Category:

ClassDojo

4/23/2017

When I want to keep track of specific behaviors during my group sessions, I use ClassDojo (previous Website of the Month). You can use it K-6, but it may need to look differently at each grade level. Not only does ClassDojo keep excellent data for me, it also helps my students set goals and identify the target behaviors they are demonstrating in each session.

With ClassDojo, I can organize all of my groups and archive them at the end of each school year. I love being able to look back at how individual students and groups performed, because I can use that information to better facilitate future small groups.

Another great ClassDojo feature is that each group can focus on customizable target behaviors. Since the focus is on the positive behaviors, I don't include many negatives (where students lose "Dojo points"). The only negative I use is "disrespectful to others" because I want to show that I will not tolerate hurtful words or actions in our group sessions. I've never had to use it, but the students know it's there. I think it's important to show that in order for our group to be successful, we MUST be kind to one another; our group needs to be a safe space to communicate our thoughts and feelings.

I am lucky enough to have a SMARTboard in my room, so I project the ClassDojo screen and add points through that board. It helps students to see their progress throughout the session. Then, I reset the points at the end of the group (which doesn't delete the data) so that we can start fresh the next group time. If you don't have a SMARTboard, you can use your desktop computer, a tablet, or smart phone.

ClassDojo also added some AMAZING video tools too! In their Big Ideas section, you can watch mini-series about growth mindset, perseverance, empathy, and gratitude. You can check out the first episodes on ClassDojo's YouTube channel, but if you create a free account on their main page, you can watch all of them.

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Mind Yeti

3/14/2017

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I heard about Mind Yeti a little over a year ago when one of my colleagues tried it out. Her K-2 students loved it, so I thought I'd learn more. Once I began exploring the features, I was hooked!

For school counselors, this resource can be used individually, in small groups, during classroom lessons, and for the moments you need to close your door and "reboot" after a rough school moment. That's the beauty of Mind Yeti!

Mind Yeti provides both a free resource and paid premium service. Through Mind Yeti, you get guided mindfulness sessions to help kids calm down, focus their attention, and transition to new activities. As I'm sure you've heard, mindfulness in the classroom can help create a happy, calm and positive culture. When you have a tool like Mind Yeti, it's easy to integrate mindfulness strategies into your day.

Session categories include: Calm Down, Focus, Get Along, Reset, Create, and Go to Sleep.

I've used Mind Yeti in a variety of settings, but my favorite has been during a 6th Grade classroom lesson. I have a "Relaxation Experiment" for the students and I incorporated Mind Yeti sessions. The students love the calming voices, soothing music, and overall content of the sessions.

Share How You Would Use Mind Yeti!

I'd love to hear about it in the
comment section below!

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Film Review: Children of Military Families

9/6/2014

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You may remember a film review I wrote a little over a year ago about Professor Child's wonderful films, Children and Grief and Children and Divorce. I recently watched another film called Children of Military Families.

This production is just as great as the other two! The film stars real children discussing the real struggle of having a parent in the military serving overseas. There are a variety of age groups and ethnicities, and feature both male and female children. The advice and stories feel truly authentic, not scripted or forced the way many resources can be.

I have numerous students who struggle with the stress, fear, and confusion that can come with a parent who has been deployed (or will be deployed). It can be difficult to find quality materials for these individuals and their families; I am so excited to share this new film with my school community!

I highly recommend that you check out these films at Professor Child's website and consider purchasing your own copies. Trust me. They are worth it! Although the topics are intense, the films are hopeful and remind you that you are not alone.

You can purchase a digital version of the film (available for immediate digital download) or a DVD. Additionally, Professor Child offers a FREE workbook that includes over 50 pages of thought-provoking discussion questions and creative exercises. The workbook is divided into 12 chapters that correspond directly with the film, which makes things even easier for busy school counselors. Plus, did I mention it's FREE?! ;)

Are you a director, writer, or production company? Do you have an educational film that you would like me to review on my blog? If so, contact me at marissa@elementaryschoolcounseling.org. I'd be happy to check out your work and spread the word to my readers.

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The Confidence Code

6/20/2014

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I try my hardest to avoid gender stereotyping. I often hear adults explain a student's behavior based on what society expects from boys and girls. You've heard it before...

"He's just a boy. He's going to hit someone if they start something."
"She's just a girl. She's a little emotional sometimes."

There are countless variations, but the message is the same: Boys are strong, confident, and aggressive; girls are gentle, sweet, and emotional. When little boys fall, we tell them they are fine and to dust themselves off. When little girls scrape their knees, we hug them and wipe their tears away. We, as a society, send a clear message about what we expect from each gender and we do this often without realizing it.

Is this a big deal, you may be asking? I know branching out and expanding our minds when it comes to gender stereotyping can be threatening to those who fear change. It can be threatening when an individual may benefit from the stereotype and/or when he or she genuinely enjoys their role. What I worry about is the shame boys and girls feel when they don't fit in. I worry about the box they feel stuck in and the environment that's stifling their development.

I stumbled upon a video discussing the "wussification" of men. In this video, the author expresses genuine horror at the thought of men or women deviating from their traditional gender roles.

One of the news anchors asks: "How do we teach our children to be who they are? How do we teach our boys to be boys and our girls to be girls without fitting them into these stereotypes?"

The question is its own answer, don't you think?

I may have already lost you. You may be angry at my opinion and you have every right to be, just as I have every right to be angry at the idea that feminism (seeing women as EQUAL, not better) is destroying our world and our men.

Pantene's #ShineStrong compaign (right) demonstrates this perfectly. Women often feel compelled to apologize for their thoughts and opinions. They can't be too forward or aggressive, lest they be considered the "b-word." I know I am guilty of saying "I'm sorry" to lessen the power and authority of my words.

So, where am I going with this? Well, school counselors have an opportunity to expose students to different ideas and encourage their interests and special skills. We can help a young girl who loves math gain the confidence she needs to stick with her advanced coursework and join math-related clubs, even if there are few females doing the same. We can support a boy who loves to dance more than he loves shooting hoops. We can love the students who DO fit their gender stereotypes and find ways to help them love, respect, and understand those who don't. And vice versa.

I know this post already has a lot of videos, but I had to share this interview from The Colbert Report as well. Katty Kay and Claire Shipman wrote a book about self-assurance, specifically what causes women to lack the confidence they need to be as successful as they can be. I took their confidence quiz and found out that I have "high confidence." Funnily enough, I was nervous that I'd be labeled otherwise. What's great about the quiz is that the authors provide suggestions for how I can keep my level of confidence and how to help others boost their confidence as well.

Use the #ConfidenceCode hashtag to share your own experiences and even nominate a confident woman in your life. Just visit www.theconfidencecode.com for more information.

Want to take the Confidence Quiz?

Click here!

For more self-concept lessons, visit my small group and classroom counseling pages.

The Colbert Report
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Colbert Report on Facebook

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Gifted Education and School Counseling

2/7/2014

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I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but haven't been able to find the words to adequately express my thoughts on the subject. Gifted Education is one of those topics that causes my head and heart to merge, creating a swirl of ideas, memories, thoughts, and feelings. Flashes of my old classrooms and peers pour into my mind, pushing all rationality to the bottom, almost as if I'm drowning in the past.

Okay, this is a little dramatic, but hey, I'm a little dramatic.

The rest of this post is just a snapshot of my thoughts on the subject of Gifted Education and may not be particularly useful, but I still wanted to put it out there.

When I was in 3rd grade, I remember being isolated from the rest of my class so I could work on different assignments. In 4th grade, I began our district's Gifted Education program (G.A.T.E.). I was taken out of my classroom 2 days a week to practice critical thinking skills and spend time with other kids who qualified. I don't remember having any of this explained to me. It just became a part of my school life.

I loved my G.A.T.E. classes and wanted to share what I was learning with my friends...it turns out that they did not want to know. In fact, my closest friends made fun of me, hid from me at recess, and I remember crying almost every day at school. I started to feel like standing out was a bad thing because it made other people uncomfortable - it made you lose friends, a currency worth more than gold in the school world. I began to slack off by rushing through my homework, quitting my favorite clubs or groups if my friends didn't make the cut, and pretending like I knew less than I did. By 8th grade, I decided to quit G.A.T.E. and take other lower level classes instead. Since my junior high grades were good (straight A's), no one said anything to me. No one asked why I was doing what I was doing. All I wanted was to fight my urge to push myself and stand out, but felt forced into a little box.

It took me years to overcome the little voice in my head saying, "Don't make other people uncomfortable." I wish I was able to have the confidence to be my authentic self back in elementary school when the pressure to conform was strongest. I wish someone would have noticed that my tears and my subtle withdrawal was more than just me being a sensitive kid. It was me feeling like I could never fit in no matter what group I was in. I felt like I wasn't smart enough for the G.A.T.E. kids and wasn't cool enough for the rest of my class. I was a misfit, just finding ways to cover up who I really was with different clothes, different hobbies, and a different personality.

This past November, I attended a conference about Gifted Ed that brought all of these memories to the surface. As our keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Delisle, explained research on students who are gifted and support strategies to use, I felt myself tearing up. I thought back to recess, when a student kicked a ball at me, causing me to fall into a puddle of mud. I thought back to 7th grade G.A.T.E. when I felt like I didn't even fit in socially with my fellow gifted students and began to withdraw further. I thought back to college classes, counting how many times I raised my hand so I wouldn't be annoying to the rest of the class.

School struggles of any kind don't just go away. In fact, as I re-read this post I can't help but want to delete what I've written out of fear of being misunderstood. Feelings of self-doubt and self-loathing are villains that are difficult to overcome without some help, but that's why there are school counselors, right?!

As school counselors, we can help our gifted students (a population typically pushed to the side because they are "easier") find the confidence they need to achieve great things. We can teach them social skills, organization, goal-setting, and stress management. We can be their safe place to vent. We can remind them that even if they feel alone now, it gets better. The world is a big place with big possibilities. They will find lasting friendships with those who will appreciate and challenge them. We can remind them to never give up.

I hope my story feels more educational than self-indulgent. Of course, it DOES feel good to express the feelings I bottled up for so long, so maybe it was a little self-indulgent. I just want school counselors to remember this population of students because it's easy to leave them behind.

Thanks for listening. :)

Helpful Resources

Great Websites

Davidson Institute for Talent Development www.davidsongifted.org
Jim Delisle www.creativelearningconsultants.com/jimdelisle.html
Top Blogs http://giftedchallenges.blogspot.com/2013/08/top-blogs-about-gifted-children-gifted.html

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Updates

2/6/2014

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For the past few weeks, I've been adding content to my website. In case you've missed the new additions, here's a list of all of the new material. Just click on the numbers to visit each page.

6th Grade Classroom Lessons

Staff Appreciation Ideas

Website of the Month (Interview with Jeff Ream)

Individual Counseling (Reorganization of Page)

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Why Kids are Awesome

8/8/2013

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Some school counselors, even at the elementary level, have trouble working with the younger age groups (a.k.a. kindergarten and 1st grade). They can be a little quirky, have short attention spans, and be difficult to reason with. Personally, I love this group. I think they are hilarious and adorable little monsters, and I mean that in the nicest way.

Whenever I'm having a bad day, I visit these kiddos during lunch or recess and just check-in with them. They ALWAYS make me laugh. I love hearing their perspective on the world because it's so honest and innocent. Don't get me wrong, I love my "big kids," but sometimes you need those little five-year-old jokesters by your side.

Kid Snippets, a series created by BoredShortsTV, embodies all that I love about my kiddos. The idea is simple: Kids talk about various situations and adults act out what the kids discuss. Seriously, it's adorable. SERIOUSLY.

Our students, while often the source of stress, can also be stress relievers. Their energy and humor are infectious. Take a typically terrifying experience, such as a job interview (right). I dare you to watch this and not feel a little better about your job search. See, it worked!

This school year, remember to look for the cute side of your little monsters. The claws aren't always so scary. :)

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Film Review: Professor Child

6/21/2013

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Last night, I watched two fabulous educational films from Professor Child, a company created by three mothers, Rory Kidder, Jenni O’Keefe, and Sharon Richards. The mission of Professor Child is to empower children during difficult life events. As the founders explain, "children have a powerful voice that is relatable, healing and hopeful. Ultimately, we want children to know they are not alone in what they are experiencing and that much can be learned by simply listening to another child’s story" (Professor Child, About Us).

Their documentary-style films feature a variety of children who have all experienced a specific topic. The children share their stories, what has helped, what they wish for, advice for other kids, and more.

As an added bonus, each film comes with a free companion workbook to provide opportunities for further discussion and reflection.

Children and Grief

In this film, children share their stories of losing a loved one. Some kids are dealing with the loss of a parent, while others with a sibling, uncle, or grandparent. Each child's experience and response to death is different, which allows the viewer to see a little of him or herself in the film. This is crucial because many children (and even adults) feel alone as they manage their grief; it is an incredibly private, yet universal, experience.

While not particularly "sad" in an over-indulgent sort of way, still be prepared to have strong emotions come to the surface as you listen to the heartfelt stories. A+

Children and Divorce

This film, while similar in structure, has a different sort of feel. There is not a huge variety of experiences or ethnicities as we see in "Children and Grief," but the stories are still meaningful and quite helpful.

The children in this film describe their personal experiences with divorce, what it means to them, how it has changed their lives, what has helped, and more. I especially enjoyed hearing the advice that the kids gave, which could have a tremendously positive impact on children at various stages of the divorce process. A

Why You Should Purchase Your Own Copies:

As school counselors, we are responsible for helping children cope with a variety of difficult circumstances. It can be a challenge to start a group about grief or divorce. Maybe the group dynamics, personality wise, are off. Maybe you don't have enough students in a particular grade level to start a group and therefore, cannot offer this service. Maybe students who could join the group feel uncomfortable speaking about their situation in front of others and would prefer individual counseling. So, what can you do to help students dealing with divorce or grief know that they are not alone? Well, I think these films are a wonderful resource to fit this particular need.

You could show the film based on the chapters that best address your students' needs or use the chapters for different group sessions as an introduction to the day's lesson.

Also, you can look forward to future films from Professor Child called "Siblings and Autism" and "Children of Military Families."

To purchase one or both of these films ("Children and Grief" and "Children and Divorce"), visit Professor Child online. You can order a DVD or a digital copy. Plus, you can download both companion workbooks for FREE. I strongly recommend these resources for your elementary school counseling practice. Check them out today!

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Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...

4/20/2013

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Within the last week, Dove's "Real Beauty Sketches" video has been plastered over social media accounts. In fact, I discovered it through Carli Counsels, a wonderful new elementary school counseling blog.

It's amazing how quickly good resources and thought-provoking content can spread! I love that I am able to better my school counseling program by engaging in social media. (Insert shout-out to Marty Stevens for encouraging me to join Twitter in the first place!)

If you haven't watched "Real Beauty Sketches," what are you waiting for?! Press play...NOW! ;)

I am fairly confident that if I were in these women's shoes, I would have been just as hard on myself. This begs the question: If we are consciously or subconsciously self-haters, how can we teach young children to avoid that path? How an individual feels about their outward appearance is usually quite apparent - body language and clothing choices, in particular, give you away. So, wouldn't our students notice that we are not practicing what we preach? They are looking to us for advice, but are we qualified to give it? I think it's time for us to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

The Dove Social Mission, in general, is a wonderful resource for school counselors. I think you could use almost any of their videos or materials with your intermediate level students. Personally, I would opt for 5th and 6th graders.

I created a companion workpage (left) for the "Real Beauty Sketches" series, that would give students the opportunity to share how they see one of their peers. This would work best in a small group setting, so students have the chance to reflect and share in a more controlled, safe environment.

I have conducted a similar lesson called "Compliment Circle," an activity where group members must provide positive feedback for everyone in the group. I start by giving every student a piece of blank paper and having them write their name at the top. Then, everyone passes their paper to the person on their left. The students write something positive about the person on their paper. When everyone is finished, we pass the papers again. This continues until the students have written on every paper but their own. Before the compliments are revealed, I have students discuss how they are feeling (anticipation, worries, etc.). Then, students read their compliments. Again, we reflect as a group on the peer feedback and discuss how this could positively impact our friendships.

Why You Are Special (PDF)
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Why You Are Special (WORD)
File Size:	29 kb
File Type:	docx

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Once students hear positive feedback from their peers, it's important to work on their own "inner critics" as well. Sometimes, we rely too heavily on praise and reassurance from others - we need to learn how to generate that from within. You could do this by having students complete the above workpage for themselves (before seeing what their peer created), then compare the two.

I hope there will be a day when image will no longer hold us back, preventing talented individuals from reaching their dreams and performing to their fullest potential. In the meantime, we need to help each other see what's REALLY reflecting in our mirrors...and that's beautiful. :)

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SoulPancake

1/29/2013

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While catching up on my blog reading, I came across a Corner on Character post about "the path that leads to awesome." Within the post, Barbara highlighted an adorable, hilarious, and heartfelt video by SoulPancake's "Kid President" that inspires viewers to make the world a better place.

I was incredibly moved by the video and instantly thought of dozens of ways that my students could benefit from its message. But, like the obsessive video scavenger I am, I HAD to discover what SoulPancake was all about and, of course, if there were more videos school counselors could incorporate into their own programs.

So, here's what I found out:

SoulPancake was founded in 2008 by actor Rainn Wilson and his friends, Joshua Homnick and Devon Gundry. As described on their website, "SoulPancake sprang out of their desire to create a space where people from all walks of life could discuss and question what it means to be human - a place to wrestle with the spiritual, philosophical, and creative journey that is life" (FAQ). SoulPancake is not just video - there are also print, web, and live event formats.

One of my favorite aspects of the site is the "activities" section. There are various writing or multimedia prompts (i.e. "List the one thing that you'll never give in to.") that visitors can participate in. These activities are a wonderful springboard for school counseling services; you could easily modify an existing prompt to meet your specific needs. If you trust their little hands, you could even provide your students (in individual or small group sessions, ideally) with a camera so they can respond to challenging questions in a different way.

As for the additional videos for school counselors, I found plenty of clips to spice up a lesson or two. I added some of these SoulPancake videos to my YouTube channel - organized by topic, of course! ;)

You can view my "Brighten Your Day" SoulPancake playlist in its entirety here. You won't be sorry! I promise! These videos are meant to energize, inspire, and ease the burdens we carry. Lighten the load. Enjoy!

Here are two of my favorites:

In addition to their website and YouTube channel, SoulPancake also published a book. You could use this to spark conversation, encourage friendly debates, or to help with your own self-care.