Peacemaker

i HAD to share this....

If you have not visited the First Grade Parade,
you gotta!  Link to the side ------>

I originally saw this on Pinterest.


But you have to....
YES, HAVE to go directly to the site to check out this cute lesson!






Counselor 2 Counselor

management

I LOVE to do FUN guidance lessons that include either
a CrAfT, science experiment, or some sort of hands on fun.


So, most of the time, my kids are AWESOME...
because they don't want to miss the lesson -or- the fun!  {probably more the FUN}


However, I do have moments of {CALM down... PLEASE!}


So, I use these little guys.


&&& they work!


Quiet CRITTERS




keenonkindergarten.blogspot.com - Source
Check out all her fun stuff!!!


They sit on a desk of a students that is sitting quietly.
All the kids want one!






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Diversity Snowflakes

I create a large snowman out of butcher paper and ask students to explain DIVERSITY!


Do most know what diversity is???? NO!  Even my Jr. High Students do not remember.


So, I then explain to them what diversity is.


{we are all different, none of us are exactly the same, it is okay to be different}


Then we start a fun 30 minute SNOWFLAKE party!


I always do a quick lesson on how to fold paper, where to cut, and model a few snowflakes.


Then, we get out our scissors, turn on Frosty the Snowman music,
&&& cut!


We end the lesson by going back over what DIVERSITY is.
&&& that no two snowflakes are alike!


We then decorate our school halls with hundreds of snowflakes for winter!



{Let it SNOW, let is SNOW, let it SNOW}




Counselor 2 Counselor

Natural Consequences

Do you see several students, that do not understand natural consequences???


I think that in many ways this is a hard lesson to teach, well....
maybe I should say it is a hard lesson to get to stick!


I decided to do an interactive writing lesson
where every student took a star and had to help (as a group)
write out natural consequences.


So I had some of these on larger stars:
If I talk out in class...
If I push a friend...
If I run in the hall...
If I call someone a name...
If I sit quietly...
If I raise my hand...


I gave each table one of the above statements.


Then the students worked together to write down the natural consequence on a smaller star.


So it looked like this!


If I talk out in class...  I will not learn and others will not learn.


If I raise my hand.... I will help others to keep working without interrupting.


You could use your school mascot or any die-cut shape!












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All About Me Lesson


Check out

She has the above page and many more that could easily
be incorporated into an
"All About Me"
or
"Individuality"
Guidance Lesson.

She has several AMAZING ideas!  
Be sure to check out her "Word That Hurt, Words That Help"


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Tattling Guidance

Does your Kindergarten and possibly First Grade teachers ever hit you up on tattling???


I have seen several ideas and used most of them.


I LOVE the book Tattle Tongue by Julia Cook.


I have taken a piece of paper and drawn out a tongue similar to the one above to use in a lesson.


Julia Cook also has Activity Books to go along with her children's books.



Found this on Pinterest via Jennifer Cavendar.

You can also take a shoebox and decorate it.  I then put a tongue, like the one
from Julia's book, to have hanging out off the box.  I cute a small opening at the
top of the box, so students can tattle tale to the box!

I have also seen where teachers have a tattle tale animal.
Above the animal they create a sign that says,
Tell it to the Tattle Tale Lion (etc.)

You can download this poster from

If you need great ideas for Kinder...
Check out her stuff!  Super Cute!




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Ping Pong Emotions

How easy is this????



You take Ping Pong Balls, draw different emotions on them.
Put them in a small bucket of water, so they float face down.
A child pulls one out, and describes a time they felt that emotion.

From: Pam Dyson, Pinterest





Counselor 2 Counselor

Parent Communications

Do you communicate with parents?


Well, let's hope so.


BUT, yes BIG but.... if you are like me, it is hard to find time to communicate as much as I should.


I found this on Pinterest.


&&& had to share the link.


Created from: Lady Bugs Teacher Files
{got directly to her link to see the communication files}


Gotta love Freebies!





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Anger Experiment

Linking you up to Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, again.


I can't resist!  This is a SUPER-mom.  She really has amazing ideas!



This would be a FUN, and I mean FUN experiment
to show anger also.

When we get angry, what happens?
When start to Fiz, then Bubble, and POP!!!
If we don't control our anger we explode and boil over.

I would do this experiment in groups, so each table could have their 
tray and every child could have their own cup.

Thanks Mom 2 Posh Lil Divas!



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Pinning



Are you addicted to Pinterest???


Well, I am.  There are so many great counseling ideas available at your fingertips.


This is a simple science experiment, that most of us have seen.
&&& they used it to illustrate anger.

Here is the direct link from Mom 2 Posh Lil Divas:

{&&& check out all her fun science experiments}

You could tie in lots of children's literature to this lesson.
When Sophie Gets Angry--really, really angry!

I would end the lesson with an interactive writing review.

What can we do to control our anger???

{take a deep breath, close our eyes, count to ten, walk away, ignore, think happy thoughts, etc}










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Julia Cook


Favorite Children’s Books for Counseling and Guidance

Julia Cook – Every, single one of them!  Buy them…. They are worth it!

I had the HONOR of listening to Julia Cook at the counseling conference, and it was amazing.  She is fun, full of energy, and has wonderful stories to tell (of course!!!)

She has several new books coming out very soon, that we were able to get sneak peaks of!  Yes, she literally finished a book the night before, and read it to us from notebook paper!  HONOR!  She is inspirational.



Check out her site: http://www.juliacookonline.com/









Counselor 2 Counselor

Red Ribbon Week!


Drug Free!


Every year, we have dress up days for Red Ribbon Week.  Our STUCO collaborates with myself to decide on the days.  My ONLY rule: The days have to be related to staying drug free.

A few ideas we have used in the past:

Stomp out drugs! –Cowboy/Cowgirl Day
My Future is Lookin’ Bright! –Neon Day
Stay in the game. –Sports Jersey Day
Too Smart for Drugs. –Nerd Day

More to come…









Counselor 2 Counselor

Art



I always try to incorporate art into guidance lessons.  I really believe that if students create with their hands, then they also create and remember new ideas in their minds! 

What kind of art???

Anything!  From making clay creatures to melting crayons to painting to creating simple paper animals.

Children need to create and they have fun, which means they LOVE guidance…. That makes my job easier.

If you are an elementary counselor, then pull out all those thematic units, science experiments, and craft books from your teaching days and CREATE and INSPIRE!






Counselor 2 Counselor

Stand Tall!




Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon by Patty Lovell

I use this book every year, and often with different topics.  This past week I used the book with my elementary students to discuss Diversity.  Students learned the importance of being tolerant of others, that we need to be respectful and accepting of others, and that it is okay to be different.  I then ended the lesson with a fun ART lesson.  Students used old crayons to create new ones in muffin tins.  We mixed everyone’s crayons together, broke them, melted them, and let them get hard again to create a new RAINBOW crayon.  We then revisited the lessons objective.  We are all different, but we can be mixed together to create unity and diversity!






Molly Lou on Amazon!



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