100 Days of School Activities

The 100th Day of School is fast approaching in many school districts.  Since we started school in August, we will have our 100th day on February 4!

Check out some awesome resources on the web:

From A to Z Teacher Stuff 

Hacks from Tip Junkie:
75 Great Ideas for the 100th Day of School

Really Good Stuff
When you want to purchase instead!

Apples for the Teacher
Lots of good resources, activity sheets and more for grades K-8.


Create Your Own Special T-Shirt

I have created some of my own T-shirts using designs made on word or publisher.  It is really easy!  Follow the steps here:

1)  Create your own design or find a picture in the free domain or purchase one on Pinterest.  There is probably a lot of free clip art right on your computer!

2) Use a lot of bright color and make it big.  Kids like bright colors and big designs, plus they will stand out better on a t-shirt.

3) Purchase a t-shirt at the fabric store.  I have found yellow t-shirts at bargain prices during Christmas time when everyone wants green, red, and white.  In fact, I was able to purchase 8 yellow t-shirts for 25 cents each in adult sizes.  Many times new t-shirts can be found at 3 or 4 for a $1.00.  Be sure to wash your shirt before you apply your design.

4) Purchase Fabric Transfers.  I use Avery 8.5" x 11" Light Fabric Transfers.  You get six sheets in a package.

5) After you have created or downloaded your design, print it out on regular paper in color to see if it is the correct size and color(s) you want.

6) If all is OK, print your design on the fabric transfer sheet.  Follow the directions - it's easy.  Instead of paper, simply print on the fabric sheet which you load right into your own printer!

7) Follow the instructions on the fabric sheet package.  Get your iron hot and ready and GO!

8)  You have now created a great t-shirt.  Wear it with a smile!

Happy National School Counselor Week

February 1 - 5, 2016

 Check out National School Counselor Week activities and ideas on Pinterest!  Click here. 

Here is a special offer for you from Counselor Games!

Check out the Play Therapy Workshop Special.  Learn play therapy techniques using everyday games to teach anger control, stress management, decision making, relationship building, making friends, communication skills and much more.  It is hand-on curriculum at your fingertips!

Visual, Auditory, Hands-On
Ages 3 - 93
Everyone Loves Games

Free Giant Pick-Up Sticks with your Play Pack order for National School Counselor Week. 

Offer expires February 8, 2016. 

Contact us at info @counselorgames.com 

Coming out soon:  Free eBook

Quotes for Student Success

This is a collaborative project from educators around the country who have shared their favorite quotes for success that they use with students. 

Look for it on March 1, 2016.

 

Meet the Counselor Game

Another Great Article by Jeannie Maddox

 

Meet the Counselor with Jenga!

Looking for a quick and easy "Welcome Back- What is a School Counselor lesson?"  Well, you've found one!  We've been playing School Counselor Jenga and the kids love it.  Actually, kids just love Jenga!   I had no idea how much until I bought a set of Jenga blocks for my School Counselor intro lesson. When I mentioned Jenga they got all excited. They stayed engaged the entire lesson and were very careful not to knock over the Jenga tower so everyone in their class could have a turn.
This was truly one of the easiest, simplest and most engaging lessons I have ever done. Seriously!

Lesson Prep
1. Buy Jenga blocks
2. Make and print a numbered list of questions
3. Number your blocks
4. Play School Counselor Jenga!

Make a numbered list of questions that reflect all the information you want your students to know about you, your job, procedures for seeing you, school rules, behavioral expectations or whatever is unique to you, your school, and your school counseling program. I came up with 42 questions for my lesson. You can see my list HERE to give you some ideas of what you might ask. Some of my questions are generic and can be used by all School Counselors, but since our schools, programs and procedures are different, your list will need to reflect the things that are special to your population and your school.  Next, get your Jenga blocks and using a black permanent marker, number the blocks to match your list of questions. You can number them on the top or on the end.  I chose to number mine on the end, no special reason.  I had about a dozen blank blocks left over, but that was okay, I had to rack my brain for the 42 questions on my list!

Playtime
After a brief introduction of new students, a reminder about procedures and my expectations for classroom behavior we got down to Jenga Time!  I explained I was not going to tell them about my job this year because they had been hearing from me for years.  This year, I was going have them tell me and each other what a School Counselor does.  I had the blocks set up on a table in the front of the room and told them we would take turns coming up and removing a block.  They would tell me the number and I would give them a School Counselor question.  If they couldn't answer it, they were allowed to call on a friend to help. I used the number of the day they were born to determine the order in which they would come up to take their turn. When I had 3 students born on the 18th, we went in order of which month came first.  The students had a great time, cheered, clapped and encouraged each other. Twenty-five missing blocks later our tower was still standing and my students had shown me how much they knew about what a School Counselor does and had taught our new students too.

Insights
As we played School Counselor Jenga, as I decided to call it, I had two thoughts.  First, I became aware of the things about my job the students struggled with or did not understand.  I  learned I have some re-teaching to do. Secondly, I began to realize my numbered Jenga blocks could be used in this same fun way to review a lesson or skills and assess how well my students understood the concepts of that lesson or unit.  How fun would that be?

The Inspiration
I was inspired to use Jenga after attending an ASCA session this summer on using games in your School Counseling program. I saw presenter Grace Wilhelm  demonstrate how she uses Jenga to get to know her students at the beginning of the school year. This got my brain thinking about how I could use games to introduce the School Counselor.  Thanks Grace!  To learn more about how to use all sorts of games in your counseling program, visit Grace at her blog Counselor Games.

Thanks for stopping by!  Here's to fun and engaging Meet the Counselor lessons!




Learn more about Jeannie's blog here: Exploring School Counseling.

Professional Development:  Learn Play Therapy Techniques
Two DVDs with demonstrations to show you how to integrate play therapy into everyday games to teach students about anger control, stress management, study skills, test taking, making friends and more.  Get your professional development now at Counselor Games.

  

Fabulous Teacher Ideas for the New School Year 15-16

Oscar Staton

 Have You Heard of Teacher Talk Live?

Oscar Staton is the creator and host of a new teacher on-line show called Teacher Talk Live.  His website is Teachcow.com.  You can watch past shows on the website.  You can join him on twitter at #teachertalklive or @teachcow.  Oscar's interests have been in student achievement, filmmaking, social media and marketing.  He combines all of this at Teachcow and Teacher Talk Live!


Last week I participated as a guest panelist on "Get a Fresh Start".  This episode is about getting ready for the new school year.  Counselors are an enormous support to teachers to help them know their students before they arrive on the first day.  The panel discussion is lively and facilitated by Dr. Goins. 



 Click to view
                                                                                                                     
You may be interested in being a guest on the show.  Simply visit the website and complete the application for the topic/show you are interested in.  Counselors do great things for educators and students.  Reach higher now!


You can also join Counselor Games on FB where a daily quote is shared to help motivate and inspire students, faculty, and parents.  Be sure to "Like" and follow!
Counselor Games is Play Therapy for Schools. 

10 Reasons Kids Keep Abuse a Secret

      Summer is here and many of us are relaxing and getting refreshed before we go back into the trenches.  During some of our time off we seek professional development so we are armed and equipped for new challenges we will face. (because we love what we do and desire to do well)  We want to share the work of Ginger Kadlec who works tirelessly to inform educators and parents about sexual abuse.  Please take a few minutes to review why some children never tell trusted adults about the sexual abuse they are experiencing.    Consider showing this video to your faculty and staff and also use it during one of your parent informational nights. 

       As counselors and educators, we meet with students who keep many secrets and often we are the first person they trust enough to tell their secret and what is happening to them.  Sometimes they realize for the first time exactly what is happening to them and they look for the trusted adult.
But the sad truth is that some children never tell anyone what is going on and this video presentation by Ginger Kadlec explains why kids chose to keep their secret:

      Sadly, nearly 3/4 of all children who are sexually abused keep their abuse a secret for at least a year. Another 45% don’t tell anyone about their abuse for 5 years; still others never tell.
So, why do so many children keep abuse a secret? Here are 10 reasons children don’t disclose abuse.

Raising awareness of the world-wide epidemic of child abuse has become Ginger’s life mission. An impassioned child advocate, trainer, speaker and child forensic interviewer, Ginger regularly blogs about child protection issues and has produced printable references for parents and other caring adults including “10 Scary Apps”. Click here for your free copy of this informative 12-page report. Along with her husband John and pets Lexi and Chase, Ginger enjoys traveling, skiing, hiking, brisk mornings, colorful sunsets and just hangin’ at home with “the Pack”.


Find out more about Ginger and her work here: http://www.gingerkadlec.com