When students return in person to school after the COVID-19 shutdowns, chances are they will struggle with the demands of school. After months at home, there will be increased academic pressure, a sudden increase in social situations, and different expectations than at home. Calm corners? Definitely still needed! That said, they might have to look […]
School Counselor Office Tour
Before I left the school I worked at for six years, I made sure to take some pictures of my office to show you a little tour. Then, at my new school, I had the MOST AMAZING SCHOOL COUNSELING OFFICE EVER. But in the stressful time of packing it up after the hard choice to […]
5 Steps to Teach Emotional Self-Regulation
Helping students become better at regulating their own emotions is becoming more and more of a priority for school counselors. But how do you teach emotional regulation? What does that look like? It’s a pretty meaty topic! Let me break it down for you. Lots of times, kids learn how to regulate their emotions through […]
Restorative Practices in Elementary Schools
Restorative Practices are ALL THE RAGE and while I’m typically critical of the latest trends in education, I love restorative practices and encourage everyone to jump in. The truth is that most school counselors will find themselves really connecting with all of the ideas. The tricky work is in figuring out how to help your […]
4 Ways to Make Use of Your “Extra” Counselor Time at Home
Are you home? Spending a lot of time at home? Maybe getting slightly bored at home? Helping your students the best you can but have a little time left over? Wanting to do “counselory” things with this time? Here are four ideas: 1. Get your PD on! This is an awesome time to dive into […]
School Counselor Organization Strategies
It took me a few years to realize this very important fact: the more organized I am as a school counselor, the better I am at my job. I’m not naturally organized so this was a tough realization for me to face. Nonetheless, it was incredibly true. Why? Because there’s always more to be done […]
Respect Lesson and Activities
In some of the educator/counselor Facebook groups I’m a part of, there has been a lot of talk about R-E-S-P-E-C-T. People complaining their students are disrespectful, people wondering how they can teach respect to their students, and people worried that their faculty and students have differing ideas of what respect really means. As human beings, […]
Using Task Cards in Class Lessons With Pre-Readers
I love using task cards in class lessons. They are the bees knees in my counseling program: super versatile and lots of fun. What do I mean when I say “task cards”? They can be lots of different things! And can you use task cards in primary guidance lessons? Yes! Task cards can be actual […]
Individual Counseling: Tools and Resources
No matter your counseling theory of choice, reality is that you need “stuff” to counsel elementary students. Most of our sessions aren’t just sitting and talking. We need individual counseling tools and props and resources and toys and games. These serve to engage our students and also to make meaty concepts more concrete for their […]
