K-2 Career Lesson

In preparation for Career Day (which was yesterday, went fabulously, and I'll blog more about soon), my wonderful and dynamic co-counselor Cassandra did a rotation of classroom lessons with the kinder-2nd graders on career awareness. To do this in a developmentally appropriate, introductory, and fun way- she read the story The Berenstain Bears on the Job and talked with students about key words/concepts, including: job, career, what their job is (going to school), and tools used for different jobs. To introduce students (and enhance career awareness/exposure- what elementary school is all about) to different jobs, she then played the game Guess What I Am. First she modeled how to play by holding a card up to her face and having students share words/clues about the job to have her guess what the job was. For example, if she held up the card that showed she was a teacher, hints might be: students, pencil, classroom, math, etc. After students understood how to play she called up students one at a time to hold the cards up and have peers give hints for them to guess what they were. Students loved this interactive activity where they had the chance to learn and discuss different jobs. At the end of the activity, students received a copy of an activity sheet called 'When I Grow Up' from the Jumbo Book of Preschool Activities where they got to identify different jobs and draw a picture of what they would like to be when they grow up.

Health/Wellness with Juice Plus+

Over the years, the one motto I've tried to remember and actively live by as a counselor is, "You can't take care of others unless you take care of yourself first." In this profession (along with anything else), it's very easy to get burned out. When trying to manage/juggle multiple things it can be VERY difficult to: take time for yourself, relax, enjoy the moment, exercise, and of course eat health. For me, the past few years have been quite chaotic, so what's one way I've tried to follow the motto? by taking Juice Plus+! I'm not one to endorse or 'advertise' anything and I'm certainly not a sales person- but when you find something that's heavily research supported, great for your health, and works well for you, you can't help but want to share it with everyone!

Here are a few questions to ask yourself:

Do you get the daily recommended 7-13 servings of fruits and vegetables?

Do you eat a VARIETY of fruits and vegetables?

Can you get a variety of 7-13 servings of organic fruits and vegetables for under $1.50 a day?

Chances are you answered NO to at least one of these questions and Juice Plus+ is the answer! Some of the published clinical research on Juice Plus+ has already found that:

Juice Plus+ delivers key antioxidants and other phytonutrients that are absorbed by the body
reduces oxidative stress
reduces key biomarkers of systemic inflammation
supports a healthy immune system
helps protect DNA
supports cardiovascular wellness
supports healthy skin

Clinical research currently underway includes:

Pregnancy health
Nutritional status and various markers of cell health
Nutritional status and quality of life
Periodontal (gum) health
Healthy healing from wisdom tooth extraction
Markers of oxidation in healthy adults

The bottom line is "After looking at all the research done on Juice Plus+, there is nothing else available any place in the world, with or without a prescription, that has been shown to do all these things in the human body." - Richard DuBois MD

Let me know if you're interested in signing up for the Juice Plus+ Effect Program where you can receive $50 worth of free product. You can also have your child participate in the Children's Health Study where they receive 3 years of the product for FREE!!!

For more information, click here or visit http://drisom4juiceplus.com

Classroom Mgmt./Teacher Support

Collaboration with teachers is such a vital part of what a school counselor does. One way I like to collaborate is by being in the classroom (beyond classroom guidance lessons) and doing activities that support the teacher and the students. Having classroom meetings is one effective way to build collaboration with the teacher, students, and develop classroom structure. Classroom meetings can be beneficial in teaching students how to work better together (conflict resolution) and develop unity/a positive working relationship. Before winter break, I had the opportunity to facilitate classroom meetings (10 total) for 30 minutes each morning in an upper elementary classroom that was having some difficulty with behavior and following directions. During these morning meetings we did activities on conflict resolution, compliments (the different types, giving/receiving), listening skills, and behavior/consequences. It was so nice to work closely with the teacher, develop a stronger working relationship with the students, and see how they (students and teacher) enhanced their relationship with each other. How do you provide support to teachers that are new or are in need of behavioral/climate assistance?

Check out some of the classroom management resources I use in my store under 'teacher resources!'

Personal Safety Classroom Lessons

As mentioned in a previous post, we had a parent program to introduce the personal safety curriculum we used for our last rotation of fall classroom guidance lessons. Parents had the ability to view and provide feedback before we introduced Yello Dyno to their children. It was our hope that between introducing this lesson in a safe environment, having a class discussion about key points, and having parents follow-up with a discussion afterward, that students would have a clear understanding on how to stay safe.

Kindergarten had a presentation by the County Fire Educator on fire safety.

First graders watched a Sunburst video called "I Can Be Safe." Topics discussed included: car and outdoor safety, animal safety, stranger awareness, playground safety, kitchen safety, medication safety, and how to handle phone calls from unknown people. It was also stressed to students to be aware of their address and important phone numbers in case of an emergency.

Second through 4th graders watched the Yello Dyno video "Can't Fool Me" and reviewed safety rules including: Knowledge is Power, Tricky People, Trusting Feelings, I can say NO!, and don't keep secrets that make you feel unsafe.

5th graders watched the Sunburst video called "When Should You Tell? Dealing with Abuse." Follow up questions included: Feelings associated with abuse, NOT keeping it a secret if someone abuses them, the importance of not touching others- especially in areas covered by a bathing suit, the importance of continuing to tell if an adult is told about the abuse and doesn't do anything about it, listening to instincts, feeling safe, and unwelcome touches are not their fault and they didn't do anything to deserve it.

Overall, knowledge is power and it is our hope that through sharing this sensitive topic with students in a developmentally appropriate way, they will know how to handle different types of situations that might potentially arise.

Social Skills with ED class

Each month I meet with the Emotionally Disabled (ED) class to do social skills activities with them. Oftentimes, I cover topics that are covered during classroom guidance but I also take the opportunity to do activities tailored to the needs of these students. Through collaboration with the ED teachers, I determine what the current need is and select activities based on their feedback. One student in particular has been having difficulty with transition (he doesn't want to transition OUT of the ED class). To help support his success and to promote his attempt in transitioning out of the class, I focused on this topic with the students today. We read Julia Cook's book, Don't Be Afraid To Drop and talked about the different mix of feelings we experience with transition. We also discussed the pros and cons of transition and how we experience transition all the time. Students had the opportunity to draw a picture of a time they had to transition. I encouraged the students that since they were able to successfully transition before, they will be able to use those skills learned through their previous experience to help them with transition in the future. We also discussed how transition is important to grow as an individual and to not miss out on fun, new, and exciting opportunities that come along. If you have a student struggling with transition, this book is a great resource to use!

Data & Small Group Counseling

As mentioned in a previous post, in my accountability plan for this year, I'm using data to drive the small groups I implement. With the winter break quickly approaching, I'm beginning to wrap-up my first round of groups for the year. Three of the groups I've implemented (one academic, two behavior) have focused on school success. To determine the participants, I've used my experience on the school data team to assist me. I've also found that implementing groups through data demonstrates how counselors play a vital role in the school, to assist teachers in the academic and behavioral development of students. Using the RtI model is quite simple and user friendly when the components are understood.

Academics- During the data team meetings, strategies to support identified red and yellow zone students are discussed. As a school counselor, I'm able to take note of these individuals and share strategies I'm implementing to support these students. One is through small group counseling of study skills. I'm happy to say, all students that (as of the beginning of the year) were only receiving classroom intervention (while progress monitoring) participated in 30 minutes of small group counseling once a week for 8 weeks. During the group (often during lunch, specials, or recess- I interchanged the times so they didn't miss the same activity each week), we cover different topics including: work habits, listening skills, organization, test taking strategies, preparing your body for learning, and homework plans. I've used a variety of resources to implement this topic in a fun and interactive way. One of my favorite resources for academic group counseling is called, I Didn't Know I Could Be the Child Left Behind. I've used this resource several times now for academic groups and it's easy to use, a quick and easy resource for me, and most of all- something the kids really enjoy from grades 2-5. I'm looking forward to looking at the data again to determine if participation in these groups played a role in increasing academic performance in these students.

Behavior- To determine participants in the behavior group, I looked at the total number of logged behavioral referrals from last school year. There were a total of 590 write-ups among 201 students (school population from last year was 821). The results are very similar to the different tiers of RtI; 93% of our school population was identified as green zone (1-2 behavioral write-ups), 4% are yellow zone (3-5 write-ups), and 3% are red zone (6 or more write-ups). I identified all red and yellow zone students and what the write-ups were for. These individuals have been participating in a school success group focused on different behavioral strategies. Thanks to collaboration with the school librarian, we will begin a book club with students using Scholastic- Muhammad Ali: Go the Distance! books. I used these books at a previous school for behavioral support and the students loved them! Hopefully, follow up data will demonstrate a decrease in behavioral write-ups for students participating in this group.

To learn more about RtI please visit some of my favorite sites/blogs: RtI Network, Musings of an Urban School Psychologist, and Notes from the School Psychologist.

School counselors help make students teachable- facilitating small groups is one component of the multi-faceted job we have; however, it's important for EVERYONE to remember that we all have things going on in our lives (especially students!) that make it difficult to learn and/or make the best behavioral choices. Getting to the root of those problems is necessary before ANY intervention can be successful!

Angel Tree 2011

As our schools unofficial community resource liaison, I have the opportunity to coordinate a lot of activities that support the community and particularly our school community. This year's angel tree is being sponsored by a community business (specializing in home lighting). It was so wonderful (and helpful to me) for them to contact us and ask how they could help! Mid-November (through our school newsletter) I informed families that if they needed holiday assistance and were not receiving support from another organization, to contact me to be a part of the angel tree. I just contacted the coordinator of the lighting business that was so eager to provide assistance and gave her the gender, age, grade, clothing sizes, and wish list items of students and their siblings. I'm so glad to be a part of a community where people are willing to help and give back. Come mid-December the parents that contacted (who were very humble and modest) will be able to pick up the items to give to their children on Christmas. I don't know about you, but it is quite frustrating to see people so focused on "black Friday," "cyber-Monday," and decorating a tree before Thanksgiving (sorry if I offended you)....but isn't giving back and focusing on what we're thankful for what this season is all about (among other things)?! This season makes me hopeful that in the bottom of people's hearts, they wonder how we can give back and help those in need....isn't that what this season is all about anyway!?!

Each angel represents an angel we will help this holiday season!