Lets Make a Florida Song! GO CALIFORNIA!

I came across this not too long ago and I couldn't resist sharing this with you! The state of California made a song that truly shows what an impact School Counselors can make. We do make a difference and many notice when we are cut or not in the schools.

Check it out!

Guidance Counselor? EXCUSE ME!

Okay Okay, so I never knew the harm in calling a School Counselor, a Guidance Counselor until I entered my masters program at FGCU. That all changed very quickly! 

I've heard it many times in my internships and even saw name plates with the words 'Guidance Counselor' on them. I know the words 'School Counselor' are new for the most part, but Guidance Counselor is long gone and out the door. In the school system there are School Nurses, School Psychologist, etc., why is it that School Counselors are considered "Guidance"? 

So JUST FOR LAUGHS... here you go! 

Think before you say guidance to a School Counselor. :)

   

We Do Listen Foundation: Large Group Guidance Ideas

Want a interactive website for Large Group Guidance lessons? YOU'RE IN LUCK!

During my internships, this website came in handy for so many guidance lessons at the elementary level! It offers animated books, songs, games, coloring sheets, lessons, and posters that the kids love. The website is associated with Howard B. Wigglebottom books and is great for guidance curriculum.

Be sure to check out the School Counselor Lessons :) The lessons include: listening, bullying, positive attitude, anger management, telling the truth, power of giving, attention-belonging, sportsmanship, courage, trust and manners.

Follow the website below to learn more:

https://wedolisten.org/

Great ICE BREAKERS!

Trying to think of a way to get to know your students better? Need an idea?

These are some of my favorite ICEBREAKERS among many many more, but these are great for individual and small group counseling! I've used all of these in every internship and the students absolutely loved them.

ALL-ABOUT-ME-ROBOT

This ICE BREAKER is great for students in intermediate grades and works well in small group counseling. The students simply write and color in the different sections of the robot and share at the end of the session. School Counselors should also be asking questions and facilitating this process. Gaining Rapport is the goal! I have used this numerous times in small groups when getting to know each other. The students love love love this one!     

MARVELOUS ME M&M ICE BREAKER

This ICE BREAKER is great for primary grades and can be comprised of tons and tons of different questions. Each student gets a bag of M&M's and questions that correlate to each color of the M&M's. Again the School Counselor should be working along with the students and even completing the ICE BREAKER too. Ensure the students eat the color of the M&M's as they go through the ICE BREAKER or else they will eat them all at the beginning! The students eat this one up, literally! ;)   

POPSICLE STICK ICE BREAKER

This ICE BREAKER works well for students K-12 because the questions can be altered for each grade level. School Counselors should have the students choose the popsicle stick themselves and read it or depending on the grade level the School Counselor can read the question aloud. Each student chooses a stick and passes the popsicle sticks along. I have used this with Kindergarten students and even Seniors in High School, both whom love the ICE BREAKER. Throw some silly questions into the pile and even answer some yourself, again gaining rapport is key! 

YOU HAVE GOT TO SEE THIS!

      As a future school counselor, I can't urge you enough to visit my renowned professors' website, Dr. Russell Sabella. I have used his website numerous times throughout my graduate school adventure and I wouldn't have known what to do without it. :) My personal favorite tab on his page is Resources and then Handouts. If you haven't checked these out yet, STOP, DROP, & ROLL and go to the following website! You won't be disappointed and especially if you utilize SFBT like I do.

Follow the link below for newsletters, trainings, resources and lesson plans:  

http://www.schoolcounselor.com/

Beauty Pressures

      This DOVE Commercial would definitely be good to utilize in counseling groups and on school websites for parents, teachers and staff to see. It is important that we discuss the beauty pressures out there and make an impact, so self-esteem isn't as big as of an issue in the future. The more advocates and educators for this the better!

      In several of my internship experiences, I have found that even students as young as 6 years old have already been exposed to the pressures of the beauty industries. It is amazing listening to their stories and what has already sunken in. I worked with a group of second grade girls on self-esteem and their constant fears of not being pretty enough, thin enough, tall enough and so forth. They battled each other daily on who "looked the best" which caused immense fiction amongst the group of friends. They would argue and down each other all based on their looks. Some of the girls even disclosed that the harassment would be the worst at lunch time in the cafeteria. During these times they would be made fun of if they ate and for what they ate if they chose to. I WAS SHOCKED to hear these things were going on, but the fact of the matter is as school counselors we must not only advocate but EDUCATE students on these issues. Our group lasted over 6 weeks long, where we talked about self-esteem, body image, made goals and talked about appropriate behaviors.
     
      By the way, it can be misleading sometimes that self-esteem is gender bias and prominent in females, but the fact is that males are also effected by these stigmas and should be informed also! 
   
      Sidenote: DOVE Commercials are my favorite! Youtube has several that are just simply amazing :)

Beep Beep Beep..... VITAL SIGNS!

Beginning School Counselors

Throughout my school counseling internships, I found both of these signs to be present and in the plain view for students and staff to see. For beginning school counselors, these are a MUST!

Where is Ms. Dwyer?

      The sign above is usually made by the school counselor to show students and staff where they are during the day. It can be extremely helpful when students and staff come to your office. There are several different ways to make these signs and it is up to the school counselor on how crafty they want to be! These signs are usually accompanied by a brass brad that holds an arrow pointing to where they are.
Disclaimer: It is also up to the school counselor to remember to change the arrow each time they leave their office or are occupied with students :)


      The sign below is another crucial sign that I believe all school counselors should have in their office for students and staff to see. This sign has to do with one of the main ethical considerations for school counselors. In a 2002 article in the Journal of Professional School Counseling, "Confidentiality is a professional's promise or contract to respect clients' privacy by not disclosing anything revealed during counseling, except under agreed upon conditions". This sign should be read to students or students can read it to you, before counseling occurs to ensure the students understand how confidentiality works. I like the sign below because it is simple and students can understand the text easily. Again counselors can make their own and get crafty! Yay :)

Confidentiality 

Meet the Author!

 

 

       Hello All! My name is Lindsey and I am from a small town in Florida called Dade City, which is a simple, small, southern town. Dade City is known for its hills, pastures, and miles and miles of orange groves. I grew up and stayed in Dade City until I was 18 years old, when I moved to Saint Leo, Florida for college.

      Saint Leo University sits right in the heart of the town and was only about a 15 minute drive from home. To ensure I got the total college experience, I lived on campus for all 4 years. Man did I learn a lot! I received my BA in Elementary Education and graduated in 2010. After graduation I decided I wasn't quite ready to be done with school, so I ventured down to Fort Myers, Florida to attend Florida Gulf Coast University. 

      When I got accepted into FGCU I initially enrolled into the Mental Health Graduate Program, but in year 2 I decided the School Counseling Graduate Program was a better fit for me. This was the best decision I ever made! I had finally found my passion, which was working with students in a school setting. Having an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, I knew right away that I was right where I was suppose to be. 

      Throughout my undergraduate and graduate programs I have been in 8 internships that have taught me so so much! I wouldn't have the knowledge I obtain today, without any single one of those internships. My area of interest is at the elementary level, where I love to be creative in individual counseling, small group counseling and large group guidance. I would have to say my favorite and most utilized therapy is Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). It is extremely helpful when consulting with parents and teachers too!

      I am finally in my last semester of graduate school and will soon hold my M.ED in School Counseling! I can't hardly wait to get out in the schools and show my knowledge off. This journey has been nothing but extraordinary and I am excited to show you a glimpse into some of what I've learned.    

      Thanks in advance for stopping by my blog and I hope it provides some helpful and creative ideas that you can utilize in your career as a school counselor! ENJOY!