Counseling Notebook

If you are a physical binder/paperwork person, this counseling notebook is for you! Keep all of your counseling info in one location. This notebook includes:

• Front cover
• Confidential student notes pages
• Record of counseling services 
• Meeting Notes
• Parent/Guardian Communication Log
• Professional Development Log
• Weekly Planner pages
• Notes Page

Visit my TpT page, Hanselor the Counselor, for more information.

 

      

Tip of the Week: You Can Book Me!!!

Hours...I have spent countless hours over the past 13 years scheduling and rescheduling classroom counseling lessons. At the end of last school year, my SMART Board was replaced by a brand new SMART Panel. Now, I consider myself pretty tech savvy but this was a whole new beast. A former colleague who is now a district tech guru offered some training. She sent me a link called, "You Can Book Me," to schedule a time for her to come to my building. Essentially, this site allows for other people to schedule time with you when it is convenient for them and when your schedule allows. Brilliant!!! 

I instantly started thinking of how I could use this awesome program and classroom counseling lessons came to mind. OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!! I cannot express how wonderful it is to have this task off my plate!! I simply make sure that times that I cannot have lessons like meetings, days off, half days, and other things I cannot miss are on my Outlook calendar. You Can Book Me will only show the times that are available per your parameters (start and end of the school day, length of lessons, days of the week lessons will be, etc.). I send an email 2 weeks before the following month for teachers to schedule their lessons. Not only does this release me from the daunting task of scheduling 189 lessons while avoiding everyone's' specials, intervention, lunch and recess, assemblies, days off, and the countless other obligations, it gives the teachers to flexibility to schedule around their classroom's schedules and needs. I highly recommend giving You Can Book Me a shot! I currently use the free version and it has been working great for me. There is a paid version that has more features but so far I haven't had the need for the extra features.

I am always looking for ways to work smarter not harder, so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them. 

If you try You Can Book Me, tell me what you think!

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After a VERY long hiatus, I am going to try to get back into the swing of my blog.  On that note, I have some exciting news!  I have decided to open a TpT (Teachers pay Teachers) store to share the resources I work so hard on. I will have free resources along with paid resources that I spend a large amount of time working on. I am working on getting all of the resources I have shared throughout the years up on my TpT store.  If you see something on this blog and not on my TpT store, please comment below so I can make sure to get everything that people would like to have.  Thank you!!

Please visit my store!!!

Mind Yeti - Mindfulness for Kids

Great Mindfulness activities to share with families!!!

Free Webinar - Encouraging Resiliency Through Trauma

Relaxation Exercise

Weekly Planner

Over the years, I have searched for a weekly planner that suited my needs. I have been unsuccessful so in my spare time 😂, I created one. I wanted one that had 15 minute increments and only Monday-Friday. The blank space under each day of the week is to write in the date. I use an 8.5in x 11in Arc Notebook System. I love this system because I am able to move pages around as I see fit. I also purchased the Arc System desktop puncher to be able to add pages. For the monthly dividers, I printed the months on card stock (see below) and used adhesive monthly tabs. I created dividers for Weekly Schedule, Counseling Lessons, and Notes.

If you would like to use these pages and other resources that I have created, please visit my TpT store.

Calm-Down Techniques

As I was looking for things to add to my school counseling website, I came across this website with 50 calm-down techniques for kids. This is great for any kids (adults, too) right now as we are quarantined in our homes.

Counseling Website

Covid-19 has thrown many challenges our way. In particular, schooling from home. School counseling can be particularly challenging in this regard. In an effort to stay connected to the students and families at my school, I have created a website using Google Sites.  I am adding information and activities every day to share with our families. If you are looking for a way to connect with your families, I recommend Google Sites. 

SEL Challenge & Scavenger Hunt

A school counselor posted this fun SEL (Social Emotional Learning) Challenge & Scavenger Hunt and gave me permission to share with all of you. 

Thank you to Maggie Walsh for sharing these fun activities!!

More Free Resources!!!

The wonderful people at Calm.com has put together a resource page and has given me permission to share. It is filled with TONS of meditations, mindfulness, music, and calmness. Thank you calm.com for the support! Enjoy and stay calm!!!

Yay for Julia Cook!!!

I just love how all of the Facebook communities I am in are coming together to help our families during this very odd and challenging time. Julia Cook announced that she will be doing Facebook live readings of her books on Mondays and Fridays at 9:00am Central Time. What a great way to connect with our families! She is beginning on Friday, March 30 with Wilma Jean the Worry Machine.

THANK YOU, JULIA COOK!!!

https://www.facebook.com/juliacookonline/videos/195286701900006/

Social Emotional Learning at Home (Covid 19)

Many of our schools are closing for several weeks due to the Coronavirus (Covid 19). For those families who are in need of social emotional learning or counselors who are working remotely, I am going to share any free resources that I find. I will continue to add things as I find them.  Stay healthy!!!

Please share these resources with anyone who may need them and let me know if you find any that I can add.  Thank you to the individuals who have provided these wonderful resources!!

Click on the pictures or titles to view the resources.

The Yucky Bug by Julia Cook

  https://www.3newsnow.com/news/national/coronavirus/local-author-narrates-childrens-book-explaining-coronavirus

    

  

FREE, FREE, FREE!!!

If you are a school counselor and have ever wanted to try SCUTA, now is your chance because it is FREE right now!! This is a great way for you to play with it to see if you like it before next school year.

Self-Care for Teachers and Staff

After a long hiatus from blogging, I am back! I thought this post would be a great one with which to start.

Teachers and staff in schools have very demanding and stressful jobs. We are often preaching about self-care without actually educating or providing resources in order to do so. We decided to change that at my school.  

It has been a dream of mine to create a "calming," "relaxation," "zen," or whatever you want to call it, space for teachers and staff. I wanted the space to provide an unplugged getaway for anyone needing a few minutes of peace. My principal offered the only room available that we called the "phone booth" which is a very small space that was rarely used (see before picture below). Of course I took it! I would make it work! I added several things that would make the space more inviting and cozy. The transformation was more that I had hoped for!!!  See for yourself!

Before...

In progress...

Final product!!!

Video tour

Summer Learning

I am taking a couple of online courses this summer to get my Master's + hours and thought I would share what I'm taking/learning. The first class is "Dealing with the ADD/ADHD Child." I don't really care for the title of the course because it sounds a bit negative to me but thought I would give it a shot to broaden my understanding of students with attention concerns and how to support the teachers who work with them.

The resources below are the required reading for the course. I just finished Module 1 out of 4 and the information is good so far. I would recommend these resources for new teachers or new counselors as the information is geared toward individuals just learning about ADHD or LD. 

These resources would also be very helpful to parents who are needing information on ADHD for their own children.

I'm not sure what I will take next but I will keep you posted!!!

Enjoy your summer!

 

Squirmy

My counseling intern and I were brainstorming how to address some "squirmy" Kindergartner's who have a very difficult time staying in one spot and focused. We tried a lesson on self-regulation but that seemed a bit over their heads, and frankly not what they need. They need to practice being mindful - present, focused and relaxed. 

We have decided to introduce the concept of mindfulness by reading Squirmy Learns to be Mindful by Joree Rosenblatt, M.A. This adorable book helps begin teaching what mindfulness is and how we practice this skill. 

"Bella couldn't wait to become a butterfly! She soon earned the nickname "Squirmy" from her mother because of her squirmy, impatient energy. Even when she was a tiny egg, Squirmy was bored and restless. Her mother kept reminder her that constantly wishing for what's next makes it difficult to enjoy what is happening right now! The she learned little tricks that would help her become more calm, focused and grateful. Soon, Squirmy relied that being mindful was easy to do , but tough to remember to do. So she kept practicing. Later, Squirmy began a very beautiful transformation and being mindful helped her make it through with a big smile."

Each week after reading about Squirmy, we will be practicing being mindful. We will be using mindfulness activities from Cosmic Kids Zen Den on YouTube to help practice. I like the videos on Zen Den because they are shorter in length making it attainable for Kindergartner's to complete successfully. My hope is that over time, our little buddies are able to focus their bodies and minds on learning in the classroom.

Interactive Resources

I am always looking for new ideas for classroom counseling lessons, groups, and individual counseling sessions. I get into the rut of doing the same lessons and using the same resources all the time so I was searching for fresh lessons/ideas. I came across an interactive SMART Board series called "SMART GUIDANCE." Even though I loathe the term "guidance," the series is great. The series is by Youthlight which also has a TON of other amazing counseling resources (I have purchased from this site a lot throughout the years).

I have had the "SMART GUIDANCE" Volume 1 in my collection for a couple of years and absolutely love it. My students are engaged because the lessons are cute and interactive. I have this one on CD but they now offer a downloadable versions which is how I ordered the others. Each program in the series is $49.95 which isn't bad for 10 or more lessons in each series. Youthlight also has each lesson available for individual download for those who only want a lesson or two in a series.

I downloaded the following programs which makes it super easy to use them right away. They send you an email with an access code to activate the download. One of my access codes was missing from the email but Youthlight rectified that situation after a quick email.  

            

I have yet to download the programs below but will be doing so in the future. 

       

So, for those of you who are new to the biz or you vets out there looking to beef up your resource library, I highly recommend these interactive lessons. Let me know what you think!

Body Regulation

There is an increased need to teach children how to regulate their bodies. Social/emotional issues are on the rise and mental health professionals are doing what we can to support students who are struggling, not only in the school system, but in their daily lives. 

One way to help students learn self-regulation is through yoga, mindfulness and guided relaxation. These exercises can help students with many social/emotional struggles, such as:

• Anxiety
• Anger
• Depression
• Focus/concentration
• Confidence

I have found that many children struggle with just sitting still or laying and relaxing. Many children are going a mile a minute and have not learned the skills of slowing down and just being with themselves. Let's be honest, many adults struggle with the same things. 

I have found some YouTube channels that focus on yoga, mindfulness and guided relaxation FOR KIDS!!!!! Jaime at Cosmic Kids has done an amazing job of putting together some exercises that capture the attention of children while teaching vital self-regulatory strategies. 

You will find links below to Cosmic Kids Yoga, Cosmic Kids Zen Den (mindfulness) and Cosmic Kids Peace Out (guided relaxation).  I highly recommend these activities for any children you work with. I love them so much that I use them at home with my own children! 

Check them out!

Yoga

Mindfulness

Guided Relaxation

T.S.C. - Tech Savvy Counselors

A wonderful colleague (Shannon Adam) and I presented at our district's annual Tech Fest last month. We did a presentation specifically targeting the counselors in our district. Our focus was all of the ways that Google Drive can be used for counseling purposes.

We explored each of the functions in Google Drive, from Docs to Drawings. There are step-by-step instructions on how to use each function for the beginners out there. We also listed several ways that we use each in our counseling programs.

Below is the presentation if you are interested. Oh, and at the end there is a little about the T.E.A.R.S. Time Elapsed Analysis Reporting System that I have blogged about in the past.

Huge Thank You to Shannon for presenting with me!!!