tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35843580434953247422024-03-13T20:58:39.330-07:00Life on the Fly.... A School Counselor BlogAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.comBlogger133125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-53889711575895324692017-11-10T05:09:00.000-08:002017-12-02T11:36:45.560-08:00Beyond Fidget Spinners.....<span style="font-size: large;">Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending and presenting at the NCSCA School Counselor's Conference in Greensboro, NC. It is truly one of the best professional development experiences available to counselors each year, and I loved connecting with former and current colleagues as well as meeting new school counselors! Access my presentation by clicking the image below and feel free to email me any questions to apoovey@hotmail.com. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Uz0R6TJztYUDTkBKnKCyyahEOruJsaG3/view?usp=sharing"><img alt="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Uz0R6TJztYUDTkBKnKCyyahEOruJsaG3/view?usp=sharing" border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="764" height="296" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LQMIbL0he8Y/WgWj9QQnRvI/AAAAAAAADIg/uoaoP9bFXb0GeZdaY2ag0jM7rpM_CuThwCLcBGAs/s400/beyond%2Bfidget%2Bspinners.png" title="" width="400" /></a><span id="goog_836626666"><span id="goog_349548935"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_349548936"></span></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_836626667"></span></div>
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-57448303810242670132017-08-22T04:40:00.002-07:002017-08-22T04:40:18.069-07:00BONUS DAY! <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">It's TPT Bonus Sale Day! Enjoy up to 25% off of my store and others for some back to school swag! Have a GREAT day!! <br /> ~ Angela</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Click below to check out the Life on the Fly Store :) </span></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ChRteqr9fGU/WZwXwyVz9yI/AAAAAAAADHw/b00ZMDaLj5UG3P7n-Knd0Px4LeSO7Q0nQCLcBGAs/s640/BTS%2BSite%2BWide%2BSale%2BAdvertisement.jpg" width="640" /></a><a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">bit.ly/lifeontheflystore</a></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-57089736070392429612017-08-21T14:40:00.001-07:002017-08-21T14:40:54.706-07:00Can You Feel the Emojion?! :) :/ ;)In one short week, little faces will be showing up at my school's doors to begin another year of learning and growing, both academically and personally. It's always fun to think about themes and be creative before the hustle and bustle begins and REAL LIFE sets in. This year, I was inspired by the Emoji movie and decided to play off that theme for a school-wide behavior anchor chart. Every K-5 classroom teacher will post this anchor chart and use it to teach and review behavior expectations as well as appropriate behavior responses throughout the year. <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-58Bjhlb6Nz4/WZtPN7qZCQI/AAAAAAAADHE/yCg9r1TkNtw0GJTHDhLL1JRldkS80EjwgCLcBGAs/s1600/Emoji%2Bscreenshot.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="802" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-58Bjhlb6Nz4/WZtPN7qZCQI/AAAAAAAADHE/yCg9r1TkNtw0GJTHDhLL1JRldkS80EjwgCLcBGAs/s640/Emoji%2Bscreenshot.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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To continue the theme, my co-counselor and I created this eye-catching bulletin board in the main hallway. It was much easier to create thanks to the TPT store "Ms. Gs Got Class." I love that I didn't have to reinvent the wheel and could start with already created high resolution emoji images and quotes. Plus, there are editable fields to create custom quotes. Yay! I love how we incorporated social media with the phone and hashtags. Even at the elementary level, it seems to get students more engaged.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JykXmC5BPs/WZtS6nNjZqI/AAAAAAAADHk/TpnxBmQF5LUo16BSPxgAiy3JOopadRDYQCLcBGAs/s1600/Emoji%2BBB%2B%25231.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="675" height="368" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1JykXmC5BPs/WZtS6nNjZqI/AAAAAAAADHk/TpnxBmQF5LUo16BSPxgAiy3JOopadRDYQCLcBGAs/s640/Emoji%2BBB%2B%25231.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I hope that you are also enjoying preparation for a new year. <span style="font-size: large;">What themes are you using to make the school year fun but still intentional so you can make an impact? Please share!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"> Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span> </span><br />
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-51657857083990658092016-11-01T18:51:00.002-07:002016-11-03T10:28:34.405-07:00RAMPing UP!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e0K5yfnuhLc/WBlE2i_ftNI/AAAAAAAADFE/4mvwfsBpdcY3IF_RLP2vxTh3vQ57xQlZACLcB/s1600/NC16header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="186" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e0K5yfnuhLc/WBlE2i_ftNI/AAAAAAAADFE/4mvwfsBpdcY3IF_RLP2vxTh3vQ57xQlZACLcB/s400/NC16header.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
* Image from ncschoolcounselor.org<br />
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Belonging to your professional state organization is one of the most important ways to stay connected and grow as a professional school counselor. I am beyond excited that this week is the NC School Counselor Association's annual conference. Read more about <a href="http://ncschoolcounselor.org/" target="_blank">NCSCA </a>to see what the organization offers its members. On Thursday, I will be presenting on the RAMP (Recognized ASCA Model Program) process and will be posting all of my materials here. I hope you will come by and see me in person!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NL8vDBPNYA8/WBtztiJtXsI/AAAAAAAADFU/fyR8fvZvXzExIYXgLAmOpucfO-BFOkxMgCLcB/s1600/Screenshot%2B2016-11-03%2B13.26.18.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NL8vDBPNYA8/WBtztiJtXsI/AAAAAAAADFU/fyR8fvZvXzExIYXgLAmOpucfO-BFOkxMgCLcB/s400/Screenshot%2B2016-11-03%2B13.26.18.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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If you are interested in RAMPing up this year or in the future, please save <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/o295smi1xep24kh/Finding%20Your%20On-RAMP-%20NCSCA%20Handout.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">this resource</a> as a tool to guide you. In addition, I have wonderful colleagues who will be sharing their talents and innovative programs with attendees such as Page Pfister, who is sharing some ideas about book clubs. To celebrate, I am making all of my book club activity packs at the <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT store</a> 50% off until Saturday. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-68041456317334314702016-09-18T12:18:00.002-07:002016-09-18T12:18:59.642-07:00Welcome Friends!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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10 years ago I thought I worked at a school that had a transient population. Now, I just think that all of society is a transient population with ever-changing jobs, interests, and life. It is common for kids to attend 2 or 3 schools, just in elementary school! At my current school, new students pour in all year long even up to the last weeks of school when we are taking End of Grade tests. I have become accustomed to welcoming all students, including new students, during my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-the-Counselor-PDF-BUNDLED-DISCOUNT-4-lessons-2727826" target="_blank">Introduction to the School Counselor lessons</a>. I also like to spend at least one lunch period with all new students in my grade levels, second grade and up, in a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Student-Group-2789871" target="_blank">New Student Group</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--J--4Vb3xwM/V97kseHVQgI/AAAAAAAADEM/vzjhkswtfHoOqcShevfRyUSH0onlxXZWwCEw/s1600/new%2Bstudent%2Brainbow%2Bimage.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--J--4Vb3xwM/V97kseHVQgI/AAAAAAAADEM/vzjhkswtfHoOqcShevfRyUSH0onlxXZWwCEw/s400/new%2Bstudent%2Brainbow%2Bimage.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In previous years, we have played <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Student-Bingo-Cards-1379177" target="_blank">New Student Bingo</a> as a "getting to know you" activity and then we discuss how new students are transitioning to the school, emphasizing friendship skills. This year, I am trying a few new things with a Skittles icebreaker and question cards to structure the discussion a little more. Here are a few examples of my question cards........</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flLtTm6gVvY/V97mf-jqfnI/AAAAAAAADEc/54aRNwbS3mc_9qe5zGg0aPO8N4u37gM8ACLcB/s1600/question%2Bcard.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-flLtTm6gVvY/V97mf-jqfnI/AAAAAAAADEc/54aRNwbS3mc_9qe5zGg0aPO8N4u37gM8ACLcB/s200/question%2Bcard.PNG" width="183" /></a>I also updated my welcome certificates for new students. At the end of last year, our Leadership Club decorated the certificates and added sweet message for new students to give them a more personal feel. I loved handing them out to new students in the spring and had some left over for the beginning of this year; now I have to replenish! I use the welcome certificates to close the group and encourage the students to hang them on their wall at home to remind them how excited we are to have them at our school now. </div>
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If you want a ready-made <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Student-Group-2789871" target="_blank">New Student Group Pack</a>, check out my new addition at the <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT</a> store. <b>It will be 20% off for the next 24 hours!</b> </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Almost-Fall and Enjoy! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-49441063473470223702016-09-09T14:14:00.000-07:002016-09-11T12:04:21.512-07:00Color me HAPPY!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RS9sfuu2qDE/V9MfEDS0xCI/AAAAAAAADDQ/KYFVyFPt3osNAAk-2gViDgGCjfYldInBgCLcB/s1600/secret-garden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RS9sfuu2qDE/V9MfEDS0xCI/AAAAAAAADDQ/KYFVyFPt3osNAAk-2gViDgGCjfYldInBgCLcB/s320/secret-garden.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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*Image from hammertown.com</div>
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Have you caught the fever of the adult coloring craze?!! I bought the above book for my 5 year old daughter last Christmas because it caught her eye in a bookstore, and I thought we could color it together even if it was too hard for her alone. Kids and adults alike are LOVING coloring intricate designs. You may remember my 2015 ASCA conference<a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2015/07/asca-was-spicy.html" target="_blank"> post</a> when I learned about <a href="https://printmandala.com/" target="_blank">mandalas</a> and started using them as an icebreaker and relaxation exercise during individual counseling. It has continued to be a great activity for students of all ages, and I love it!</div>
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So, you can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw these AWESOME bulletin boards that our fantastic art teacher, Kim Pound, created for the start of school.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rDAJsypBJAk/V9MjTk1UMtI/AAAAAAAADDo/-nc11ziy-dYnIDynfaT7-FHU8SLOv0wxwCLcB/s1600/Photo%2BAug%2B25%252C%2B8%2B05%2B24%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rDAJsypBJAk/V9MjTk1UMtI/AAAAAAAADDo/-nc11ziy-dYnIDynfaT7-FHU8SLOv0wxwCLcB/s640/Photo%2BAug%2B25%252C%2B8%2B05%2B24%2BAM.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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She did them freehand (YES!!!) to creative interactive boards where students could add pattern and color during Open House or other times during the day. I was so impressed that it got me thinking about how I could incorporate interactive coloring into my school counseling program.<br />
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I am still wrapping my mind around a few "new student group" ideas, but I did add the coloring sheets below when I taught my Kindergarten and second grade <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-the-Counselor-PDF-BUNDLED-DISCOUNT-4-lessons-2727826" target="_blank">Intro to the School Counselor Lessons</a> (My avatar sheet was added at the end of the campfire lesson but is not in the bundle). They serve a dual purpose of informing parents that I am the school counselor and spoke to their child's class AND helps kids remember how I can support them at school. Students will fill in the boxes around my avatar with ways I can help them this school year AFTER we have completed the lesson as a quick comprehension check; it's kind of like my formative assessment to ensure no one missed the main points of the school counselor's role during the lesson. This fantastic avatar line drawing is the beautiful work of <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Surfer-Kids-Clip-Art" target="_blank">Surfer Clips on TPT</a>. I highly recommend him!<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbFzOPvIlkk/V9MkawuzisI/AAAAAAAADDw/8pP0udtwAlY8Q6r3WFijMuHJOHp2XCblwCEw/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vbFzOPvIlkk/V9MkawuzisI/AAAAAAAADDw/8pP0udtwAlY8Q6r3WFijMuHJOHp2XCblwCEw/s640/Capture.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b>And if coloring doesn't make you happy, I hope this next news will!!! I finally reached 350 followers at my <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT Store</a> and am celebrating by putting my ENTIRE STORE ON SALE until Monday...yes, everything! </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Act quickly, enjoy, and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-64305215048992811292016-08-29T18:16:00.001-07:002016-08-29T18:17:17.582-07:00It could have been a hot mess.....Today was the first day of my 12th year as a counselor, and I have to say, it was one of my best! I hate to jinx myself for the rest of the week, but I didn't have one Kindergarten crier. What?! I'm pretty sure that's never happened to me before. It was also great being in the second year at my school; I could actually help people find things, I knew students' and parents' names, and I was able to pop into teachers' rooms without feeling like I was interrupting them because I have relationships with them now. It was amazing!<br />
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I'm hitting the ground running with my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/First-30-Days-Checklist-2048851" target="_blank">FIRST 30 DAYS CHECKLIST</a>, which I wrote about <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2015/08/first-30-days.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2015/08/first-30-days-part-ii.html" target="_blank">here </a>last year. Download it for free at <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT</a>, especially if you are a brand new counselor. I am also loving some of the changes I have made in my office this year. I had a stroke of inspiration about a month ago and decided I would paint my cinder block wall with chalkboard paint. First, because the white was really boring and ugly. Second, because I thought the kids would think it was awesome to be able to express themselves through chalk drawing. Third, because I wanted to incorporate some of my regular group and individual counseling activities into wall activities. So, it could have been a hot mess when I started.......(and I was worried it would be).<br />
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Here's what I started with.......GROSS!<br />
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I bought 2 cans of tintable <a href="http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rust-Oleum-Specialty-29-oz-Tintable-Chalkboard-Paint-243783/100678562?keyword=tintable+chalkboard+paint" target="_blank">chalkboard paint</a> from Home Depot and decided on the royal blue color because it would be dark enough to show different colors of chalk, and it's also one of our school colors. I painted a huge rectangle on the bare wall. and added some 3-D butterflies I happened to have to extend the blue color out into the rest of the room.<br />
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Next, I added a fun pennant banner. I knew the kids wouldn't be able to reach that high anyway, and it made it feel more festive. You know I love festive!!! I bought different cardstock papers at Michaels and used my handy dandy Cameo Silhouette machine to cut out the triangles. It is definitely one of the best investments I have ever made for my crafty projects.</div>
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Then came the fun part! I bought <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PM473TK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">liquid chalk markers</a> on Amazon to make more permanent designs that I wanted to stay up for awhile or would use all year with kids! Check out my miracle scale, positive thought mirror, and "Be Groovy" inspirational quote.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzaZTZKsaYY/V8TZ5f-1afI/AAAAAAAADCo/bvlRD1OoJb0IdpEGXHfdIblF1qVoXuTawCEw/s1600/chalk%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FzaZTZKsaYY/V8TZ5f-1afI/AAAAAAAADCo/bvlRD1OoJb0IdpEGXHfdIblF1qVoXuTawCEw/s640/chalk%2B2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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So, it could have been a hot mess, but when those first kids came in and saw this wall, their reactions said it all.....it is awesome! I am so glad I took the risk and that it paid off. It is going to be a great year!<br />
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If you have any questions about this project, feel free to comment or email me! I'd be happy to give you more tips on how I made it work. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-42936497422046908172016-08-13T06:41:00.003-07:002016-08-13T06:42:07.916-07:00Meet the School Counselor....<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vN05hDsmuV4/V68dvHUBi0I/AAAAAAAADB4/EIZAa6wMEEAPMM3RKwJVRUrZY39Cz2C3ACEw/s1600/race.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vN05hDsmuV4/V68dvHUBi0I/AAAAAAAADB4/EIZAa6wMEEAPMM3RKwJVRUrZY39Cz2C3ACEw/s200/race.png" width="200" /></a>This post will be short and sweet because I only have six more days of summer vacation, and I want to squeeze every last minute out of my last Saturday. I have had a LOT of fun introducing myself to students as the school counselor over the years and have written <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2013/09/being-visible-introduction-to-school.html" target="_blank">posts</a> about how to make that fun. My <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2014/08/flatgroovypoovey.html" target="_blank">#FlatGroovyPoovey</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Campfire-School-Counselor-Intro-Lesson-1384727" target="_blank">Camp Counselor</a> lessons are two of the most popular items in my<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank"> Life on the Fly TPT store</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JzmYlK4xGb8/V68c-5OUA8I/AAAAAAAADBk/TPnHA9gcfI4x6upWa2cThvLXY9ktwYeygCLcB/s1600/potato%2Bhead.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JzmYlK4xGb8/V68c-5OUA8I/AAAAAAAADBk/TPnHA9gcfI4x6upWa2cThvLXY9ktwYeygCLcB/s320/potato%2Bhead.PNG" width="255" /></a>So, what do you do when your students have already heard those intro lessons?!!! You add more to the rotation. I have been working on some cute new lessons and can't wait to use this Mrs. Potato Head student worksheet with my Kindergarten students. I included a parent blurb at the bottom and will have them color the Mrs. Potato Head to take home at the end of the lesson. <br />
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I also created two new upper grade lessons, a race track themed SMARTboard lesson (I do live in NASCAR country!) where the class divides into teams and races against each other as they answer TRUE/FALSE questions about the school counselor and a "What Does the School Counselor Do?" game where students sort Counselor Cards into TRUE, FALSE, and DON'T KNOW piles to learn about my job.<br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-the-Counselor-PDF-BUNDLED-DISCOUNT-4-lessons-2727826" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aDHtoL3JDCA/V68hD0DJ7lI/AAAAAAAADCA/p8BCV9J-q1ULHNpxscXHb3fMFs8Nhg5OACLcB/s320/intro%2Bbundle%2Bpreview.PNG" width="320" /></a>If you are ready to add some new material and fun to your INTRO lessons, check out my new bundles! Then, pat yourself on the back for being ahead of the game and super organized! One of the bundles has SMARTboard resources and the other is lessons plans, activities, and student products (two of these work best with the SMARTboard resource). If you buy both, you will have FIVE NEW intro lessons to share with your students. Click on the images for more info. <br />
<b>One last thing--- my lucky readers will get 20% off the 3 new items I have posted this week for the next 36 hours. </b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> </span></span><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;">Angela</span></div>
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Intro-to-the-Counselor-SMARTboard-BUNDLE-DISCOUNT-3-Lessons-2726804" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q188eGIoKok/V68ih-5GduI/AAAAAAAADCM/w7ICz3iIFLgccvvMRGEXmEtzp5svP_fgQCLcB/s320/Meet%2Bthe%2Bcounselor%2Bpreview.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-77072317270321974812016-08-08T13:23:00.002-07:002016-08-09T19:20:20.220-07:00Welcoming Diversity......<script language="javascript" src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.6.4/jquery.min.js" type="text/javascript">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Merriam Webster's definition is a great reminder about the emotions a person should feel when we are <i>welcoming</i> someone. Happiness. Pleasure. <b><i>Is this how your students will feel on the first day of school when they enter your school building?</i></b> What about on the 80th day? Or 180th day?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-i9Pdz9t2Y/V6hm7cn-r3I/AAAAAAAADAw/rVdOSBAQeLs6s_TQlJVV4WZysPDZhGM3ACLcB/s1600/abilty%2Bawareness%2Bpreview.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-e-i9Pdz9t2Y/V6hm7cn-r3I/AAAAAAAADAw/rVdOSBAQeLs6s_TQlJVV4WZysPDZhGM3ACLcB/s320/abilty%2Bawareness%2Bpreview.PNG" width="247" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Embracing diversity has always been a priority for me as a school counselor. Years ago I created a really fun, hands-on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Compassion-Ability-Awareness-Lesson-Plan-and-Center-Cards-1610654" target="_blank">Ability Awareness lesson</a> with different activity centers that I wrote about <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2014/01/disability-awareness.html?showComment=1446685343703" target="_blank">here</a>. It helps students see what it would be like to have physical or educational challenges so that empathy and compassion can be cultivated. Last year, I added more diversity lessons for my students and recently created this <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Diversity-Lesson-Bundle-K-5-2718103" target="_blank">Diversity Lesson Bundle</a> to share at <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly</a>. The bundle lessons focus on appreciating physical differences, diversity of talents, and diversity of interests. </span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Diversity-Lesson-Bundle-K-5-2718103" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2XXsByOOajc/V6jpzvIQXFI/AAAAAAAADBM/kAMojZqaKgg0TGeKTgQqszQpdRiVAmRawCLcB/s320/diversity%2Bbundle%2Bcover.PNG" width="320" /></a><span id="goog_1522510262"></span><span id="goog_1522510263"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;">Earlier in July I had the true pleasure of beginning training as a site-based facilitator for </span><a href="http://www.welcomingschools.org/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;" target="_blank">Welcoming Schools</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> in my school district. As one of five counselors from my district included in the training, it was a unique opportunity for me to learn and grow. Welcoming Schools is an approach that focuses on the following areas:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Embracing family diversity<br />Preventing bias-based bullying and gender stereotyping</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Supporting transgender and gender expansive youth</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: red;">Creating LGBTQ-inclusive schools</span></span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As educators, especially school counselors, it is our job to promote respect and tolerance so that ALL students are received and accepted with care and compassion.</span> </span></span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">So, how do we do this in elementary school?</span></i></span></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You may not have a transgender student walking through your doors in August, or a student that identifies as gay or lesbian, or even a student that currently has two moms or two dads, but are you building a school atmosphere that could embrace those situations and others if (and when) they occur? Because if you are in this profession long enough, it WILL happen and NOW is the time to educate and prepare students who are <i>welcoming </i>of students with LGBTQ differences, racial differences, family structure differences, gender differences, preference differences...the list goes on and on. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One easy way to begin these diversity and tolerance conversations is with bibliotherapy. Whether you do a classroom guidance lesson or read a book with a small group or individual student, books are a great place to start in planting seeds of tolerance. Welcoming Schools has some <a href="http://www.welcomingschools.org/resources/lesson-plans/" target="_blank">great lesson plans</a> available for some of their recommended books. I also have recommended readings from other resources that I plan on checking out this year. Click on the book titles to read <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the summary of each story.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Family Diversity Books</b></span> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Family-Book-Todd-Parr/dp/0316070408/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470588819&sr=8-1&keywords=the+family+book" target="_blank"><u>The Family Book</u></a> (Pre-K-K) and The </span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Great-Big-Book-Families/dp/0803735162/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470588768&sr=8-1&keywords=great+big+book+of+families" target="_blank"><u>Great Big Book of Families</u></a> (Pre-K-3) are good starting points to present all different kinds of families with your primary grades. <u><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tango-Makes-Three-Justin-Richardson/dp/0689878451/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470591644&sr=8-1&keywords=tango+makes+three" target="_blank">And Tango Makes Three</a><span id="goog_1887733671"></span><span id="goog_1887733672"></span> </u>(Pre-K-3) is the story of a penguin with two dads.</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Gender Diversity Books</span></b></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k1joSsi4FCY/V6dZ-QpsrII/AAAAAAAADAU/cbkVtZFdyzg2qSGizqn6-JIQqkcS2jMBgCEw/s1600/Jazz%2BJennings.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k1joSsi4FCY/V6dZ-QpsrII/AAAAAAAADAU/cbkVtZFdyzg2qSGizqn6-JIQqkcS2jMBgCEw/s320/Jazz%2BJennings.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWV7_IHa9tI/V6hqTlCsq5I/AAAAAAAADA8/ezeYzrRCdZkzrQDck5Z0YSzUtVL_Bls0ACLcB/s1600/George.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oWV7_IHa9tI/V6hqTlCsq5I/AAAAAAAADA8/ezeYzrRCdZkzrQDck5Z0YSzUtVL_Bls0ACLcB/s320/George.PNG" width="213" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">Jazz Jennings, a transgender girl and national spokesperson for transgender youth, is the co-author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Jazz-Jessica-Herthel/dp/0803741073/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1470591137&sr=8-2&keywords=i+am+jazz" target="_blank"><u>I Am Jazz </u></a>(K-5) She is also the star of the show <a href="http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/i-am-jazz/" target="_blank">"I Am Jazz"</a> on the TLC network, which focuses on her life as a transgender teen growing up in Florida. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/George-Alex-Gino/dp/0545812542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470655074&sr=8-1&keywords=george" target="_blank">George</a> also tells the story of a young transgender girl. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://jacob%27s%20new%20dress/" target="_blank">Jacob's New Dress</a> (Pre-K-2) features a character who doesn't identify with stereotypical gender roles</span> while <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Serenade-Americas-Childrens-Literature-Commended/dp/0689849087/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470591870&sr=8-1&keywords=elena%27s+serenade" target="_blank">Elena's Serenade</a> (Pre-K-2) and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/10-000-Dresses-Marcus-Ewert/dp/1583228500/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470591767&sr=8-1&keywords=10%2C000+dresses" target="_blank">10,000 Dresses</a> (K-4), also challenge gender stereotyping, especially as they relate to interests and possible careers. </span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WP2tjr9nF24/V6dZ-nR9_aI/AAAAAAAADAU/LMFdbmz9tIs6MTGNRRot3-_oRK8k1vbkgCEw/s1600/red.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WP2tjr9nF24/V6dZ-nR9_aI/AAAAAAAADAU/LMFdbmz9tIs6MTGNRRot3-_oRK8k1vbkgCEw/s320/red.PNG" width="243" /></a><br />
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Finally, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Red-Crayons-Story-Michael-Hall/dp/0062252070/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1470592187&sr=8-1&keywords=red+a+crayon%27s+story+by+michael+hall" target="_blank">Red: A Crayon's Story</a> is a delightful book where a blue crayon, labeled RED, struggles with identity and acceptance to be the crayon it is inside. Although this book could easily relate to LGBTQ topics, I believe it also presents a broader acceptance of diversity of self, no matter what the difference expressed.<br />
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Many of these books can be found on YouTube if you want to check them out prior to buying them or use them as e-books for lessons. I am by no means an expert on these topics, but I am leaning into the learning curve and recognize the huge need to promote acceptance and respect for ALL types of families and ALL students. Join me in the important work of creating school environments that truly are welcoming!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-91988884437188497812016-07-31T09:45:00.003-07:002016-07-31T09:46:57.374-07:00MANIC Monday (and Tuesday!)......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jt5uT12VBDI/V53pE5zg56I/AAAAAAAAC-Q/FTOrWwA3XJQLmoTOK5iJH8ucxJc5BJqNwCLcB/s1600/tpt%2Bsale%2Bmeme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jt5uT12VBDI/V53pE5zg56I/AAAAAAAAC-Q/FTOrWwA3XJQLmoTOK5iJH8ucxJc5BJqNwCLcB/s1600/tpt%2Bsale%2Bmeme.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> *Image found on Pinterest from imgflip.com</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Teachers, school counselors, and ALL educators, I know how we all start feeling when our "back to school countdown" gets under 20. Believe me, I know! But, I have also found one way to ease the pain is to be REALLY EXCITED about new materials you are going to use!<br />
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Whether that's the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/The-Girls-Book-Club-Activity-Pack-1661165" target="_blank">book club</a> you have been wanting to start for 2 years and now you finally have the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Middle-School-Rules-Boys-Leadership-Book-Club-2198348" target="_blank">resource</a> (yep, that was me) or an awesome new book and<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BeautifulOops-Courage-Activity-Pack-1281920" target="_blank"> lesson plan </a>to use with your students, it's a lot more fun to start the year with something that motivates you!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QsKZ0F7_fWw/V54mlr_AMvI/AAAAAAAAC_M/Ee1f8hPJypASf6D6oqXZSnwene4LnShywCLcB/s1600/counselors%2Bof%2BTPT%2BAD%2BSALE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QsKZ0F7_fWw/V54mlr_AMvI/AAAAAAAAC_M/Ee1f8hPJypASf6D6oqXZSnwene4LnShywCLcB/s320/counselors%2Bof%2BTPT%2BAD%2BSALE.jpg" width="320" /></a><b>Luckily, now is your chance because TPT IS HAVING A SALE on Monday and Tuesday...and everything in the <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly Store</a> is going to be 28% off......Yes, really! </b><br />
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Also, I am SO fortunate to be part of a group called <b>Confident Counselors</b> who have created an <span style="font-size: large;">AMAZING</span> e-book for the sale. The best part?!!! There is a freebie on every page.<br />
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Be sure to check out some new stores and click on the green star to follow them. My <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly</a> page is below. Click on the image to download the entire e-book for FREE on TPT. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling!</span><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> ~ </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Angela</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Counselors-of-TPT-Ebook-2694591" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FW1LGDBoQ0U/V53wix4yLrI/AAAAAAAAC-8/0w0h_f-hz8sishfc1lnsfewQGEQa5Z05QCLcB/s400/tpt%2Bintro%2Bpicture%2Bcapture.PNG" width="310" /></a></div>
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-70162735173632145012016-07-28T07:02:00.000-07:002016-07-31T04:53:09.999-07:00It's the FINAL Countdown: Part III'm BACK and super excited about some upcoming posts to share resources (new books, websites, counseling resources, the list goes on and on). I had four days of amazing professional development earlier in July and am also presenting at the Eastern Summer Academy for the NC School Counselor's Association TOMORROW! Nothing like the end of July to start getting you thinking about school again!<br />
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As promised, it is time for PART II of my <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2016/04/its-final-countdownpart-i.html" target="_blank">Academic Habits post</a> (and my first offer of <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Academic-Habits-BUNDLE-DISCOUNT-4-lessons-for-K-6-2657025" target="_blank">bundled lesson plans</a> EVER at my <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT store</a>....read to the bottom for your special READER deal). School counselors do SO MANY THINGS, and I am loving this infographic that I saw on school counselors affecting student success at the NYU Counseling website (click on the picture to see the entire infographic or visit my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lifeontheflycounselor/" target="_blank">Life on the Fly FB page</a> where it is also posted). Note the college readiness and academic outcomes that fit right in line with this post. There are some pretty awesome stats here; perhaps you should also send it to your school administration!<br />
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<a href="https://counseling.steinhardt.nyu.edu/blog/school-counselor-student-success/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YD5nV7LPrAw/V5n4PbzwsVI/AAAAAAAAC8s/JeQ2aFwJIiQC1JMlP81vGXbEFfJ7xW8xwCLcB/s320/infographic%2Bcounselor%2Bsuccess.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Where are We? </i></b></span></div>
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I ended my <a href="http://www.lifeontheflycounselor.com/2016/04/its-final-countdownpart-i.html" target="_blank">last post</a> sharing the data I had collected from my fifth grade students and teachers on what academic habits they needed most to affect their future success. Although they identified listening skills, study skills, and organization as the most critical, I narrowed it down to two topics that would be most developmentally appropriate, as well as fit into our time constraints for fifth grade. As an aside, I am constantly thinking about how guidance curriculum spirals through the grades so that by the time students go through K-5 at my school, they will have received multiple lessons presenting varied academic objectives within that domain. This year, that spiraling curriculum looked like this for my grade levels in bold (and what I have taught for the other grade levels when I was a solo counselor):</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">K: School is my Job! (Positive feelings toward work and learning)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1: Whole Body Listening</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">2: Homework Habits</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Smart-Goals-16-page-Smartboard-Lesson-1389870" target="_blank">Goal Setting</a>, Organization of Materials (backpacks, cubbies, desks)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">4: Goal Setting, Organization of Time </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5: <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Smart-Goals-16-page-Smartboard-Lesson-1389870" target="_blank">Goal Setting</a>, Learning Styles</span></b></div>
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Since I was not responsible for fourth grade this year and my fifth grade students identified organization of time as an area they needed help on, I actually presented lessons on goal setting, learning styles, and organization of time with them. Here's how......</div>
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<span style="font-size: large; font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Lessons: Learning Styles and Organization of Time </span></div>
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<b><u>Learning Styles</u></b></div>
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My fifth grade students all have Chromebooks so I was able to share bit.ly links with them as we viewed many of the materials in these lessons. It was amazingly efficient and so kid-friendly! We started with Learning Styles because I wanted to tackle study skills in an intentional and personalized way. Students completed a pre-test on what learning styles they already knew. I have really been enjoying having older students use the same pre/post ticket (like the example below) during lessons to measure growth. They draw lines through pre-test blank spaces if they don't know the information at the beginning of the lesson and then write it in for the post-test information once they do. I collect them as an exit ticket at the end of the lesson and use it for my program results data at the end of the year.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKzVasDIJv4/V5n-SAClBSI/AAAAAAAAC88/TDCyZs4jFMMWUAWoxM4hkoxB6yYhyYzagCLcB/s1600/academic%2Bhabits%2Bpre-test.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oKzVasDIJv4/V5n-SAClBSI/AAAAAAAAC88/TDCyZs4jFMMWUAWoxM4hkoxB6yYhyYzagCLcB/s320/academic%2Bhabits%2Bpre-test.PNG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pnp-6iGqMxk/V5oDUv4bbWI/AAAAAAAAC9M/rSOGf-U3ZkIDgqDKfHMIIwJ596y3IuIqACLcB/s1600/learning%2Bstyle%2Binfographic.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pnp-6iGqMxk/V5oDUv4bbWI/AAAAAAAAC9M/rSOGf-U3ZkIDgqDKfHMIIwJ596y3IuIqACLcB/s320/learning%2Bstyle%2Binfographic.PNG" width="259" /></a>I then reviewed the following<a href="http://theultralinx.com/2012/07/type-learner/" target="_blank"> infographic</a> from UltraLinx (yes, I love infographics!) and students predicted what learning style would fit them best to a partner. The students took the following <a href="http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles-quiz.shtml" target="_blank">short quiz</a> found at <a href="http://educationplanner.org/">Educationplanner.org</a> on their Chromebooks to get their learning style results. One of the reasons I like this quiz is because it gave hybrid results. For example, it might say a student was 70% visual learner and 30% auditory learner rather than giving one rigid type. This flexibility is more applicable to real life and helps kids get away from "inside the box" thinking.</div>
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After receiving their quiz results, students were grouped based on their most dominant learning style, which meant I had to be flexible with materials and table groupings since I was never sure how many students would fit in each category. I stayed organized with table cards showing each assigned group. Then, I gave students overview sheets I created on their dominant learning style and asked them to apply it to a teaching activity. Each group used current Science or Literacy vocabulary (I collaborated with their teachers to create these lists) and planned a way to teach one vocabulary word to the class using their particular learning style. The analysis and application (think Bloom's taxonomy higher order thinking) really helped them internalize their learning style. Students came up with everything from poems to raps to dances to drawings to teach their words, and it was a fun way for them to practice oral presentation skills, too.<br />
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<b><u>Time Management</u></b></div>
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Our second academic habits lesson focused on time management, which I also emphasized as an ultra important topic for middle school. Students started out by sharing all the different extracurricular commitments and homework responsibilities they have. Nothing gets kids more excited about a lesson than being able to talk about themselves, and I have found that turn & talk or stand up, hand up, pair up conversations are a good way to get the ball rolling. Check out <a href="http://www.kaganonline.com/free_articles/research_and_rationale/330/The-Essential-5-A-Starting-Point-for-Kagan-Cooperative-Learning" target="_blank">Spencer Kagan </a>for more structured cooperative learning ideas.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h1UKNJGqtuQ/V5oIwhKcCjI/AAAAAAAAC9c/aBAgBQVIjN0ysWtu3hu6cFCLojAz06YYACLcB/s1600/time%2Bschedule.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="91" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h1UKNJGqtuQ/V5oIwhKcCjI/AAAAAAAAC9c/aBAgBQVIjN0ysWtu3hu6cFCLojAz06YYACLcB/s320/time%2Bschedule.PNG" width="320" /></a>Next, students paired up and accessed my Google Drive lesson via a bit.ly link (again, super easy and efficient if you have that capability). I had students make a copy of my lesson once they were in their own Google drive so they could discuss the activities and actually type in the document without affecting others. Students read a sample fifth grade after-school schedule for "Ashley," and we talked about <b><i>Need to Do</i></b> versus <b><i>Want to Do</i></b> tasks. Then, they organized her schedule electronically in a chart. Then, they brainstormed discussion questions, which we also shared out as a whole group. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fkq9iXPQ6EQ/V5oL_LpIl9I/AAAAAAAAC9o/CIA7EV4yfe4IDyQdRdGcTsalGD2D6aaBgCLcB/s1600/paper%2Btime%2Bschedule%2Bversion.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fkq9iXPQ6EQ/V5oL_LpIl9I/AAAAAAAAC9o/CIA7EV4yfe4IDyQdRdGcTsalGD2D6aaBgCLcB/s320/paper%2Btime%2Bschedule%2Bversion.PNG" width="320" /></a>Finally, students picked one school day and created their own afternoon schedules. I allowed students to choose whether they wanted to create their schedule electronically with my template or with a paper version. We shared model examples of prioritizing time (homework first, including daily reading, getting exercise) as students completed the activity.</div>
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This lesson didn't have a pre/post written component, but in the future I plan on using four corners to gather some perception data about how well students think they are doing with organizing time before the instruction and after the instruction.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-PccV0mKFQ/V5oNtBl6cGI/AAAAAAAAC9w/lr4ZaY8r538GIVF-03hTukPxYPCZNhYMgCLcB/s1600/tpt-%2Bacademic%2Bhabits%2Bpreview.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g-PccV0mKFQ/V5oNtBl6cGI/AAAAAAAAC9w/lr4ZaY8r538GIVF-03hTukPxYPCZNhYMgCLcB/s400/tpt-%2Bacademic%2Bhabits%2Bpreview.PNG" width="400" /></a>So, there you have it. The final countdown for this post is over, but it has just started for the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year! I am down to 21 days in my neck of the woods and plan on enjoying every single one of them before I head back to my school kiddos. I hope I can save you some time and help you enjoy your days MORE by offering my first ever lesson bundle at Life on the Fly TPT. This <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Academic-Habits-BUNDLE-DISCOUNT-4-lessons-for-K-6-2657025" target="_blank">K-6 bundle</a> includes four lessons (including the two in this post) so you can check that domain off your list for next year! <b>As a special deal for my Life on the Fly readers, I am giving an extra 25% OFF if you buy in the next 24 hours. </b></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-1303064369251187962016-04-23T04:18:00.000-07:002016-04-23T04:18:33.149-07:00It's the Final Countdown......Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*image from wikipedia.org</span><br />
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It's the final countdown (cue drums and bad 80s hair)....fourth quarter. I have 33 school days to support my students in reaching their goals, whether that means we are trying to improve a report card grade, pass the EOGs, avoid behavior referrals, or have better attendance; the time is now. So, what am I doing?<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Right now </span></b><br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qLRF9dROeyk/VxtUKg9WKtI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/cytWbEMGekklAOqc0obAl_mtrSWAWkImACLcB/s1600/eog%2Bpreview.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qLRF9dROeyk/VxtUKg9WKtI/AAAAAAAAC7Q/cytWbEMGekklAOqc0obAl_mtrSWAWkImACLcB/s320/eog%2Bpreview.png" width="248" /></a>I am using my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Report-Card-Conference-Reflection-Sheet-1554805" target="_blank">report card conference form</a> to review third quarter report cards and help students make fourth quarter goals for specific subjects. I will also be starting my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Test-Success-End-of-Grade-Small-Group-Plan-and-Activities-1819386" target="_blank">test success small groups</a> with third and fifth graders who need that extra push to pass the EOGs. The fifth graders are students who missed passing last year's EOG by one to two points, and the third graders are "bubble students" as determined by the "Beginning of Grade" (BOG) test data and mock EOG data. </div>
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<b>Do you see a theme here? </b>All of these interventions require looking at data to determine who I should be supporting; they require data to determine what the <b>next</b> steps should be for students as they move toward their <b>next</b> goals. The focus is on making progress, moving forward, and having a growth mindset. Good teachers do a great job of using formative assessments to inform their interventions and drive instruction. Counselors can do the same.</div>
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You may remember this <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/10/gamechangers.html" target="_blank">goal-setting post</a> from the beginning of the year where I used my new <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Goal-Setting-Sheet-Older-Students-2505434" target="_blank">goal-setting form</a> (FREEBIE NOW at my TPT store), <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Smart-Goals-16-page-Smartboard-Lesson-1389870" target="_blank">SMARTboard slides</a>, and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Smart-Goals-Lesson-Plan-1389864" target="_blank">lesson plan</a> to help fifth graders create goals for the year. Most years, I help students create goals in September and then I move on, hoping, wishing, and crossing my fingers that they will reach them. This year I challenged myself to return to goal setting and do more. <br />
<b><br /></b><b><span style="font-size: large;">Using Data: The Objective</span></b><br />
I decided I wanted to use minute meetings to follow up with students about their goals and collect qualitative data that would inform my next steps in supporting them with academics. I knew I wouldn't have enough time to interview ALL 120+ fifth graders from ALL six classes so I worked to get a majority sample from a majority of the classes. I ended up talked to students from four out of the six classes.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Plan</span></b><br />
I had hoped to begin my minute meetings as soon as first quarter ended (end of November), but "school counseling" happened, and they didn't begin until December with the bulk of the meetings being completed in early January.</div>
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I created a Google survey to review goals with students and asked the following (see below):<br />
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<li><b><i>Did you meet your first quarter goal?</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>If not, why not?</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>Do you have a new goal for third quarter?</i></b></li>
<li><b><i>What would help you most in reaching your goal?</i></b></li>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">The Outcome</span></b><br />
Here is some of my survey data (I love the summary of responses view in Google!). It was helpful for me to see that 37% of the students I interviewed did not meet their first quarter goal and 21% couldn't remember what their goal had been. It validated my decision to return to goal setting and take time to collect formative data on how to support students best in my next steps.<br />
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As I talked to students about what skills would help them be most successful for the rest of the year (below), several habits became prominent: Organization of Time, Study Skills, and Listening Skills. The "other" responses were typically students saying they needed help in TWO areas, which I typed out. After reviewing the percentages, written responses, and getting feedback from the classroom teachers, I decided to focus on study skills and organization of time.<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Next Steps</b></span><br />
I created two academic habits lessons for my fifth grade students, personalized to their needs. Teachers were given the option of having both lessons or choosing the one that best met their students' needs. Most of the teachers chose both lessons. Part TWO of this post will review those lessons.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Reflection</b></span><br />
I was proud of the growth I made in using my data collection as a formative tool to drive my instruction and interventions. Feeling comfortable with data and using it effectively is one of the great challenges that most school counselors face, myself included. I have gone from groaning when I am presented with data to getting excited about it. My perception has shifted. I now realize that student data is not the end of the story; it's the the first paragraph of the next chapter as students continue their story.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-39261629997005551392016-04-03T08:56:00.000-07:002016-04-23T04:36:12.851-07:00What's Inside Your HeART??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, hello again.....I hope these spring months have been good to you and you have been recharged and rejuvenated over spring break. I know the break was a welcome chance to unplug and relax for me!!! I have been committed to prioritizing family & friend time and "ME" time in 2016, and I have really stuck to it! Remember my New Year's <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/12/are-you-recharging.html" target="_blank">post</a>?! Of course, this commitment means the blog posts have not been plentiful, but when I do write, I hope you will find it useful. <br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g04Ks8BZENg/VwE151G39gI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/BeZ1W4eOzIMsy1H_YDTVqeGlYqhpWDNNg/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B11%252C%2B7%2B05%2B04%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g04Ks8BZENg/VwE151G39gI/AAAAAAAAC6Q/BeZ1W4eOzIMsy1H_YDTVqeGlYqhpWDNNg/s200/Photo%2BSep%2B11%252C%2B7%2B05%2B04%2BAM.jpg" width="200" /></a>March was a BUSY month for me, and I think that is typical for most school counselors. Students (and staff) are tired and ready for a break, and problem solving skills tend to deteriorate. There was a lot of student conflict, and I found myself using my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Mediation-Report-Form-1403025" target="_blank">mediation form</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Problem-Solving-Card-2109541" target="_blank">problem solving card</a> OFTEN! I also taught some really fun diversity lessons to my grade levels, which I will share in a future post. I saw a lot of students individually and got a chance to implement some of the skills I wrote about in my<a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/07/asca-was-spicy.html" target="_blank"> post</a> from the ASCA conference last July. In particular, I loved using the feeling heart from the Counseling with HeART session by Julie Ford to help students, especially younger ones, process their feelings<br />
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I start out by having students draw a heart and choose colors to represent each feeling. Then, they color in sections of the heart to represent how much of each feeling they currently have. After brainstorming behavior strategies, disputing irrational thoughts, coming up with a solution-focused plan (or whatever theory I am currently using to help!), the student re-colors the heart to show if any feelings have changed. You can also have the student reflect on the chart from one session to the next if it's a more complicated problem and needs more time to address. In addition to allowing the student to be growth-oriented and giving them a concrete visual that feelings can change and improve, it also provides awesome pre and post data for counselors! Check out some student examples below.<br />
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Heart Example #1: In this example there is no feeling key, but the student colored in the following feelings: Angry (red), Sad (blue), Happy (Purple), Scared (Green). After our session, the student colored over half the red and all the green with purple to show increased happiness. We still had work to do on the rest of the anger and sadness, but it was a start!<br />
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Heart Example #2: My second example does include a feelings key, which I really liked creating while the student and I talked about different feelings you can have. This student was feeling very angry when we started the counseling session. After working together, the student colored in about 75% of the heart purple to show we had figured out appropriate ways to get rid of angry feelings and feel more happy. Again, we still had to work on that last 25%, but we had definite progress.<br />
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I liked this art feelings activity so much that I created a template I could pull out of my individual counseling folder anytime it would be useful for a student. I have found that having resource folders for common issues ----conflict, anger, friendship, family, perspective-taking, etc.---- in a hanging wall organizer helps me be ready when students come in with concerns. It also saves me a ton of time because I can quickly find a visual resource to help focus our individual session instead of creating something new each time and spinning my wheels. With so many students and so little time, it has become a great time-saver! </div>
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For this template, you might have a younger student that only lists two or three feelings in the feelings key or an older student who is able to discriminate 4 or 5 feelings with different colors that need to be represented. I included six boxes for different colors, but you can always add more boxes. Hundreds of you got this freebie in its first weeks on TPT, and you can still find it <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Individual-Counseling-Feelings-HeART-activity-2481520" target="_blank">here</a> as part of my DOLLAR DAY items on my <a href="http://bit.ly/lifeontheflystore" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT Store</a>! </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
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<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-39085504585951725112016-02-13T08:14:00.003-08:002016-02-13T08:15:06.866-08:00All About Organization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bq_SZJcPogA/Vr8ZAuURTPI/AAAAAAAAC4s/bSkpUYbYies/s1600/messy%2Bdesk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bq_SZJcPogA/Vr8ZAuURTPI/AAAAAAAAC4s/bSkpUYbYies/s320/messy%2Bdesk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Clutter. Loose Papers. Trash. Old Snacks. Broken Pencils. Are you having flashbacks of any of the student desks at your school?! I hope the above picture is an extreme example, but organization is an area where many students struggle, especially as they move into the upper elementary grades. I decided to tackle this important academic habit with my third graders in classroom lessons in January and February. Depending on the classroom teacher, my third grade students have desks, book boxes, or cubbies they use to keep materials organized; some of the classrooms use tables instead of desks, but they all have some type of organizational system.<br />
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My lesson started with students brainstorming all the areas they could organize at school. After a <br />
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sharing discussion, we specifically pinpointed the areas of backpacks, desks, and cubbies, and students rated their current level of organization 1-3 on a pre-test (3 was best). Next, we tacked backpacks and students had to transform my LEVEL 1 backpacks into LEVEL 3 backpacks while also completing a backpack scavenger hunt. Each team received a scavenger hunt card of 5 items they had to find within the backpack while also organizing it. This activity was a great way to practice teamwork AND organizational skills! I also used this fun rocket timer found <a href="http://www.online-stopwatch.com/rocket-timer/full-screen/" target="_blank">here</a> to jazz up the scavenger hunt a little more.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0oy3pBP9ZY/Vr8c6IVwGwI/AAAAAAAAC5A/yUm8pRpaZXE/s1600/rocket%2Btimer.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-D0oy3pBP9ZY/Vr8c6IVwGwI/AAAAAAAAC5A/yUm8pRpaZXE/s400/rocket%2Btimer.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MmwKs3Fyqk/Vr8ft-DY3wI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/QtnOVeVlXvE/s1600/desk%2Borganization.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7MmwKs3Fyqk/Vr8ft-DY3wI/AAAAAAAAC5Y/QtnOVeVlXvE/s320/desk%2Borganization.PNG" width="320" /></a>After students completed the scavenger hunt, we discussed the steps they took to organize the backpacks and students reflected on the changes they needed to make with their own backpacks. Students circled the specific strategies they could use on their pre-survey. Next, we tackled desks or book boxes/cubbies. Again, students rated themselves on their current level of organization, 1-3. They completed a planning template of whichever area they were organizing, and we highlighted model examples as students completed the templates.<br />
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The final step was letting students know that there would be a check-in from the "desk fairy" or "organization fairy" in a few weeks to see if they had implemented any of the organizational strategies. One important note is that I asked teachers to allow a few minutes during arrival and dismissal time so students could practice what we learned. That practice time is key if we want students to be successful and will affect how these follow up checks go.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FWUd-ESK1o/Vr8rgXYxANI/AAAAAAAAC5o/l1S3ENhYZdk/s1600/Photo%2BFeb%2B11%252C%2B8%2B10%2B09%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7FWUd-ESK1o/Vr8rgXYxANI/AAAAAAAAC5o/l1S3ENhYZdk/s320/Photo%2BFeb%2B11%252C%2B8%2B10%2B09%2BAM.jpg" width="320" /></a>So far, I have visited three classrooms and handed out special desk check "congratulation notes." As always, I can tell some students really took the lesson to heart and are improving while others haven't invested the time to make changes yet. I will return to the classrooms for a quick post-test (on the back of my pre-test) where they will rate themselves 1-3 again and do some reflection about whether they have followed through on the strategies they circled. This lesson is really about promoting awareness of organization, its importance, and the specific strategies students can use to not be "that kid with the overflowing desk."<br />
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If you are interested in teaching this lesson and want my pre-made lesson plan, pre/post survey, planning templates, congratulations notes, and scavenger hunt cards all in one EASY packet, check it out <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Organization-of-Materials-3rd-5th-Grade-Lesson-2387546" target="_blank">here</a><span id="goog_323930750"></span><span id="goog_323930751"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a> at my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">Life on the Fly TPT store</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-14497578705818526062016-01-27T16:28:00.001-08:002016-01-27T16:34:37.865-08:00Countdown to #NSCW16<br />
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Next week is National School Counseling Week; A week where I hope you will be recognized for the many contributions that you make to your school and students each day. I hear from many of you that it is hard for you to promote yourself during School Counseling Week, and I get your perspective! I have always found it more fun when I focus on celebrating a school counseling program that is <b>collaborative </b>with parents and teachers and helps promote student success. I also LOVED combining Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) Week with School Counseling Week last year (check out my post <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/01/school-counseling-week-2015kindness.html" target="_blank">here</a>) and am going to do it again this year! I decided to take the ASCA theme- "School Counseling: A Recipe for Success" and switch it up to "Kindness: A Recipe for Success" as I celebrate BOTH school counseling AND RAK. Don't forget that<a href="http://www.schoolcounselor.org/" target="_blank"> ASCA </a>has a lot of great resources and photo challenges for <a href="http://www.schoolcounselor.org/school-counselors-members/about-asca-(1)/national-school-counseling-week" target="_blank">National School Counseling Week</a>...be sure to get those FB posts and tweets out with the hashtag #NSCW16! Look for mine at @apoovey with the additional hashtag of #groovypoovey.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rc_v44FdDdk/VqlcZqsts6I/AAAAAAAAC34/zPh1x3rnQdk/s1600/RAK%2Bkindnessgram.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rc_v44FdDdk/VqlcZqsts6I/AAAAAAAAC34/zPh1x3rnQdk/s320/RAK%2Bkindnessgram.png" width="264" /></a></div>
After brainstorming my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Random-Acts-of-Kindness-Week-Activity-PackSchool-Counseling-Week-1665055?aref=ejn7kzhi" target="_blank">Random Acts of Kindness Activity Pack</a> last year, I'm not changing things up too much with my new school and staff...,why reinvent the wheel when it was so much fun?!! My art teachers are helping out again with Kindness-grams, and the Leadership Club that I help sponsor is going to help us sort all 1,000 of them next week so we will be ready for our deliveries next Friday. They will also make sure we haven't left any staff members out!<br />
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I have also been counting down each day on the morning show to give kids ideas of ways they can show kindness next week. My co-counselor and I are sticking with our Kindness Cocoa Bar as a random act of kindness for our staff, but she came up with the brilliant idea to use Keurigs and K-cups of hot chocolate instead of worrying about all those crockpots of hot chocolate to make....#thatwaseasy. We will expand our toppings bar depending on how creative I get at the grocery store, and I'm sure it will be a welcome treat that staff can stop in and enjoy any time during the day. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7lSNSWwVDNg/VqlcY4Rkk_I/AAAAAAAAC3o/ox5-ifQf5gI/s1600/RAK%2Bheart%2B16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7lSNSWwVDNg/VqlcY4Rkk_I/AAAAAAAAC3o/ox5-ifQf5gI/s320/RAK%2Bheart%2B16.jpg" width="240" /></a>I did change my body outlines from last year to hearts this year because it fit better with my "Kindness: A Recipe for Success" theme and the bulletin board I made. Each classroom will decorate their own heart to show examples of kindness through words and actions. I can't wait for those hearts to be overflowing out of my kindness bowl...so cute! Also, I put up my "tear a compliment" sheet on the bulletin board today just for fun and it's already totally empty before RAK week even starts! Looks like I'll need a few more copies to post around the school. <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GiOILbzcTZk/VqlcY3ermTI/AAAAAAAAC3k/1Zje6t1oDGo/s1600/RAK%2Bbulletin%2Bboard%2B16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GiOILbzcTZk/VqlcY3ermTI/AAAAAAAAC3k/1Zje6t1oDGo/s640/RAK%2Bbulletin%2Bboard%2B16.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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Don't forget to check out my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor?aref=aqd7xqbr" target="_blank">TPT</a> if you are looking for some <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Random-Acts-of-Kindness-Week-Activity-PackSchool-Counseling-Week-1665055?aref=ejn7kzhi" target="_blank">RAK</a> ideas! I have my activity pack on SALE as a little RAK for you over the next couple of days. Check back next week for more photos and NSCW16 shout outs for our profession!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-44449779945914380052016-01-19T17:43:00.001-08:002016-01-19T17:43:26.308-08:00Get Ready....I have been taking my recharging seriously as I focused on being relaxed and happy the past month and implementing my <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/12/are-you-recharging.html" target="_blank">TOP 10 instant mood lifters</a>. Now, I am ready to get back to some new blog posts with a follow up to my <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/10/gamechangers.html" target="_blank">goal-setting lesson</a>, some academic habits lessons,<a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/01/school-counseling-week-2015kindness.html" target="_blank"> Random Acts of Kindness Week</a>, and <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/11/ncsca-its-kick-off-time.html" target="_blank">book club</a> updates on the horizon. Get ready!!!!<br /><br />
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Also, I wanted to make sure EVERYONE knew that TPT is throwing a sitewide sale tomorrow AND Thursday. Get TPT discounts along with my discounts on every item in the <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">TPT Life on the Fly Counselor Store</a>. It's a great time to purchase those items that have been on your wish list!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela </span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-35821456529856633142015-12-28T06:18:00.001-08:002015-12-28T06:19:40.016-08:00Are you RECHARGING??!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
AAHHHH.....winter break! In my case it is Christmas break, but no matter what holiday, if any, you celebrate, I think we can safely say it is truly "the most wonderful time of the year." I took this silly pic below and posted it to Facebook the last day of school (tongue in cheek), but it pretty much captures the excitement I felt at having 16 days off of school. <a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEF55UZmN4k/VoE0c78ZHFI/AAAAAAAAC24/pyQmPGHiFBo/s1600/winter%2Bbreak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aEF55UZmN4k/VoE0c78ZHFI/AAAAAAAAC24/pyQmPGHiFBo/s320/winter%2Bbreak.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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I haven't even thought about school the last 7 days, which has been wonderfully refreshing, and I hope you have also had time to recharge, relax, enjoy the ones you love, and put a little sparkle back in your step during this vacation. Last year, I closed out 2014 with this <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2014/12/bad-days-happen.html" target="_blank">post</a>, a look back at my top accomplishments and moments of 2014. I loved reminding myself of the good I had done for myself, my school and students throughout the year. <b>I could do the same this year: achieving RAMP designation, giving my second ASCA presentation in Phoenix, surviving a huge move to a new home, school system, and way of life; however, I'm more interested in looking forward this year.</b></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Quote from Oprah Winfrey, Image found at mamasdesk.nl</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: center;">I recently read this </span><a href="http://thesundaychapter.com/2015/08/25-things-that-will-instantly-boost/" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">blog post</a><span style="text-align: center;"> at The Sunday Chapter, and it really resonated with me. We talk to our students all the time about ways they can change their thoughts or change their feelings when faced with challenges. I have my groups role-play calm-down strategies and positive self talk all the time, but do we have our list ready when things are starting to go downhill for us? We may not need 25. In fact, I think my "go to" 10 below are plenty to get me back on track. No matter how many you have, the important fact is that you have them written down, tucked in your mirror or wallet, taped to your computer screen, or whatever visual reminder you need to actually use them. </span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;">Burnout is one of the top concerns for the school counseling profession. Those of us in our first, second, and third decades of the profession know this is a legitimate concern, and my goal for 2016 is to take more moments to pause (and use the bathroom..ha!), cut myself some slack, and enjoy each day. Life is short. So, here are my TOP 10 instant mood lifters.....what are yours?! ***Be sure to include at least a few activities you can do at work.</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>1. Spend time with family</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>2. Run (Still not sure about this one, read this<a href="http://thesundaychapter.com/2015/12/how-to-learn-to-love-running/" target="_blank"> post</a>)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>3. Arts and crafts. Usually I do these with my daughter but have you noticed the adult coloring craze?! I love this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Garden-Inky-Treasure-Coloring/dp/1780671067/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451311395&sr=8-2&keywords=secret+garden+coloring+book" target="_blank">book</a>.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>4. Curl up with a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=13108091011" target="_blank">book</a> (or even better...book club + wine = magic)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>*5. Pray or meditate...whatever your perogative. I do both.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>6. Call a friend or family member. Don't text. Don't Snapchat. Physically pick up the phone and connect with a loved one for at least 20 minutes.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>7. Plan something fun on your calendar. There is nothing like having something fun to look forward to that instantly brightens your mood. It can be planning to try a new restaurant, go to a movie, get away for the weekend....anything!</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>8. Snuggle with one of my kiddos (a partner, dog, or other animal would work too!)</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>*9. Listen to a <a href="https://www.ted.com/talks" target="_blank">TED talk</a>. There is nothing like perspective to make you feel better, and these are so short you can listen to them while getting ready in the morning, driving to work, or eating lunch.</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">*10. Breathe. It is simple but true. Taking deep breaths relaxes my body and helps clear my head. I have learned all too often that a stressed brain cannot make good choices, and I try to practice this one often. </span> </span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So, school counselor friends, may 2016 be your best year yet. Enjoy each day and Happy Counseling!</span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-family: inherit;">~ Angela</span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-8081434291560508512015-12-10T14:40:00.000-08:002015-12-10T14:43:02.700-08:00Career & College Wrap Up!My final weeks of December are winding down and Career & College months will be coming to a close. It won't be the end of career and college talk, though; Career Cafes with my fifth graders will be in full force through April. In the meantime, I wanted to round out my career posts with an updated version of one of my favorite lessons that connects what students are learning at school each day to future careers. I have written about the lesson before<a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-career-countdown.html" target="_blank"> here</a>, but I now have a pulled together resource, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Career-Connections-School-Subjects-to-Careers-2253600" target="_blank">"Career Connections: School Subjects to Careers"</a>, for my readers. Check it out at my TPT<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank"> Life on the Fly Store</a>! The best part is that it is only $1 through Friday evening as part of my DOLLAR DAYS December promotion!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k8u3vaqvJnE/Vmn-64WMKSI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/32qK8XyxJKI/s1600/career%2Bconnections.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k8u3vaqvJnE/Vmn-64WMKSI/AAAAAAAAC2Y/32qK8XyxJKI/s400/career%2Bconnections.PNG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l7T4urAGiec/Vmnz-7da0QI/AAAAAAAAC1s/2SVL29mrRTw/s1600/subject%2Bcareer%2Blesson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l7T4urAGiec/Vmnz-7da0QI/AAAAAAAAC1s/2SVL29mrRTw/s320/subject%2Bcareer%2Blesson.jpg" width="320" /></a>For this lesson, third grade students worked together in teams with Chromebooks to research jobs matching their assigned subjects on this awesome <a href="http://vacareerview.org/k5/check-it/kids-search/" target="_blank">KIDS SEARCH</a> portion of the VA Career View website. Each student was instructed to choose the job they liked best within the subject category, research the job, write the name of the job on their subject sheet, and draw a picture clue so others could get an idea of what the job does. Examples of the student work product are below....<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k89a2aX6Qsg/Vmn0tp9uiMI/AAAAAAAAC2E/uoimaknwWoA/s1600/subject%2Bcareer%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k89a2aX6Qsg/Vmn0tp9uiMI/AAAAAAAAC2E/uoimaknwWoA/s320/subject%2Bcareer%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The pre-selected jobs and kid friendly research describing the job makes this activity entirely possible in a 45-minute time block, unlike a lot of other research projects. It is a great activity for third, fourth, and fifth grade students.Check out this bulletin board I made highlighting student work from this career lesson and others.<br />
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I also wanted to brag on the staff at my school who did an excellent job in our first ever college door decorating contest. All of the doors were fantastic and a few examples are shown below (the NC State one was our first place winner!). Creative and college focused....#priceless!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /><br />Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-29241883072125123392015-11-26T06:20:00.001-08:002015-11-26T06:21:10.934-08:00Thanks & Giving<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RlvLDtuH2wM/VlcKEzBTr2I/AAAAAAAACzM/-uBQ_UxwzJ4/s1600/thankful.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RlvLDtuH2wM/VlcKEzBTr2I/AAAAAAAACzM/-uBQ_UxwzJ4/s320/thankful.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"> *Image from decor8blog.com</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Just a quick post to give <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Thanks </i></span>and celebrate some <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>giving</i></span>. As I think about the things I am thankful for, my family, their good health, and my job quickly spring to mind. This year has been a year of change, but I am learning and growing, and my family has never been happier. #worthit</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Now, for the <i>giving. </i>I was fortunate to be a delegate for my school counseling region at the NC School Counselor's Conference a couple of weeks ago. Remember my <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/11/ncsca-its-kick-off-time.html" target="_blank">post</a>?! It was a great opportunity to connect with other school counselors and school counselor educators across the state. </span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vlvd-oR0e9c/VlcR21kiZ-I/AAAAAAAACzc/13YkvTpy7R0/s1600/powtoon%2Brole%2Bof%2Bcounselor.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vlvd-oR0e9c/VlcR21kiZ-I/AAAAAAAACzc/13YkvTpy7R0/s640/powtoon%2Brole%2Bof%2Bcounselor.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I am especially grateful to Dr. Meghan Walter, UNC Chapel Hill school counselor educator, for sharing this awesome </span><a href="http://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/eM9dgODGfNp/" style="font-size: x-large;" target="_blank">PowToon video</a><span style="font-size: large;"> that her graduate students made about the </span><i style="font-size: x-large;">role of the school counselor.</i><span style="font-size: large;"> Thanks to Breanna Herring, Briana Woody, Ashley Bennetone, Michaela Avila, Judith Smith, and Simone Diggs for creating this great resource. My co-counselor and I used it last week at a brown bag lunch for parents at my school. It was perfect! If you are looking for a resource to share with administrators, parents, or other school counselors, check it out! </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy another <span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Dollar Days</i></span> at <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">Life on the Fly School Counselor TPT store</a> through Friday afternoon...new items are just $1. Also, stay tuned for a TPT sale on November 30th and December 1st. TPT will be bringing smiles to lots of educators! #TpTCyberSmile</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Counseling & Happy Thanksgiving! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-84822959862424888402015-11-19T03:42:00.002-08:002015-11-19T03:42:51.065-08:00DOLLAR DAYS: College & Career<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olsUlb1GLOM/Vk2w7_mqubI/AAAAAAAACyc/byt0tK_HZtU/s1600/career%2Bnascar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="382" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-olsUlb1GLOM/Vk2w7_mqubI/AAAAAAAACyc/byt0tK_HZtU/s640/career%2Bnascar.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">It is Throwback Thursday </span>(and my first <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">TPT</a> DOLLAR DAYS so read all the way to the bottom!).....do you remember this picture from last year?! I celebrated Career Dress Up Day as a NASCAR racer and greeted students during arrival with my "Welcome Race Fans" banner. For those who have followed my blog for awhile, you know that I LOVE the <b>career domain</b> and always promote college & careers schoolwide with morning show announcements, classroom lessons, bulletin boards, and spirit days. This year, my co-counselor and I are actually extending Career & College month with events in November AND December. I recently made a flyer for the staff to give an overview of our career and college events and started publicizing colleges and careers on bulletin boards around the school (the college pennant bulletin board below is my MOST popular pin on <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/angela_poovey/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> EVERY WEEK!). </div>
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I am asking staff and students to bring in college pennants or other swag for schools they want me to highlight on the morning show. I am also including a "College of the Week" (or every other week) on my bulletin board (see below). </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-peOGa93XPl0/Vk0ypdajtpI/AAAAAAAACxE/UnuWyCwCglw/s1600/college%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bweek.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-peOGa93XPl0/Vk0ypdajtpI/AAAAAAAACxE/UnuWyCwCglw/s320/college%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bweek.jpg" width="240" /></a>I love involving staff in the college and career fun! Each Thursday in November and December staff members are invited to wear college spirit wear to school. Many staff members have also completed career trivia forms (see example below) for the career trivia bulletin board. It is more of a makeshift bulletin board because I wanted to place it in a high visibility area outside of the cafeteria where there is no actual board, but it meets the need! I plan to start asking trivia questions on the morning show next week and continue until winter break. I think students will love hearing about what their teachers wanted to be when they were in elementary school and what their favorite subjects were as kids. It helps humanize them (we don't sleep at school!). I did put pictures in the corner to highlight their answers so younger students can scan for clues rather than having to read everything. </div>
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Finally, I am ultra excited about the college door decorating contest and can't wait to see what my new colleagues create for the judging on Friday. It's neat to see which students get involved, who has a lot of school spirit for their alma mater, and what type of facts they include about their school. I am learning a lot! Pictures to come of their super creative designs.....</div>
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If you want to get started with some school-wide college and career fun, check out my new <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Career-College-Month-Resource-Kit-2216525" target="_blank">TPT resource</a> with a few things to get you started! Staff career trivia sheets, door decorating contest resources, and bulletin board signs will give you the motivation you need to make DECEMBER or JANUARY your College & Career Month!<br />
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Each Thursday in November and December I will be celebrating <b>DOLLAR DAYS </b>in my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">TPT store</a> as part of my throwback to cheaper times. This resource, along with others, will be reduced to $1 for 24 hours so get them while you can! By Friday afternoon, we will be back to 2015 prices! :)</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-61955412656936719012015-11-11T18:18:00.001-08:002015-11-12T03:55:42.132-08:00NCSCA: It's Kick-off Time!It is NCSCA time...my favorite time of the year! A chance to recharge, reconnect with former colleagues, and refocus on what I love about being a school counselor. Today I was privileged to represent my Southwest Region as a delegate for the NCSCA delegate assembly. I met some amazing school counselors in neighborhood counties (shout out to Ashley, Rachel, Renva, and Tim).<br />
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We focused on major issues facing school counselors, ways we can advance our profession, and learned more about how we can be integrated into the state organization...hello NCSCA speed dating (our way to learn about state committees)! </div>
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All in all, the experience solidified my belief that North Carolina has THE best professional school counseling organization in the country with vision, enthusiasm, and dedication to spare. Tomorrow the real conference kicks off, and I couldn't be prouder to be a #GAMECHANGER presenting on one of my passions, student book clubs. To celebrate, I am posting a NEW boys' leadership <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/items/edit/2198348" target="_blank">book club activity pack</a> that I have just started with two fifth grade groups.<span style="color: black;"> </span><br />
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I am using the book Middle School Rules by Brian Urlacher, former Chicago Bears' lineman, MVP, and pro-bowl player to help facilitate the topics of leadership, character, and good behavior choices with my students. I am so excited to be incorporating football analogies into our conversations like a calm down scoreboard, touchdown goal tracker, fumble cards, and touchdown vs. turnover thoughts.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAhk8DISy2c/VkPxNQKadCI/AAAAAAAACvo/YS1o4rNWj58/s1600/scoreboard.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gAhk8DISy2c/VkPxNQKadCI/AAAAAAAACvo/YS1o4rNWj58/s640/scoreboard.png" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMNJiy9n46c/VkPxNQtJKAI/AAAAAAAACv4/sLbmQUNQOg0/s1600/goal%2Btracker.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="504" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CMNJiy9n46c/VkPxNQtJKAI/AAAAAAAACv4/sLbmQUNQOg0/s640/goal%2Btracker.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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If you are at NCSCA and want to learn more about book clubs, come by and see me tomorrow at the 10:50 session. There will be giveaways and lots of information to share. To my readers in other places, you can access my handout <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/gsdupau6uyxhzbz/Handout%20Book%20Clubs.pdf?dl=0" target="_blank">here</a> and email me at <a href="mailto:apoovey@hotmail.com"><span style="color: black;">apoovey</span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null"><span style="color: black;">@hotmail.com</span></a> if you have any questions. It is sure to be a lot of fun.....let's get this game started!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Counseling! <span style="color: red;">~ Angela</span></span><br />
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-41963570700323113762015-11-05T15:46:00.002-08:002015-11-05T15:47:19.091-08:00October Wrap Up!Here's a follow up to my <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/10/no-bullies-allowed.html" target="_blank">bullying prevention post</a>. I was asked about the bullying card scavenger hunt and wanted to share a few pics of what that looked like. It rained A LOT the week I planned to hide the cards for the students so we could only do it a couple of days. However, I laminated blue "NO Bullying" cards and taped them around the three playgrounds at our school. Students were able to turn them in to the media center after they were found, and I gave "No Bullying" bracelets or "Bucket Filler" spirit sticks as a prize.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was also pleased with the response of poems, songs, cartoons, and pictures I got from students for original "No Bullying" works. My bulletin board went from this:<br />
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<b> TO THIS (and I still have more to hang)!!!</b></div>
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The Leadership Club at my school even created these fantastic anti-bullying posters and posted them in our main hallway. I LOVE them!<br />
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Now, we can just follow the yellow brick road to November with College & Career Month and fun lessons like <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rockin-in-My-Career-Shoes-Careers-and-Responsibility-1494647" target="_blank">Rockin' in my Career Shoes</a>,<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/A-Hat-for-Ivan-Lesson-Plan-Connecting-Interests-to-Future-Careers-1451806" target="_blank"> A Hat for Ivan</a>, <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Career-Lesson-Educational-Degrees-Budgeting-and-Lifestyle-Choices-1450253" target="_blank">Life on a Budget</a>, and many more! Enjoy some pics of "Book Character Day" Wizard of Oz style at my school with my awesome Harry Potter and admin staff. What a fun day!!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Counseling! <span style="color: red;">~ Angela AKA "Glinda"</span></span></div>
<br />Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-669006974549730112015-10-21T15:26:00.000-07:002015-10-21T15:26:27.672-07:00No Bullies Allowed!It is October and time for bullying prevention awareness activities in schools everywhere! Should October be the only time we talk about bullying prevention?! <span style="font-size: large;">NO!</span> But, is it a great time to teach students how to handle bullying and prepare them for the potential threat of bullying?! <span style="font-size: large;">Of course!</span> At our school, my co-counselor and I created a schedule of events for the month. We sent out a memo to parents and staff at the end of September so they could gear up for the upcoming bullying prevention activities.<br />
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We chose to wear blue and STOMP out bullying on October 5th as part of the national recognition day. Then, we held our spirit week October 12th-16th. Check out our daily themes above and how students participated below!<br />
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Those were fun days especially crazy sock day with my <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Woman-Cape-Knee-Socks/dp/B007EFB5AS/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445383889&sr=8-3&keywords=wonder+woman+cape+socks" target="_blank">Wonder Woman cape socks</a> (yes, you need some!), but the bulk of my emphasis has been on weekly guidance lessons in first, third, and fifth grade classrooms.<br />
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I showed my all-time favorite<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuT9-_Y5J4" target="_blank"> RESPECT RAP</a> on the morning show to students and was able to use it as a jumping off point when I made FRIENDSHIP PIZZAS with my first graders. I have written about this lesson before <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/03/spring-fever.html" target="_blank">here</a> and finally put my <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Friendship-Pizza-Lesson-Plan-2163403" target="_blank">lesson plan</a> and <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Recipe-for-FriendshipFriendship-Pizza-SMART-board-lesson-2163459" target="_blank">SMART board notebook file</a> on <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Life-On-The-Fly-School-Counselor" target="_blank">TPT</a>. <b>Download it NOW because the lesson plan is FREE for the next 48 hours!!! </b><br />
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In third and fifth grades I used the Steps to Respect Curriculum from the Committee for Children (makers of Second Step). I still haven't found anything I like better! I created my own Smartboard lessons teaching the 3 Rs, Recognize, Refuse, and Report. I love incorporating movie clips when we are learning how to RECOGNIZE the bullying definition. This year I used two video clips --the Sneetches and A Christmas Story-- to process the three essential bullying definition questions:<br />
1) Is it one-sided?<br />
2) Does it <b>keep </b>happening?<br />
3) Is it hurting, frightening, threatening, or leaving someone out on purpose?<br />
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The Sneetches clip was a new addition, and it worked out really well. I even added the cartoon figures to my bullying prevention bulletin board so students would have a visual reminder of the 3 Rs and the refusing words.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uk8gTF2T15s/Vibcgf_hBNI/AAAAAAAACtA/_LJNXLD518c/s1600/spirit%2Bsticks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uk8gTF2T15s/Vibcgf_hBNI/AAAAAAAACtA/_LJNXLD518c/s200/spirit%2Bsticks.jpg" width="200" /></a>I intentionally left a lot of clear space on this board because 3-5 students have been challenged to integrate what they have learned in the Steps to Respect lessons into original work products like posters, cartoons, poems, songs, raps, or any other creative work. I will post any entries I get and PTO donated "bucket filler" spirit sticks that I can give for participation prizes. Do you know about spirit sticks?! They are ultra popular at my school this year!<br />
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I brought back my Friendship Pizza bulletin board, too, with a few changes like teacher pics....the kids always get a kick out of them!<br />
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Our final week in October will include sharing bullying statistics on the morning show and a scavenger hunt on the playground for "NO BULLYING" cards just to keep bullying prevention on students' minds. What have you been doing this month?! I would love to hear!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ <span style="color: red;">Angela</span></span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-21209503247449014792015-10-03T05:10:00.003-07:002016-04-16T04:03:44.745-07:00#GameChangers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I hope John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods, will forgive me for hijacking his quote and changing it to convey the emphasis I place on the school counselor's role in a school,but it's important to reflect,<b> how are you affecting your school's climate as a school counselor?</b> Are you being a motivator, welcomer, change agent, and lifeline for the students in your schools? </div>
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This year the theme of the <a href="http://ncschoolcounselor.org/" target="_blank">NC School Counselor's Conference</a> is "Game Changers" (awesome theme, Christy Welch!), which is a perfect way to depict what school counselors can represent to the students they work with each day. So, how have you been changing the game the first six weeks of school? Are you the quarterback leading the charge to try new plays, pull out the Puntrooskie (FSU fans will know what I mean. Can't believe I got to use that in a blog post), and score the extra point? Or, are you waiting around for the fourth quarter? Part of being an effective school counselor is preparing your students for the game before they have to do the two minute drill. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold;">Glimpses from the Field.....</span></div>
As I work to proactively prepare students for the new school year, I have been working on many different school success habits.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8e0gzODDQA/Vg-2RYa5zFI/AAAAAAAACpI/aHRLfvl6pwI/s1600/Photo%2BOct%2B03%252C%2B6%2B48%2B42%2BAM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T8e0gzODDQA/Vg-2RYa5zFI/AAAAAAAACpI/aHRLfvl6pwI/s200/Photo%2BOct%2B03%252C%2B6%2B48%2B42%2BAM.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Goal setting:</b> </span> Several weeks ago, I got this great tweet. I was just about to start my annual goal setting lessons, and it reminded me how much fun it is to do this <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/11/ordinary-objects.html" target="_blank">goal setting icebreaker</a>, especially when students can go outside and have some fun tossing around beanbags. Although I usually save this activity for small groups, I have awesome fifth grade teachers and students this year who could totally handle a fun "hook" before we got into the nitty gritty of our SMART GOALS lesson. In discussing "just right" goals we simulated goals that were too easy (basket right beside the student), goals that were too hard (basket 30 feet away), undefined goals and action plans (eyes closed to throw the beanbag in the basket), a "just right" goal (6 foot toss in the basket), and goals with support (adult holding the basket as the student shot).<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-St0HE4b301g/Vg_AJH9cd0I/AAAAAAAACq0/rtHkTR2tDAA/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B16%252C%2B4%2B28%2B57%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-St0HE4b301g/Vg_AJH9cd0I/AAAAAAAACq0/rtHkTR2tDAA/s400/Photo%2BSep%2B16%252C%2B4%2B28%2B57%2BPM.jpg" width="300" /></a>I also changed my fifth-grade goal setting sheet (coming soon to TPT) into a 3-column tracking sheet so that I can have better follow through during the year to help students monitor their goals. How often have I had students set goals and then not facilitated going back to them to see if their action plans are successful? On my new sheet, students defined the SMART acronym so they don't forget it and then wrote their goal and action steps in column 1. Columns 2 and 3 will be used for "minute-meeting" check-ins in Nov/Dec and March/April to make sure students are still on the right track. As the year passes, new goals will be written or current goals will be modified. I have a copy of every students' sheet and so does the student. At the end of the lesson we brainstormed the best places to keep the sheet so students will be reminded of their goal on a daily/weekly basis.</div>
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For third-grade students, I incorporated a <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Goal-Setting-Game-2127633" target="_blank">new goal game</a> into my Perseverance/goal setting lessons to provide better modeling of all the different types of goals students can and will have throughout their lives. I introduced the categories of personal/hobby, career/college, and academic goals and also distinguished between true specific goals and a wish (winning the lottery). It was a concrete, fun way to check for students' understanding after introducing the idea of goal-setting. We still used lemons to represent obstacles and ended the <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2014/09/perseverance-turn-those-lemons-into.html" target="_blank">lesson with lemonade</a> as we brainstormed strategies that would help students reach their goals and never give up. </div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;">Attendance Awareness: </b>Good attendance is a true game changer for kids with unnecessary, chronic absences.<b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b>I always implement attendance interventions as a school counselor, but this year was the first year I participated in "Attendance Awareness" month. My county recommended the website <a href="http://attendanceworks.org/">attendanceworks.org</a> for some great resources. Each week I shared attendance statistics on the morning show and gave "shout outs" to classes with no absences or those who only had one student absence. The first week we only had 1 class with perfect attendance (blue letters on the bulletin board) so the class got an extra special recess with ME! By the end of the month we had the most class "shout outs" with 13 classes the final week, almost 1/3 of our total classrooms. Classes also received badges on their door to recognize their accomplishment each week. One lucky class made it on the board EVERY WEEK in September and will be spending a fun recess with me to celebrate.<br />
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As the weeks progress and absences increase, I will also be starting an Attendance Club to see if daily monitoring, lunch groups, attendance goal setting, and organizational strategies can positively impact attendance data. </div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dp2aQKf4c2M/Vg-51raFccI/AAAAAAAACqI/zqXmtdcHv3A/s1600/Photo%2BAug%2B21%252C%2B4%2B03%2B25%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dp2aQKf4c2M/Vg-51raFccI/AAAAAAAACqI/zqXmtdcHv3A/s320/Photo%2BAug%2B21%252C%2B4%2B03%2B25%2BPM.jpg" width="240" /></a><b style="font-size: x-large;">New Students: </b>How are you supporting the new kids on the team? It is amazing how new student lunch bunches or <b>any lunch bunches</b> quickly help you develop relationships and figure out what is happening in classrooms. I often get referrals for individual counseling from conversations that occur during these lunch groups. This year, I met with all of the new students in my upper grade levels (3rd/5th) after presenting my<a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/09/being-visible-introduction-to-school.html" target="_blank"> Introduction to the School Counselor lessons</a>. We did an icebreaker, played<a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/New-Student-Bingo-Cards-1379177" target="_blank"> new student bingo</a>, discussed the transition with a few small group question rounds, and ended by having students add their names to this bulletin board welcoming them. I found some great white and metallic chalk markers so names would "pop" out from the black bulletin board paper (in the space to the right of the map). They also added a sticker on the state/city they had moved from on the map as our administration and school counselor bobble heads cheered them on!</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bskGORXb298/Vg-9Hd6uErI/AAAAAAAACqk/F8P_-lHhb40/s1600/new%2Bstudentes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bskGORXb298/Vg-9Hd6uErI/AAAAAAAACqk/F8P_-lHhb40/s640/new%2Bstudentes.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I love football and have enjoyed this analogy to help me stress the importance of a school counselor's role in making each day a great one for students. You may be the one coach that can get through to your players so I hope you will "lace up" and get in the game as the school season continues. #notimefortimeouts #gamechangers</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Happy Counseling! ~<span style="color: red;"> Angela</span></b></span></div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3584358043495324742.post-53467359488568503272015-09-10T17:54:00.001-07:002015-09-23T04:11:10.062-07:00Make an Investment: TOP 10 School Counselor ResourcesIn my last <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2015/08/fixer-upper-school-counselor-style.html" target="_blank">post</a>, I mentioned that I was in the process of buying new resources for my new school. One of the good things about starting fresh somewhere is that you get rid of clutter and can really focus in on your most essential "go to" items that work no matter what your school population, demographic, or location. After three schools in three different counties, here are my top 10 "investment" items for a school counselor (FYI- I have no affiliations with any of these products; I just love them all!)<br />
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1. Kimochis. Love this doll for talking to kids, especially young ones, about feelings and situations that are causing those feelings. I used to have <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2013/04/individual-data-kiss-keep-it-simple.html" target="_blank">this one</a>, but now it is not easily available in full size so I switched things up. Meet <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kimochis-Kimochi-Lovey-with-Book/dp/B00E5N0OOA/ref=sr_1_16?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1441929996&sr=1-16&keywords=kimochis" target="_blank">"Lovey Dovey"</a>....kids love putting the feelings under his wing.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k745_my5EOo/VfId3VzpNjI/AAAAAAAAClo/ayxOKPhxXCY/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B02%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k745_my5EOo/VfId3VzpNjI/AAAAAAAAClo/ayxOKPhxXCY/s320/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B02%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ja4dPacgmD4/VfId3fEwjzI/AAAAAAAAClY/pvUM-CnN1Cs/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B21%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ja4dPacgmD4/VfId3fEwjzI/AAAAAAAAClY/pvUM-CnN1Cs/s200/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B21%2BPM.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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2. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Fold-Wooden-Dollhouse/dp/B001P9OGRS/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1441929967&sr=1-1&keywords=melissa+and+doug+dollhouse" target="_blank">Wooden dollhouse</a>. Another great "must-have" for talking with younger kids, but I must say ALL ages at my schools have loved to look at it. I have noticed that if you ask kids to "organize" the fu<br />
rniture while you are talking to them, they are much more relaxed. This new version is smaller than my old one and was pretty reasonable here.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pQfXrxYvLlk/VfId46ICMUI/AAAAAAAACl4/B_lXnSojJ8I/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B49%2B35%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pQfXrxYvLlk/VfId46ICMUI/AAAAAAAACl4/B_lXnSojJ8I/s200/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B49%2B35%2BPM.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
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3. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/wacky-tivities-Kinetic-Sand-2lb-Brown/dp/B00IG4YB5W/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1441929710&sr=1-2&keywords=kinetic+sand" target="_blank">Kinetic sand</a>. You may remember all my <a href="http://lifeontheflycounselor.blogspot.com/2014/04/full-stem-ahead.html" target="_blank">STEM projects</a> over the past two years. After using kinetic sand with those activities, I decided that I loved using it in individual counseling, too. The kids would agree. It is probably the number 1 item kids love to look at while we are meeting. This year I added a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Laptop-Kinetic-Waba-Fun-191-101/dp/B00CQA309A/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1441930995&sr=1-1&keywords=kinetic+sand+tray" target="_blank">sand tray </a>so kids could play with it more easily without a mess. Note: You can use a 40% or 50% off coupon and get it for a great price at Michaels.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qHRH4IgMmsg/VfId3YvrraI/AAAAAAAAClU/UlNgmIVKmok/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B29%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qHRH4IgMmsg/VfId3YvrraI/AAAAAAAAClU/UlNgmIVKmok/s400/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B29%2BPM.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
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4. Butcher paper and markers. This old-school standby has been a "go to" since DAY ONE of my counseling career. Cheap, easy, replaceable, and totally open to kids' (and your) creativity. Cover your table today!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJYtxV4_kUg/VfId4FY4WqI/AAAAAAAACl0/3DuJVRq8XWc/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B47%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HJYtxV4_kUg/VfId4FY4WqI/AAAAAAAACl0/3DuJVRq8XWc/s320/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B48%2B47%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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5. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009AG8XS6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00" target="_blank">Mirror decals</a>. My new addition to the office is becoming a big hit. So far it has mainly been a conversation piece during new student lunches, but I added some positive thought decals above and below the rectangles for future use with replacing negative thoughts.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxoTeuZBki4/VfId4BYeEbI/AAAAAAAACls/-2kE2a9sxGY/s1600/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B49%2B07%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxoTeuZBki4/VfId4BYeEbI/AAAAAAAACls/-2kE2a9sxGY/s320/Photo%2BSep%2B08%252C%2B3%2B49%2B07%2BPM.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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6. Number line scale. If you use solution-focused counseling as a main theory, as I do, having a visual where kids can clip their number is a must-have. Mine was created by a PTA volunteer years ago and probably should be updated. However, if it's not broken, don't fix it (or something like that)!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--bMZdAuK4Po/VfIf3L83v9I/AAAAAAAACmE/BwAoz5bdCeE/s1600/number%2Bline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--bMZdAuK4Po/VfIf3L83v9I/AAAAAAAACmE/BwAoz5bdCeE/s320/number%2Bline.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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7. <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Individual-Counseling-Feeling-Check-In-Sheet-1281834" target="_blank">Check-in feeling sheet</a>. Nothing helps kids zero in on the main issue at hand faster than this check-in sheet. It is laminated so students can put feeling faces with a dry erase marker or make faces with play-doh. Easy breezy!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mtcdM6Ltf4w/VfIf5kOuokI/AAAAAAAACmQ/o9c3ufojBr8/s1600/playdoh%2Bfaces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mtcdM6Ltf4w/VfIf5kOuokI/AAAAAAAACmQ/o9c3ufojBr8/s320/playdoh%2Bfaces.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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8. Problem solving card (picture coming). I use this card when I work with students on friendship problems or conflict resolution EVERY WEEK. It is a great laminated "take away" resource for kids to have and helps them transfer problem solving skills to other areas when they aren't with me. Here is a very early version I used for K-2. I will take a current pic ASAP!<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iiEA21GhidY/VgKIsYVswyI/AAAAAAAACn4/XQ7Jxh5rEWk/s1600/problem%2Bsolving%2Bcard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iiEA21GhidY/VgKIsYVswyI/AAAAAAAACn4/XQ7Jxh5rEWk/s400/problem%2Bsolving%2Bcard.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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9. I didn't want to list every bibliotherapy book that I LOVE because then my entire blog post would be purely about books (maybe a later post?!). However, here are a few top books that I love for behavior, academics, and social skills (All are available on Amazon and a few have <a href="https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/BeautifulOops-Courage-Activity-Pack-1281920" target="_blank">lessons</a> on my TPT that correspond).<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C66yedIGyUI/VfIhrsVEJCI/AAAAAAAACms/3fdxuw9_0b4/s1600/annie%2527s%2Bplan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-C66yedIGyUI/VfIhrsVEJCI/AAAAAAAACms/3fdxuw9_0b4/s1600/annie%2527s%2Bplan.jpg" /></a></div>
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10. Balloons. I wrote about balloons in my Found Objects post, and I am still using them today. Whether using them as an icebreaker or in a celebration moment with "Balloon Balloon", illustrating anger management, or practicing specific skills such as coping strategies or friendship skills, balloons come in handy. They are inexpensive, don't take up a lot of space, and are a fun,concrete visual.</div>
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So, there you have it! Write a grant, ask your PTA for money, or beg your principal so you can get some of these fun resources. What are your faves?! I'd love to hear!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy Counseling! ~ </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">Angela</span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13872144320278794797noreply@blogger.com6