10 Favorite School Counselor Resources by Angela

 

Angela Poovey is a school counselor in North Carolina and she wrote a great post for the beginning of the school year.  Check out some of her TOP 10 School Counselor Resources in her post which is re-posted here with her blessings.  

You can find out more about Angela on her blog: Life on the Fly...A School Counselor Blog  

 

 

Make an Investment: TOP 10 School Counselor Resources 

by Angela Poovey

In my last post, 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!)

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 this one, but now it is not easily available in full size  so I switched things up.  Meet "Lovey Dovey"....kids love putting the feelings under his wing.



















2.  Wooden dollhouse.  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   furniture 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.
























3.  Kinetic sand.  You may remember all my STEM projects 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 sand tray 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 Michael's.

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!

5.  Mirror decals.  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.

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)!

7. Check-in feeling sheet.  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!

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!

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 lessons on my TPT that correspond).

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.

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!

Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

 

Thank you for sharing with us, Angela. 

You can find out more about Angela and her work as a school counselor on her blog: Life on the Fly...A School Counselor Blog  

 

Let's not forget about business partners.  Let them know what you are doing and how it will impact the community and your students.  They may be willing to support your program.

 

Please share your ideas below in the comments:

Red Ribbon Week: How Did it Start?

How did Red Ribbon Week start?  It started with a true life story about a federal agent named Kiki Camarena.  He had a passion to end substance abuse and crime in the USA.  Read his story here.  Copy and paste and share this story with your students during Red Ribbon Week as long as you give credit to the author.   The questions at the end of the story help teachers to tie this into multiple subject areas.  

The Meaning of Red Ribbon Week

                When Kiki Camarena was young, he decided to join the Marines.  After serving his country as a Marine, he joined the police force.  His career brought him further when he next joined the Drug Enforcement Agency as an agent for the government of the United States.  He felt this was the best thing to do because he truly cared about helping people and stopping drugs.  His mother was very concerned about Kiki’s career path and the dangers of his job.  She tried to talk him out of it.  Kiki told his mother that in his heart he could not quit his work.  He said, “I’m only one person, but I want to make a difference.” 

            In 1985, the DEA sent Kiki to work undercover in Mexico.  For weeks he lived among the drug cartel and gathered information and evidence.  He was ready to wrap up his assignment when the drug dealers figured out what he was up to.  They discovered his identity.  He was kidnapped and tortured to death. 

            People that knew Kiki felt sorrow when they learned of his death.  To honor his memory, friends and neighbors wore red badges of satin.  They wanted to continue Kiki’s work against illegal drugs.  Parents who worked together in local coalitions to fight against the drug problem made Kiki their model.  They embraced his belief that one person could make a difference.  They adopted the symbol of the red ribbon as their own. 

            From this grass roots beginning grew Red Ribbon Week.  This is held the last week of October nationwide.  In Jacksonville, Florida we campaign against drugs and work hard to warn children and students in school about the dangers and effects of drug use.  When you see red ribbons around Jacksonville and our country, we hope you will remember the story of Kiki and others like him who work hard to “Say No to Drugs.” 

By Grace Wilhelm

counselorgames.com

1.  What is the DEA?
2. How and why was Kiki murdered?
3. What did Kiki tell his mother about why he wanted to work against drugs?
4. What does working undercover mean in the second paragraph? 
5. What does the phrase “wrap up his assignment” mean in the second paragraph?
6. Write two sentences to describe the career path of Kiki Camarena.  Tell what jobs he held after high school and why he chose those jobs. 
7. What is a coalition?  (in the third paragraph)
8. What will you now think of when you see a red ribbon?
9. Do you think it is important to say “no” to drugs?  Tell why or why not. 
10. Where is Mexico?
11. What are some ill effects of drugs on your body? 

The Meaning of Red Ribbon Week

Answer Key

Language Arts

1.      Abbreviations – Drug Enforcement Agency

2.      Recall – Kiki was kidnapped and tortured because drug dealer discovered he was working for the police

3.      Recall – Kiki told his mother he wanted to make a difference

4.      Idiom – in secret, using a different identity

5.      Idiom – to finish it

6.      Sequence - Marines – to serve his country, Police Force, and DEA – to help people and to stop drugs

7.      Vocabulary – special groups that work together for a reason

8.      Inference – different student responses

Blood that Kiki shed, the story of Kiki, to say no to drugs

9.       Opinion – different written responses with a reason

Geography

10.   Mexico is our neighbor on the southern border of the United States.

Science

11.  Headaches, loss of esteem, loss of weight, diseases, cancer, blood problems, stomach aches, sweating, loss of memory, inability to concentrate, loss of sleep or cannot wake up, coma, death

 

             Grace Wilhelm, M.A. 
             counselorgames.com

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How to get kids to talk, open up, and tell you more

 How to Get Kids to Talk

How do I get kids to talk?
Why are they not telling me the whole story?
What is really going on with this one?

Have you ever struggled to get information or down to the root cause of an issue out of a young child or adolescent?  How do you get them to talk and share freely?  How do you get them to open up?  One way is to meet them in their environment - which is in the world of play.

Plato Recognized Play

Plato, an early philosopher (429-347 B.C.), recognized the importance of play among children.  He noted that “you can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”  Play therapy is the use of games and play to help children prevent or resolve challenges. 

A parent can use a game or toy while talking to their child to help relieve stress or anxiety.  A counselor or therapist can rely on toys or games to help children to talk and share.  Children can act out behaviors or stories and use the toys or games to share events that are troubling.  Children can also use the toys to help tell about events that are difficult to put in words.  Games can give kids ideas to resolve problems, strengthen communication skills, and prevent further disruption.  

Everyone loves games!

Play is for all ages - ages 3 - 93.  Everyone loves games!  Everyone loves interaction with others.  Using a game and play therapy techniques make conversation creative, easy and FUN!  In today's world, kids get caught up in a video game world with no interaction using words or with humans.  When you get a student to interact with others with conversation, lights begin to go off!  Playing with others is fun!  Play helps to tell the story that is being held inside. 

Use Easy Classic Games

Counselor Games is a way to use everyday and familiar games to teach kids anger control, stress management, study and organizational skills, making friends, creating goals, decision making and more.  We show you how to  integrate counseling strategies into the games.  Counseling sessions become visual, auditory and kinesthetic/hands-on.  We give you video demonstrations using the games with the techniques so you can use them over and over.

Some examples include the following:

Use Don't Break the Ice for stress management.
Use Tumble for making friends.
Use playing cards to teach taking turns.
Use pick-up sticks to teach relationships and their dynamics.
Use Topple to teach about priorities.
Use Whack-a-mole to teach about goals.
Use Perfection to teach about the importance of being organized
and there is so much more!

Counselor Games is Play Therapy for Schools.  And it is not only for school; it is for home too.  It is important for parents to repeat and play the games at home to reinforce what is being learned.  It strengthens the communication between the adult and the child.   It is easy and fun!

Creative, Easy, FUN

If you are a parent who wants to find and use creative ways to get your kids to talk, this is for you.
If you are a school counselor who wants to use inexpensive, but familiar and fun games to enhance your counseling sessions, this is for you.
If you need a quick idea with little preparation to get big ideas across, this is for you!

Counselor Games has demonstrations of play therapy techniques using everyday games to help you teach strategies for stress management, anger control, making friends, study skills and more.  It is creative, easy and FUN!  We show you how.

Get your learning sessions here or find them at counselorgames.com.
Get your Play Therapy Workshop and learn how on your own time. 


Questions?  Contact Counselor Games  info @counselorgames.com  (take out the space after info)

More about Grace 

    Grace Wilhelm is a National Board Certified Counselor with experience in mental health and school counseling.  She enthusiastically presents to counselors, teachers, youth workers, and parents on anger, stress, crises intervention, communication, data, counseling programs, play sessions, and more.   She has been awarded ASCA National School Counselor of the

Year Semifinalist, RAMP, and FLDOE Parent Involvement Award.  Her publications include student workbooks on anger control and stress management and several articles.  She has also completed two DVDs on Games and Play to Enhance Counseling and Teaching Strategies: Creative Ways to Engage Students in Small Groups, Classrooms or Individual Counseling Sessions.
        Speaking engagements have taken Grace as far away as Papua New Guinea. She currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida with her husband Mark and three children.  She enjoys traveling, genealogy and playing the violin.

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