When Things Don't Go as Planned...

    Or in other words...when life gives you lemons.  It's always amazing to me how group dynamics work.  Some groups go so smoothly, everything as planned, while others go off track and have you scrambling at times.  One of my favorite groups is my self control group.  Right now I have one going with five 5th grade boys...all completely different, but all with issues focusing and controlling themselves.  Today I had an awesome lesson planned out which stemmed from our discussion last week on anger.  We began talking about some strategies we can use to cool off when we are feeling angry and the boys were coming up with great ideas!  I was so impressed with what they came up with.  Today, we were going to make "chill cubes," and activity from Small Group Counseling for Children: Grades 2-5.  One of our group members has had a very sad day today.  So, instead of making our chill cubes, we spent the majority of our group listening to him share his experience.  My group of boys impressed me so much! They were listening with care, and even sharing some of their own similar experiences.  I commended them so much for being so caring and I could tell that the upset student felt understood by his group. 

This really taught me how much this job is all about "going with the flow."  Things don't always go as planned, and you know what....I wouldn't have it any other way!