School Counselor Reincarnated

Long time no see!  I know it has been a long time since I have written anything.  Things have been very hectic, to say the least.  There were days where I was questioning what I was doing and whether school counseling was the right career for me.  I was stressed out nonstop, all day every day. I would go home and forget all about my job and just honestly wanted nothing to do with school counseling.  I didn't even want to look at anything on Pinterest related to school counseling or read my favorite school counseling blogs (a big deal for me).  Things have settled down and I have found my footing again.  Anyone who lives in, or works in North Carolina, knows about all of the legal happenings surrounding education.  I won't get in to all of that, nor voice my political opinions, but suffice to say, it's not a great time to be an educator in this state.  Needless to say, I wasn't taking care of myself.

On a happier note, I have finally been able to start my small groups, and I have been filling my day with counseling appointments, to help remind me why I'm doing what I'm doing.  It worked! I'm back and enjoying school counseling once again!  Soon I will be posting more about what I'm doing differently in individual and small group counseling, as well as a big change in my classroom counseling schedule!  Thanks for understanding and for continuing to read my ideas (and those stolen from others and shared with you!).

Sharing how you feel is magic!

I have successfully survived the first 2 weeks of school!  It has been very busy around here, meeting new students, helping kindergarteners adjust to school, collaborating with parents and teachers, as well as conducting student surveys.  I try to visit each class in the school every month to do my lessons.  This month, I decided to tag-team my lessons with a student survey.  We had a student survey a couple of years ago, but decided to do it again.  I created the survey using google docs, and it asked questions such as: what's your favorite subject? Do you feel safe at school? And do you feel like you have a friend at school?

One of our classes on the special rotation is called Sharpen the Saw, which focuses on the 7th habit, taking care of yourself.  I teamed up with this teacher this week to complete the surveys.  Literally, I have been in the computer lab all week!  When students come to their usual Sharpen the Saw rotation, they come down to the computer lab where I show them how to get on the student survey, and then we have our September "Meet the Counselor" classroom lesson.  It has worked out great!  I'm getting all of my initial lessons done in the first week, as well as collecting data through the surveys!  We decided not to do the surveys with Kindergarten, as they do not have the computer skills yet, and then decided half way through 1st grade, that it was too difficult for them at this time as well.  The rest of the groups did great!  They were excited to give their feedback and a lot of them had some great comments. 

As for my Meet the Counselor lesson, I wanted to share something that was passed down to me and I have enjoyed using over my past 5 years as a school counselor.  It's the Magic Coloring Book of Feelings by Robert P. Bowman, Ph.D. and Kim Frank, Ed.S., LPC.  This is a great tool when discussing the role of the school counselor and how sharing your feelings is like magic:  you feel better, and you help others understand you.  First, I show the students the different feelings represented in the coloring book and we talk about times we may have felt that way.

Next, I ask the kids what is missing.  Usually they will figure out that it needs the colors.  I explain to them that they all have the different feelings inside of them, and they need to share those feelings with me to see what happens.  I have the kids rub their legs and arms to get the "feelings" on them and then on the count of 3, they throw them into the book.  I pull the book back dramatically like I caught them.  Next, I flip through the book and all of the pages are filled with colors!! It's magic!  

The kids start gasping and laughing.  Next, I tell them they all need those feelings inside of them, so they need to take them back.  The kids take back their feelings, but when I open the book, the lines are gone too!  I act really surprised and say "You took my lines! Very Funny! But I need those back for my next class!"  

On the count of three, they throw back just the lines and we all laugh some more.  We talk about how this is a reminder that when you share your feelings, it is like magic.  (the directions for the magic trick are on the back of the book.)  The kids love it and ask me about it all the time.  I started out just doing it in Kindergarten, but now I use it in every grade level every year.

I also created this StoryBird about the School Counselor to use with my special needs classes!

New Year, New Look

This has been a full week of workdays, getting ready for our kiddos to return for another successful school year.  I have been working on preparing my room, making plans for my "meet the counselor" lessons, as well as preparing some surveys and other tools for gathering data.  I have also been meeting with teams and collaborating with teachers, parents, and community agencies so that we are prepared to meet our students needs.  Every year, I change things around.  I'm such a perfectionist that I am never satisfied!  I still plan on using technology to collect data, such as minute meetings and rating scales, but I'm always thinking of new ways to get the job done.  I thought I would share some new pictures of my office (since i've rearranged and acquired some things).

Still a mess with donated school supplies

my new shelf for craft supplies and other materials I frequently use.

I am also excited to be switching back to a paper planner. There were things I liked about my google digital calendar, but I missed being able to jot down notes and other useful information, so here's the cute one I got at Target.

 

I am excited to grown even more this year than I have in my past 5 years at this school.  Every year, I change things up and do things a little different.  I am always trying to find better and more efficient ways to run my school counseling program.  I am excited about opportunities for collaboration and professional development this year and I hope to keep you in the loop as I go along.

 

Happy 2013-2014 school year!

Target Dollar Spot Gems 2013-2014 school year

Since we got out of school for the summer, i have been kind of MIA from the blogging world.  i decided to take this time to sharpen my saw, spend time with my family, and help my boyfriend recuperate from knee surgery.  However, the school year is quickly approaching, so I'm excited to once again prepare for an even better year than last year!  That's always my goal: to do at least one thing each year to make it better than the last.  I always tell myself "this is going to be my best year yet!"  Of course ip,an to use my new data strategies, I'm always excited to find new things to use with kids.

 So, last year I posted about some of the awesome things I found in the dollar spot section of Target that I can use in my school counseling program.  As the school year is quickly approaching, I was excited to see what I might find this year. Here's what I bought:

Bulletin Board Border: although I don't have a bulletin board, I trout I might use this around my whiteboard to make it look a little more kid-friendly

ID card holder: last year, my ID badge ripped where it attaches to my lanyard so I had taped it...not cute. As I was perusing the dollar bins, I came across these ID badge holders in various colors and knew I had to get one.

Sticky Googly Eyes: I couldn't pass these ups..oh the possibilities in creative counseling! I'm excited to use these in individual and small group counseling.

Beads: one of my favorite things to do in my friendship groups is to make friendship bracelets, so I'm always looking for cheap ones to add to my selection.

Doctor Kit: finding this was like hitting the jackpot!  I have dabbled in play therapy over the years, but am trying to learn more about it and add to my play therapy kit.  I learned some more about it at a regional conference in April, and will be learning more this year from Heather Thompson, a professor at Western Carolina University, who has specialized in (and done a lot of research in) play therapy.  It's doctor's kit will be a great addition.

Stickers: kids love stickers..and I do too!  I plan to use these for positive reinforcement in small groups and to celebrate successes in individual counseling.

Finding these "gems" always helps to motivate me to kick off the school year (and when I need a little reminder of why I do what I do when times are tough). It's funny how some little things that only cost $1 can bring so much excitement to a school counselor. 

One more thing that I wanted to share is not a new gem, its an old one! I love the idea of keeping a worry box in my office for kids to let go of their worries and "leave them with me." In the past, I've always used an empty Kleenex box that I decorated.  I had remembered that I used to have a little tin box with a lock (I used it as a piggy bank because it has a slit on top). I decided to ask ,y mom if she still had it, and she did!! I am so excited to put this to use as my new worry box! I love the idea of locking away their worries until another time when we an pull them out to revisit them (this is part of the process discussed in What To Do When You Worry Too Much).

What kind of gems (new or old) have you discovered this summer to use in your school counseling program?

Do you Drive?

One thing I love finding are new ways to use technology in my school counseling program.  I have tried more ways than I can count to try and find the best way to document student notes.  My biggest focus this year has also been on collecting data.  I started out by stealing an idea from JYJ counselor's blog about creating a form in google drive to document students i've seen, what for, and which ones need to be followed up with.  I love that I can easily click through the form to document, AND it puts it all into a handy spreadsheet for me to sort and graph to my hearts desire!  (here's the link so you can love it too...plus this awesome counselor blog has so many other useful tips..and she's from North Carolina like me!) This will be so helpful when presenting "what I do" to others in my school as well as stakeholders.  Since I don't know much about creating formulas in spreadsheets from this type of data, I googled how to create a pie chart, and now I have a visual of what types of issues i'm seeing students for--this will help me to decide what I need to focus more time on in classroom guidance and target potential small groups.

 Once I realized how much I LOVED using this form, I thought...why not use a form to document the other things I do? Thus my student rating scale was born.  I had already used a rating scale for some of my "frequent flyers" so that I could track their progress as we meet. This also gives me a starting point for dicussions.  However, I was slaughtering helpless trees to create these beauties.  I created tech-savvy scale and put a link on my iPad and BAM!  Success!  Students love being able to use the iPad...little do they know, they're giving me the data I need. Sneaky, Sneaky!  

I will also be using Google Drive to document how I spend my time, which students I'm seeing in small groups, and will send one out to teachers to find out what times they want me to visit their classes.  Lastly, I made out a list of how I'm going to track data in each aspect of my school counseling program:

Classroom Guidance

·        Teachers sign up for time using Google form, responses recorded in spreadsheet

·        K-2 students will create a class book after each lesson

·        3-5 students will complete a pre and post survey on topics to be covered for the year

Small Groups

·        Students in groups will be documented on spreadsheet to prevent unnecessary repetition

·        Teachers will complete a pre-group assessment on each student entering the group prior to the first meeting

·        Students will complete a pre-group assessment on the first day of group

·        Students will check in each day of group to monitor progress

·        Students and teachers will complete post-group assessments

Individual Counseling

·        Each student who is seen by the school counselor will be recorded on a Google form, responses will be recorded on a spreadsheet.

·        School counselor will use this data to look for trends to be addressed in small group and large group classroom guidance

·        Students who are seen regularly will check-in using a Google form rating scale to track their progress through the counseling process.

School-Wide Programming

·        School Counselor will create a parent survey at the beginning of the year

·        School Counselor will continue to host Coffee with the Counselor, if this time continues to be best for parents.

·        Parents attending Coffee with the Counselor will complete an evaluation

·        Behavior referrals will be tracked monthly using the ORATS notebook in the front office.  This data will be graphed.

·        School counselor will track time spent in a spreadsheet

·        An End-Of-Year report will be provided to all staff members

This made my nerdy organized self feel a little more prepared for next year so that I can really focus on sharpening my saw this summer! :)

How do you use Google Drive in your school counseling program?

Friday Finds: Weird!

I have already blogged about so many great bullying resources out there, but what I was looking for was something so that kids could see all of the people involved:  the target, the bully, and the bystanders.  I wanted to be able to discuss what each person's role and responsibility was in bullying.  When reading another blog, I came across the most fantastic series of books about this very topic!  The books in the series are Weird!, Tough! and Dare! by Erin Frankel.  All three books tell the same story, but from different perspecties:  Weird! gives the persective of Luisa (the target of the bullying), Tough! gives the perspective of Sam (the bully), and Dare! gives the perspective of Jayla (the bystander). 

The thing I like the most about this series of books is that it is so comprehensive!  As I previously stated, it covers the responsiblities that each person involved in bullying has.  Students learn that they have a role in stopping bullying, even if they are not the bully or the target.  Everyone has a role.  Depending on your need, these books can be used one at a time, or in a series of lessons.  At my school, we have something called Wildcat Team Time where classes spend the first 20 minutes of every day talking about the 7 Habits and related prosocial skills.  I have not been able to keep these books on my shelf because so many teachers are wanting to use them for WTT lessons!  Most of them take the time to go through each book with a fine tooth comb so that kids really understand.  Another thing that is AWESOME is that in the back of each book, there are discussion ideas, lesson ideas, etc.  Also, if you go to www.theweirdseries.com, there is a free downloadable leaders guide!  Free is my favorite.

Like I previously stated, teachers have been begging to use this book in their classrooms during WTT.  I've even talked to my principal about ordering several sets so we can keep them available for classrooms to check out.  I have used this series in classrooms and individual counseling, and would definately be suitable for small groups as well.  I hope to use the series in its entirety during classroom guidance next year.

I know that you will love these books as much as I have, and that you will see how your students understand the concept of the bystander so much better when it's connected to the other two stories.  ENJOY!

Committing to Make a Difference

I've already posted about the Trudy Ludwig books that make my heart sing!  This year I worked with 5th grade on bullying between friends.  We read the story My Secret Bully and had a great discussion on how bullying between friends can occur.  Later in the year, I decided to focus more on bullying and what role each and every one of us plays.  I had one 5th grade classroom who had a particularly hard time, so I went in for 5 days to co-teach with the teacher.  After this, we decided for me to focus my monthly guidance lesson in all of the 5th grade classrooms on bullying again.  I picked out parts of Confessions of a Former Bully to discuss with students, focusing on the roles of the bystander, the bully, and the target.  We talked about what each of us could do to make an impact on bullying.  As we read the story, I told the students that whenever they felt inspired to do so, they could go up to the poster and write down their commitment to stopping bullying.  Here's what the end result looks like:

I also hung up a poster with some of the helpful information from the book so that students could reference it if needed.  This is hung in the 5th grade hallway so that students can always be reminded of their commitment.

How do you get students to commit to stop bullying at your school?