A little over a year ago, I shared some slides from a presentation I gave on SMART goals for school counselors. Goal setting is important to me for three reasons: 1) I have to practice what I preach, and I tell the kiddos to set goals, 2) in a world of Pinterest, blogs, and TpT, […]
Classroom Coping Skills Lesson Plan and Calm Down Boxes
This was the first post I wrote about implementing Calm Down Corners at my school, and it shares a lot of great lessons of what not to do and how to do a lesson about them. I wrote a second post sharing even more ideas and problem solving tips that you can find here! Two […]
Five Year Reflection
The closing of this past school year marks FIVE years that I have been an elementary school counselor – and all five in the same school, too! In the spirit of the self-reflection that I encourage with my students, I’m using this milestone as a reason to process my top five thoughts and feelings about […]
Must Have Books – Shyness and Worry
This post contains affiliate links. This is Part 5 in my must have book series. You can read Part 1 here, Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here! Image From Freepik Part 5: Shyness and Worry In my first position as well as in all of my internships, anger was the biggest emotion the […]
From North to South/Del Norte al Sur Review
This post contains affiliate links. In the five years I’ve been at my school, I’ve had a handful of students face the deportation of a parent or sibling and even more who had loved ones that didn’t ‘have papers’ AKA they were undocumented and thus at risk of deportation. From a counseling level (and a […]
Career Day – Bonus Benefits
Last month was my 4th annual Career Day and for some reason, I’ve found myself reflecting even more than usual. Despite working in an elementary school, my brain sometimes veers more middle. I used to be hyper focused on our career speakers talking about the career aspects of their job – the training, the pros and […]
Reputation – Lesson Plan
The ‘end of the year’ lesson is always a tricky one for me. My goals for my lessons are usually for students to learn and start using a specific SEL skill. I could do this in May, but with only a short amount of time remaining in the year, the timing isn’t ideal. This leaves […]
School Counseling and Social Emotional Awards
Each May I have the pleasure of attending (and sometimes facilitating) the end of the year awards for each of my grade levels. Getting to see my students celebrated for their growth and greatness is incredible, and I also love the chance to see and meet many of their parents. A few years ago, some […]
The Invisible String – End of the Year Lesson
That time has come…the time for my final lesson of the year in my classes. My 3rd grade homerooms are pretty tight knit and family like, with many students feeling sadness and anxiety about leaving their homerooms for the great unknown of 4th grade. Enter: The Invisible String and a web of warm fuzzies. I […]
