessions are spent playing games with students and intertwining counseling skills, of course! Playing games is a great way to make connections with students. Not only is it fun, but you are building social skills,
Helping a young person become who they want to be takes time and encouragement. It takes paying attention to what sparks a passion. . We listen, we encourage, and we provide the opportunity to uncover each young person’s unique interests.So many counselors tell me that they are a bit intimidated
Help! Our kids are stressing about the test! Have you heard this plea from the teachers in your building? I know I have! Because I don’t have my own classroom, it’s also hard to sometimes address this on a full-scale need. There are some kids that always seem to be
Affirmations are words we say to ourselves to affirm our self-worth. What we tell ourselves reinforces our self-esteem and can be either positive or negative. It’s important to help our students build a positive mindset. Our mindsets becomes our belief systems about ourselves and if we work at telling ourselves positive affirmations,
I spend a lot of time teaching students coping strategies. One of the things I want to make sure they learn is how to self regulate their emotions when they are feeling stressed. I want them to know what to do when they are in class and they begin to
It’s important to help students understand the importance of empathy–especially with the recent natural disasters, the shootings, and the political climate. Teaching empathy to your students helps them to build a sense of security and stronger relationships with other children, and staff members. In addition, teaching empathy: Positions children
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