Saturday, February 22, 2014

Goals and Action Plans

Why do some students have a goal and 
then never seem to get anywhere? 
Why do simple goals seem to not get accomplished?  
         A goal needs an Action Plan. Students need a plan of action to get to their goal. Sounds simple and here are the steps to make it happen:
           Let's say, for example, Freddie states he keeps forgetting assignments, can't find them, loses things, etc... A discussion finds that Freddie needs to clean out his backpack and organize papers into the correct binders and folders and get rid of trash, crumpled papers and old notes.
           Here is Freddie's Action Plan:

                    Goal: Getting Organized 

                    Action Plan: Clean Out My Back Pack 
                             Step One: Dump everything out
                             Step Two: Sort everything into two piles, Keep and Throw Away
                             Step Three: Everything that is "Keep" will be put into the correct binder, folder, or   notebook.
                            Step Four: Throw the other stuff away
                            Step Five: Use a homework or assignment folder to keep papers in until I get home to organize papers in the proper places.

              Another action plan might be to clean out the locker! Keep the action plan simple. Once students get the idea that a goal requires an action plan they can easily write their own and move in the direction of accomplishing their goals.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Everyone Loves Games!

Everyone loves games and your students will love learning the strategies for stress reduction, study skills, anger control, decision making and more when you use Hasbro games! Facilitate good discussions with students and get the conversations started in individual, small group or the whole group classroom counseling. How many times have you ever struggled for an idea to use with students? How many times have you purchased a game from a catalog only to find the directions and rules are soooo complicated you could never play it! ;-( Just a waste of money... But what if you could use everyday familiar games like Don’t Break the Ice, Ants in the Pants, Barrel of Monkeys, Perfection, and Jenga!!! Now sit back and watch students in small groups or whole classrooms play simple, fun games and integrate counseling strategies into the play. Listen to students naturally come up with their own strategies! They will want to play over and over again. Why? Because it is fun and highly engaging and they are using critical thinking skills and learning ALL at the same time! Watch soon for a creative DVD with hands-on demonstrations clearly explained so you can repeat the games with your students. This is great for counselors, teacher, youth workers, and parents. Anyone working and dealing with students of all ages Kindergarten through grade 12 will love it. I have also used these games and strategies with adults! They love it too. Everyone loves games!