Category Archives: Large Group Lessons

Don’t Wait Until it’s Too Late: Teaching Kids About Body Autonomy & Consent

I only recommend products I have found to be of great value and are worth reading or using. If you buy something through one of the links below, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. When is the right time to teach body safety? I don’t recall ever being explicitly taughtContinueContinue reading “Don’t Wait Until it’s Too Late: Teaching Kids About Body Autonomy & Consent”

Advice for Teaching Online & In-Person

Let’s be clear, there is no magic bullet to teaching both in-person and online, but I do have some experience with this effort now and can give some feedback on what has and has not worked. Let’s start with the dumpster fires areas for improvement, and then we’ll move on to the good stuff.  Let’sContinueContinue reading “Advice for Teaching Online & In-Person”

You’ve Never Found an Easier Way to Schedule Appointments

I have gone through every type of calendar possible to schedule my meetings, and I have to tell you that I think I have finally found the needle in the proverbial haystack. I tried using google docs, sign up sheets, sign-in bar codes, calendar invites, and still spent an excessive amount of time and energyContinueContinue reading “You’ve Never Found an Easier Way to Schedule Appointments”

Tools to Counsel and Teach ESL Students

I have found myself in so many classes this year with students who speak zero English. I desperately want to teach and work with these kids, and I’ve been practicing my Spanish using Pimsleur. However, I’m still not proficient enough to communicate any of my lesson material, not to mention that many speak a languageContinueContinue reading “Tools to Counsel and Teach ESL Students”

Get to Know Your Students Activity

Getting to know your students can be tricky–especially when your caseloads are out of proportion to recommended ratios, and you’re teaching virtually. But we all know that building relationships with your students is critical for us to become their “people” when they need us. However, we don’t always know what kind of vibes we’re puttingContinueContinue reading “Get to Know Your Students Activity”

How Do You Adapt Lessons for ESL Students?

I attended a training a few years ago where the speaker gave us a math worksheet in Chinese and then instructed the group (all native English speakers) in Chinese to complete the worksheet. Friends, I am a grown woman who has solid coping skills, and I was incredibly frustrated and overwhelmed. I could see whyContinueContinue reading “How Do You Adapt Lessons for ESL Students?”

New School Counselor Must-Haves

This post contains affiliate links. See my disclosure page for more information. Congrats on your new gig! If you’re just getting started, this will give you the basics of what you’ll need to get started. I went through my own Amazon list to share my favorites. (Update! Our accountant told me that I had money that I had toContinueContinue reading “New School Counselor Must-Haves”

25 Ways to Help Your Students Become More Confident

The Polk Mentoring Alliance has created an exceptional list of 25 confidence-building activities. Many of these activities can be done individually or in small or large group formats. Most of the ideas are low to no cost and often don’t require many supplies. I have outlined 7 of my favorites below. Positively imagining the futureContinueContinue reading “25 Ways to Help Your Students Become More Confident”

Virtual School Counseling SEL Lessons for K-4 Students

Teaching an emotional vocabulary is the first step to helping children learn to manage their emotions. The Emotional ABC’s program has recently made their accounts to FREE to teachers and counselors. The online program provides a format for counselors to allow their students to access online lessons from home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdGcty7sdxQ Through the Emotional ABC’s program,ContinueContinue reading “Virtual School Counseling SEL Lessons for K-4 Students”

Answering Questions About School Counseling Lessons From a Distance

Many school counselors and teachers are struggling to adapt their in-person lesson plans to the online format, but I think I have the solution. If you have not already used this resource in your classroom, you are going to fall in love! Last month, our tech guru, Gina McGhee, introduced me to PearDeck, which is anContinueContinue reading “Answering Questions About School Counseling Lessons From a Distance”

Study Skills Jeopardy Game for Students

Testing season is upon us, and I wanted to share a lesson on helping students learn skills that will help them feel calm and confident before and during a test.  I could easily go on a tangent about the validity and relevance of the tests our students take, but instead, I’ll just give you supportContinueContinue reading “Study Skills Jeopardy Game for Students”

I Wish All School Counselors Did This Too

Photo by Miguel Constantin Montes on Pexels.com I want parents to feel like we’re a team, a village, raising their children together.  I don’t want the first time I communicate with a parent to be because their kid is having trouble.  I know that a lot of counselors send out generic monthly newsletters, but IContinueContinue reading “I Wish All School Counselors Did This Too”

How to Sell the Love of Learning and Get Them to Buy

How many teachers complain that their students don’t want to be in school?  Most?  What if we could change the way students value learning?  Maria Montessori said that “The goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.”  I happen to agree with Maria.  I want to createContinueContinue reading “How to Sell the Love of Learning and Get Them to Buy”

Tired of fighting? Teach Kids How To Cooperate

I love that I have the opportunity to teach kids how to get along with one another.  What a gift!  This free lesson plan for cooperation can be adapted from 5th grade up through high school aged students and beyond.  I’ll keep this post short because the bulk of the information about the lesson isContinueContinue reading “Tired of fighting? Teach Kids How To Cooperate”

Fun Activities to Teach Kids About Self-Control

Learning to regulate emotions can be challenging for many students, but it is a critical component of development and one that can be taught in fun and interesting ways. Below are a few techniques to help your students develop these critical skills. USE BOOKS AS EXAMPLES I love starting a lesson with a story and Clark the SharkContinueContinue reading “Fun Activities to Teach Kids About Self-Control”

Do Social and Emotional Programs Really Work?

If you’ve been in the school counseling field for any length of time, you know the importance of social and emotional development. You understand that a kid who is flipping a desk cannot possibility learn math in that moment and those executive functioning skills must be taught first. But how can only one person, theContinueContinue reading “Do Social and Emotional Programs Really Work?”

I Used Mindfulness in a Classroom Lesson and This is How It Went

I have been practicing mindfulness for a little over two years now and have discovered that through this daily practice, I’ve trained my brain to be more in tune with the world and have learned to focus my attention better throughout the day.  I’ve realized that I’m more resilient and able to bounce back fromContinueContinue reading “I Used Mindfulness in a Classroom Lesson and This is How It Went”

Worried About Your Kids Online? This Can Help

I was recently asked to speak to parents about online safety for kids and after reading the first safety article in my research, I felt compelled to crawl into the fetal position; the internet can be a scary place for kids. Let’s get the scary stuff out of the way first: online predators, identity thieves,ContinueContinue reading “Worried About Your Kids Online? This Can Help”

Work Smarter, Not Harder With These Free Lesson Plans

I firmly believe in the notion of working smarter, not harder, which is why I was so excited when I stumbled across The NED Show a character education program that provides a number of FREE lesson plans that you can print right from your computer.  The list of lesson topics includes many of the sameContinueContinue reading “Work Smarter, Not Harder With These Free Lesson Plans”

The Power of Yet: A Free School Counseling Lesson

“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”  -Albert Einstein Teaching growth mindset to students is fundamental to ensure their educational success.  Students must understand that in order to reach our goals, we must step out of our comfort zone and try tasks that are just beyond our abilityContinueContinue reading “The Power of Yet: A Free School Counseling Lesson”