by schoolcounselingbyheart | Jul 1, 2012 | collegiality
Help! Great school counselor needed! We have an opening for a full-time elementary school counselor (one-year position) at my school in Vermont. The other counselor left unexpectedly and we need an energetic, dedicated, and friendly counselor to fill the position. We have a wonderful, comprehensive program and supportive administration and teachers. Please spread the word and encourage people to apply soon – it won’t stay open for long. Apply at SchoolSpring: http://www.schoolspring.com/job.cfm?jid=79932 And it would be silly not to look at my tips for Finding a School Counseling Job! Come work with... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Jun 20, 2012 | children's literature, classroom lessons, death and grief, feelings, individual counseling
It’s been something of a sob-fest around here recently. Last Friday, on our last day of school, the fifth grade boys in particular had a very hard time. Two of them burst into tears and could not finish reading their poems during the graduation celebration. Afterwards, the guy who ALMOST NEVER stops being silly was sobbing, as was a boy who is moving, and the boy who doesn’t like to show any feeling other than annoyance. The boy who is probably the coolest of them all threw himself into my arms before I even knew he was headed my way. Several others teared up over the course of the day and, for a few of them, crying recurred over the course of the day. It provided a great opportunity for everyone else to practice empathy and compassion, which they did beautifully, even with those who were not particular friends. You know the ASCA National Standard PS:A1.5 – Identify and express feelings? Check! Luckily, I have a great book about crying, which I will tell you about. But first, some more tears . . . Since then it’s been my turn to headline the sob-fest. That night was the high school graduation, at which a former student, who died while she was in our fourth grade, was honored. I was seated two rows behind her mom and could only watch through my own choking tears as she sobbed. Yesterday was the last day of school for teachers. We have a record number of staff members leaving our school this year – two classroom teachers, a PE teacher, and a secretary... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Jun 11, 2012 | classroom lessons, middle school
If you were moving from elementary to middle school, what would you most want to know? Probably things like: Will I get to see my friends? How will I know where my classes are? Do kids get shoved in lockers? If you were a sixth grader, what information would you think was most important to share with the fifth graders? If you guessed Here’s how the automatic urinals work, you’re right in tune with some (very serious) boys from our town’s middle school who met with our fifth graders last week. Yes, there were others who presented about homework, teachers, dances, and field trips, but the technologically impressive presentation opened with the variety of automatic functions that can be experienced in the middle school bathrooms, and included a close-up video of a urinal doing it’s thing. With one more week of school to go, we’ve just about finished up our transition activities for the fifth graders who will be moving on to middle school. We’ve had a couple of class councils, a tour of the middle school, and the above-mentioned presentation, which really was very good, urinals notwithstanding. The sixth graders were clearly interested in alleviating our kids’ anxieties and making them feel excited and welcomed. Our first class council about middle school was held prior to the tour. I projected a map of the middle school on the SMARTBoard and gave each of the students a copy of their own. On my copy I had colored in the sixth grade classrooms in yellow and the related arts, counseling, and nursing spaces in blue. I gave a brief “tour”... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Jun 3, 2012 | depression, individual counseling
Friday morning a fifth grader burst into my office, threw himself into a chair, said, “I think I’m depressed!” and burst into tears. I think he’s right. Poor guy! He was inconsolable, really stuck in his unhappiness without knowing why. He just wanted to go home. Even though this friend has a hard time letting go of a plan once he’s made it (whether or not the adults think the plan is a good idea or if it’s even possible), I was hopeful that we could make things better enough that he could successfully return to the classroom. We were NOT going to head down the slippery slope of going home! We’ve got two more weeks of school to get through. (Those of you who are already or nearly done, please feel free to gloat.) Talking was not doing it, he was not interested in his usual outlet of drawing, and the I-want-to-go home mantra was picking up steam. What to do, what to do? . . . June 1, sunny day, Vermont . . . we marched right out of my windowless office and headed outside for a walk. Well, I limped (still recovering from foot surgery) and he shuffled, but I did my best to channel marching energy for both of us. The sunshine helped, and soon we were engaged in trying to determine which kind of grass had seed heads that were most satisfying to zip off. Mixed in with all the grasses, a variety of wildflowers were blooming. When I admired one, my friend picked it for me. By the time we got back to... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | May 31, 2012 | abuse, children's literature, classroom lessons, individual counseling, personal safety
. . . and I know what to do with it! Do You Have a Secret? by Jennifer Moore-Mallinos is a great book about good and bad secrets, how to tell the difference between them, and the importance of telling secrets that make you feel uncomfortable, yucky, or unsafe. I use it — along with my Good Secrets Box and Secret Cards — in first grade class councils and with individual kids in a range of ages. It’s probably best for preschool-grade 2, but older kids sometimes like to read it too. (I love to give older kids books to “review” for younger readers. It helps teach or reinforce concepts and gives struggling readers an opportunity to feel successful and reluctant readers the feeling that they “got off” easy! See my post on Book Studies for more info.) Do You Have a Secret? explains that “good secrets are things that can make you and somebody else very happy.” Examples include a surprise party, a hide and seek hiding spot, gifts, a special handshake, and a secret about sleeping with a teddy bear when you’re scared. Bad secrets are things that make you feel unhappy or worried. Examples include being hurt, seeing someone steal or bully, and being touched in a way that makes you feel sad, scared, uncomfortable or yucky. The illustrations of uncomfortable touch and of being told to keep a secret are evocative but sensitively done. They communicate the yucky, uncomfortable feelings that a child in this situation would experience without being too frightening. The picture of uncomfortable touch shows a girl sitting on the floor cutting... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | May 20, 2012 | anger, feelings
You had to stay in for recess. Another kid took the seat you had saved in the cafeteria. Somebody uninvited you to their birthday party. You got in trouble, but nobody else got caught. A classmate called you a name. You got bumped by a swinging backpack.. Are you feeling angry? Well, not exactly . . . As you know, anger is a secondary feeling that layers on top of one or more other uncomfortable feelings. In my experience, kids have limited success working on managing their anger unless they are able to identify and address the feelings that underlie it. Here’s how I teach them to look behind the angry mask to figure out how they and others are feeling. I use the concept of the angry mask with kids in all grades. In individual sessions, we often make a mask and a feeling face to go behind it. Here is an angry mask and underlying feeling made by a first grader who had been throwing rocks at two others who were calling him a name: I begin introducing the idea of looking at feelings other than anger in my second grade class councils. I tell the kids that “sad” “mad” and “angry” are kindergarten words, and we’re going to use other feeling words instead. We focus on “disappointed,” “frustrated,” “upset,” “worried,” “scared,” “jealous,” and “hurt,” but kids are welcome to use all other feeling words. They LOVE the idea of using “big kid” words. Many times when I have asked kids about their feelings and they start to say “mad,” “sad,” or “angry,” they self correct and... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Apr 30, 2012 | brain
Here are some great books that we use to teach kids about the brain in preparation for Healthy Brain/Screentime Turnoff Week. In first through fifth grades we use the Smartboard with pictures, info, and links to video and animations that show the brain, healthy and unhealthy neurons, and how neurotransmission works. We also use these books, and would use them more extensively in class councils if we didn’t have the Smartboard. In kindergarten we use the brain model and a brain-hat activity. In first grade we use the brain model, brain hat activity, the Smartboard, and the book How Does Your Brain Work? by Don L. Curry, which provides a good introduction to the brain. Here are some other great books that we read with kids or have available for them to read and look at on their own: The Brain: Our Nervous System by Seymour Simon has some fabulous photos of the brain, neurons, neurotransmission, and MRI, PET, and SPECT scans, along with lots of good information. You can use the pictures with all grade levels, but the text is more appropriate for fourth grade and up. Young Genius: Brains by Kate Lennard provides a great introduction to young children and is appropriate for kids as young as kindergartners. It contains facts, jokes, pictures, and some fun to use flaps. Here’s the description from the back cover of the book: Hello! I’m Young Genius. This book is about the amazing machine inside your head called your brain. I’m here to tell you all about it . . . This hugely funny book covers everything you need to know... read more
by schoolcounselingbyheart | Apr 29, 2012 | brain, substance abuse
Freebie Alert! The kids at our school LOVE learning about their brains! As I mentioned in my last post, It’s Not Mania, It’s Brain-O-Mania!, I began teaching about the brain in a quest to help kids learn how to limit their screentime and increase the amount of time they spend engaged in exploring, playing, being active, reading, and other brain-healthy activities. Once I realized how fascinated and excited the kids are about neuroscience, I started incorporating it into other lesson topics — feelings, bullying, conflict resolution, personal safety, and substance abuse. Last fall I discovered a great, FREE resource for teaching about substance abuse and the brain. Brain Power is a free curriculum from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, with modules for grades K-1, 2-3, 4-5, and 6-9. Brain Power can be downloaded, or you can order a hard copy — either way, it’s free. Yes, I know I used the word “free” three times in three sentences. I just can’t get over how this great resource is available at no cost! The modules include videos, activities, materials, posters, discussion questions, and parent letters, and are aligned with the National Science Education Standards. There are also templates for making stickers, buttons, and t-shirts. I have the three elementary modules, but so far have only used the 4-5 one. I adapted the lessons somewhat, but I think it’s good as is. At the NIDA teen site is Sara’s Quest, (Sara as in Sara Bellum — get it? Cerebellum!) an interactive game that I use with fifth graders to help them learn about the effects of different drugs on the... read more
