Summer Inspiration

I love summertime as does every other 10-month educator on the planet!  It gives me a chance to relax, recharge, and reflect about many things, including my job.  I will admit that this summer has been a bit of a whirlwind with lots of traveling, and most significantly, moving to a new town, house, and school.  There has definitely been a lot of action. Now, however, summer is winding down so instead of being depressed, I want to do TWO THINGS. First, I want to share about one of my favorite places I traveled to this summer,  Denver, Colorado, where I found lots of inspiring ideas to bring back to school. Second, I want to help anybody who is starting to feel the end of summer blues cheer up with a TPT sale.  The entire TPT site will be having an "end of summer" sale August 3rd and August 4th, and I am adding an additional 10% off of EVERYTHING in the Life on the Fly Store to help you get inspired for this coming year!  Think about Intro lessons, organizational items, or FUN lesson plans that would help you enjoy this year even more!!!

Moving on to Denver...my trip was part of a birthday celebration, and I particularly enjoyed the Denver Art Museum.  Kuddos to this great institution for giving free admission to kids EVERY DAY, as well as adults the first Saturday of the month. There was a lot of great art to view as well as interactive "creation stations" in every corner of the museum.  Here's a peek at some of the school inspiration I found there:

Hands Wall: I loved this huge hand mural found in the lobby area of the art museum. Their hands represented different donors, but it immediately made me think of a schoolwide project that could be done with the help of the art teacher or media specialist.  Think of a "Together We Can" or "Kindness Across our School" theme. What a great statement that would make at the entrance of your school!

Word Mobiles: This word art from Rupprecht Matthies' exhibit got me thinking as soon as I saw the plexiglass word PERSEVERANCE (top left of the photo to the right) hanging in a mobile from the ceiling. Then I saw the word RESILIENT made out of fabric (below). How cool would it be to use your Silhouette machine to cut out different character trait or resiliency words to add colorful flair around your office area? Scissors could definitely work, too, if you are ultra talented.

Buddha Board/Art Items: I'm a big fan of art and science museum gift shops for creative and interesting items you wouldn't normally see in other stores.  This Buddha Board immediately caught my attention for using with students in individual or group counseling.  It is available in two sizes, but I bought the mini one since it was less expensive and I was spending my own personal cash. You basically use a paintbrush and water to create designs, write words, etc, that will then disappear after a few minutes.  I am anticipating using this in several way; initial thoughts are to use it as an art activity for kids when we are establishing rapport, as a place to write down "trashy" thoughts that need to be replaced with recycled thoughts, and as a worry wall for thoughts that kids want to release.  I'm sure other ideas will come up, too! It's such a cool item!

I am committed to using art more in my school counseling program after that motivating session at the ASCA conference (remember?!) so I also loved these finger tip paintbrushes. How easy to store and cute to use! They come in several sizes to fit different sized fingers. I actually bought these two for my kids but may "borrow" them for school at times. Read more about them here.

I hope the start to the school year finds you refreshed and inspired!

Enjoy the TPT sale and Happy Counseling!
                                         ~  Angela

Summer Lovin'

Summer is ending. I am not in denial about this fact and actually feel like I have been able to enjoy it and get rejuvenated while also working on projects that I don't always have time for during the school year.  So, here's what I have been doing:

 Working on RAMP.  Wow! I knew this project would be a bear, but I wasn't quite prepared for the brainpower it would require. Every time my co-counselor and I sit down for RAMP "work days" I feel like I have gone through a mental marathon by the time we are done, usually 8 hours later.  With that being said, it has been a great opportunity of growth for me. I have had so many "aha" moments that are going to help me be a better counselor next year.  The biggest one has to do with school counseling program goals, which I never really used before this year.  A wonderful friend I met at ASCA shared this Smart Goals worksheet with me, and it really helped me process the data I collect and apply it towards overarching program goals that could then be narrowed down into specific Closing the Gap action plans.  I also have appreciated the guiding examples of exemplary RAMP components found here on the ASCA website.

 Thinking about my office decor.  Last year, the NC legislature deemed that school counselors should not be responsible for  test coordination.  My phenomenal AP ended up with the task and took a huge testing cabinet out of my office towards the end of the year. There wasn't enough time to worry with filling the "hole" before school ended, but now I am captivated by the possibilities for my new corner. For some reason, I really want to put a tree there. Think "Giving Tree" or "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" like these examples (from Pinterest):

I am planning on enlisting my husband to help me with the design and stability factors (he doesn't know this yet), and I have promised my principal that I will do a "scaled-down" version so as to not upset the fire marshall and get a write-up. HA! BUT, I do hope to have my own tree picture to share with you very soon. 

Thinking of new "Introduction" to the School Counselor lesson ideas. You may remember that I did a camp theme for several grade levels in my intro lessons last year. Check out my post here.  I am still going to use those lessons this year, but I wanted to add something new and exciting for some of the classes that had already experienced that lesson.  So, I am going to introduce #FlatGroovyPoovey to my Kindergarten, second, and third grade students this year.  I am still working out the lesson details, but after Internet searching and finding no Flat School Counselors or Teacher figures that would work for me, I made this worksheet. My plan is to teach my lesson and have students write in the lines the ways I can help them during the year (I will help K students).  Then, I will send it home with a letter to introduce myself to parents.  I am going to ask them to take me along on their family adventures this year, taking pictures of #FlatGroovyPoovey in different places.  Then, I will post them on my school website and they or I can post it to Twitter using that hashtag.  I also plan to include my teachers in the fun and will create a bulletin board entitled, "Where in the World is #FlatGroovyPoovey?"  The most exciting adventures will be incorporated into my theme for School Counseling Week later in February. Fun, right??!  The worksheet (with a line to fill in your own name) will be available on my Life on the Fly Store and is already up on TPT at my store here.

Finally, I have been reading...YAY!  I finished Drive by Daniel H. Pink, which I already mentioned I was reading, and Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. They were both really interesting books, and it was nice to read something for myself in my downtime.  Now, I am reading more for kids and my book clubs and have finally started the book Crash by Jerry Spinelli.  I got this title last year with my book club grant but haven't used it yet, and I'm thinking it may come in handy with some students that will be rising fifth graders this year. Also, I added two new book club activity packs, Because of Mr. Terupt and Origami Yoda, to my Life on the Fly Store and TPT site if you are getting started with or continuing your own book clubs this year.  They are great for upper elementary or middle school book club groups and are 25+ pages each. Check them out and email me if you have any questions!

           

Can't wait to get started in another school year with you! What exciting projects are you working on???

Happy Counseling!   ~Angela

Believe. Imagine. Create.

I can't believe that a week from today I will be in Orlando at my first ASCA conference having just finished my breakout session presentation.  I am so psyched in anticipation of the keynote speakers, breakout presenters, receptions, and general overall atmosphere I will encounter as we live the conference theme and plan to "Build Magical Futures."  Even more exciting is the news I got last week that Michelle Obama has been added to the agenda for Tuesday...wow, what a special first conference experience to hear a keynote address from the First Lady! As a school counselor, I especially love her quote to the side because it speaks volumes about priorities and the calling I serve each day with my students.

I truly hope that if any of you are in Florida next week or have friends attending the ASCA conference that you (or they) will stop by during or after my session on Monday afternoon at 3:45 to say hi. I can't wait to meet new colleagues and learn from everyone!

Another last piece of news that I am pumped about is that I FINALLY opened a TPT store for Life on the Fly School Counselor. It was one of my goals for the summer so I'm glad to cross it off my list while it's still June. I will continue to put items on my Life on the Fly Store page, but the majority of my new material will be introduced at my TPT store here.  I hope you will visit me soon!

Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

I'm Groovy Poovey.....What's Your Hook?

Think back to your school days.  What was memorable? Did you have a spirited PE teacher who taught you how to juggle and ride the unicycle? (I did!)  Did you have a teacher who never wore the same outfit twice the whole year and had pictures of Elvis everywhere? (I did!) Did you have science teacher who did fun experiments and let you bring in exploding volcanoes? (yep, me again!)

The point is, sometimes we need a little excitement, quirkiness, or a "hook" to get our students' attention and help them "get" the objectives we are trying to teach.  Although it has been a LONG time since I had those aforementioned teachers, I still remember them and what they taught me because they got my attention, which is sometimes half the battle with our students.  As a school counselor, I am continually trying to engage my students and give them a prop, hand motion, or saying that will help them connect with what I am teaching and commit it to memory.

My first "hook" is my Groovy Poovey nickname. I use it because #1:  It helps students say my name correctly instead of calling me all kinds of crazy things and #2:  They never forget it and can always tell you the name of their school counselor.  Helpful, right?!!

Here is a sampling of some of my other "hooks" and when I use them.  What are yours?
 Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~Angela
                                                                          

LEFT: Using a Hula Hoop to illustrate the Hula Hoop Space for my Kindergarten students in Good Touch/Bad Touch lessons.

RIGHT:  Modeling a career I would like as an E! fashion reporter on the red carpet for "Career Dress Up" Day during Red Ribbon Week.  We have better things to do than drugs! This event went along with my career lessons in the classroom.

LEFT:  My co-counselor and I starting our "Camp Counselor" introduction to the school counselor lessons at the beginning of the year.  Read more about that lesson here.









BELOW:  Dressed up as "Judge Poovey" for Fairness character trait lessons in the classroom.  Read more about that lesson here.

#4

Making my top 5 summer list has kept me HONEST this summer, and I like that! I am almost done with my office decorating projects, and I already submitted a county grant with my principal's approval.  It is focused on getting some technology equipment I would like to use for character education and leadership projects with students (but more on that in another post!).  I'm going to submit a similar grant to another education foundation in hopes that I can get ONE of them, and I also have a Donor's Choose project request that I am going to submit.  So, I have been tackling my to-do list in between pool visits, beach trips, and general hanging with my kiddos.

However, item #4- Guidance Essential Standards- was kind of hanging over my head until last week. I was really excited about hosting a summer PLC with some elementary counselors in my county, and I wanted to finally put the ideas I have been thinking about onto paper in preparation for our meeting. So, I got out my trusty ASCA National Model handbook and got to work.  Here's what I did:

1.  Matched the ASCA National Model competencies I use for K-5 to the Guidance Essential Standards (GES).  There were lots that DID NOT match so I put them to the side.

2.  Created a crosswalk for the GES to show which standards I would use in each K-5 grade level. I know the GES are part of a developmental model so I used knowledge of my students to choose the average developmental level in each grade and can differentiate up or down depending on the lesson topic.  This process is somewhat subjective depending on your students so there could be tweaking based on your student population. 

3.  Created a list for each grade level of the GES I assigned and added supplemental ASCA competencies that weren't aligned to the GES but were important to me to include for that grade level.

I ended up with a document that has a lot going on but helps me feel organized when I am thinking about all the different standards and competencies. I can now make sure my annual calendar includes classroom guidance lessons, small group topics, and school-wide initiatives that cover all the standards/competencies for each grade level. 

As an aside, I searched online extensively before I created this document because I was hoping to find something similar to save me time and not re-invent the wheel. If this document would be helpful to you, check it out at my Life on the Fly Store.
Happy Counseling!  

~Angela

Design on a Dime

I have been tackling my "Top 5" summer list and am having a great time with #1....working on ideas for decorating my office. I'm not going to lie, I have some obstacles:  a small space, strict fire marshall rules, and cinder block walls. However, I am determined to add some warmth and style to my daily work space.

At the end of the school year, I decided I wanted to surround myself and my students with words that would inspire and motivate us to be our best selves. I added the pictured quote, "do something amazing", above my door after I saw something similar on Pinterest.  It is just subtle enough that people will catch it out of the corner of their eye as they are leaving, and I feel like it's such a powerful message.  I also added the quote below, "You are defined by the choices you make.  Choose wisely each day." to my main wall.  I am going to have to change the word "wisely" from yellow to green because it is too light against the cinder block wall, but overall it is a nice addition to my office space.  You can get the "Amazing" quote here.

 

On each side of this quote, I am going to make turquoise open picture frames like these examples I pinned on Pinterest (shocked?!).  I want to proudly display all the cute cards and pictures that students make for me, and I think this idea will look MUCH better than my current practice of taping them on my testing cabinet.

 

I am going to use leftover baseboard and molding that is in my garage right now to construct the frames because I want to get rid of it, but clearly an old or cheap picture frame would be ideal.  After I spray paint it turquoise, I will staple wire in rows across the middle or use the chicken wire.  I'm not sure which way I am leaning yet!  I am also going to use these adorable bird clips that I bought from World Market for attaching the artwork. So cute!! I wanted to show you the front and the back of the clips so you could gauge the size, colors, etc.

I also found this AWESOME feelings wheel on Pinterest that I would LOVE to make, but I'm not positive I have a good space for it.  I'm going to keep thinking about possibilities.  If YOU already have the perfect space, visit the Lil Blu Boo website for their tutorial.

So, that's my HGTV post for now. I'll share my finished frame pictures when I am done! As always, I would love to hear ideas about how you make your offices cozy or see actual pics of your work spaces.   
Happy Counseling! ~Angela

Double Take: What Are You Going to be Next Year?

You  probably remember that I asked my fifth grade students during their middle school transition lessons what they wanted to be next year. I think it's that time of year where I, and all educators, need to ask ourselves that same question. I went through a lot of changes this year starting in a new county and a new school.  I was hired seven days before school started so I didn't have the luxury of taking a lot of time to plan my counseling space or reflect on data that would help me shape my school counseling program.  This year will be different.  I know my co-workers.  I know my administration and the students.  I know the school culture and how I need to go about delivering my school counseling program.  So, I'm thinking, "What do I want to be next year?"

I have some data to help me answer this question so that I can focus on specific objectives Day One of next year. Some of my data came from an end of the year survey I gave to my colleagues the last week of school.  I used Google Docs and created a nine question form that covered individual counseling, small group counseling, classroom guidance, and some schoolwide programs (see below to get a sense of what I asked).  Then, I emailed it to the staff as a form so they didn't even have to click on any links or open other windows.  The results provided some really positive perception data, which I can format into charts and graphs and use for planning purposes, as well as share with my administration.

I also went through attendance data and behavior data that I had been gathering all year so I would have some concrete baseline data for interventions next year. 

Now, I love my summer so I won't be burning the midnight oil on school stuff all the time.  However, there are some fun things (and some more boring things) I can't wait to finally have time to piddle with.  It doesn't feel like work when I am on my porch with fun snacks, enjoying the weather, and can really think about some of the new ideas I want to try.  So, here is a list of what I'll be writing about this summer:

                              Top 5 List of Summer 2013
1.  Decorating my office....Yay!  I already have some fun inspiration from Pinterest of projects I want to make for my office, and I kind of started during a little during workdays. I want to hear your ideas, too!
2.  Working on grants-  I have been only mildly successful in earning grants for some of the projects I want to try at school. So, I am going to give it a shot over summer and step up my game!
3.  Researching books-  Student book clubs are a huge love of mine, and I have some reading to do to find new material  for next year.
4.  Guidance Essential Standards- I am going to work hard to organize the essential standards into a matrix that works for my classroom guidance schedule.  If you know of something like this that already exists, please share! I certainly don't need to re-invent the wheel.
5.  Business connections-  I want to establish some community partnerships in my NEW community now that I have gotten my bearings this year. I was able to have community support in so many of my interventions at my previous school, and it's time to get to work building new connections for character bag goodies, speakers, certificates, etc.

So, it looks like I will be busy but IN A GOOD WAY, AT MY OWN LEISURE, and that reminds me of this cute card. Love that website!   Happy Counseling  ~  Angela