Counseling Connections: individual counseling

Showing posts with label individual counseling. Show all posts

Thursday, May 4, 2017

The Jelly Donut Difference (compassion and empathy)

I ordered The Jelly Donut Difference a few months back and keep forgetting to write a post about it. The Jelly Donut Difference is written by one of my favorite authors, Maria Dismondy. I originally purchased The Jelly Donut Difference to read with my first graders during their unit on compassion and empathy. After reading the book I decided to use it with a group of kindergarten students who are having a hard time getting along with their classmates.

The Jelly Donut Difference is about a brother and sister who don't always get along (argue, push each other out of the way, etc...) They notice that an elderly neighbor is lonely and work together to show empathy and compassion. The author has a free Reader's Guide available. Many of the pages are more beneficial to a classroom teacher, however, I did use the comprehension questions as well as the pages that are focused on making a difference. I also downloaded a free lesson on TPT (link below) and found this to be the most useful in teaching the idea of kindness to kindergarten students. Finally, I gave each student a kindness goal and rewarded them with jelly donut holes from dunkin donuts if they met their goal. I also love the idea of doing a jelly cake in a crockpot for a classroom lesson and have included a link to that blog as well.

Connections:

You can purchase The Jelly Donut Difference HERE.

teachinginstripes.blogspot.com -jelly cake in a crockpot

Free Reader's Guide

Teacher's Pay Teacher's FREE lesson by An Apple A Day in First Grade

Cute Ideas HERE by www.teachingwithcrayonsandcurls.com

Another lesson and downloadable writing template HERE by www.primarily-speaking.com

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Elmer the Elephant

The school year is in full swing and I am excited to share some more fun lessons that I have been using. I started the year reading Elmer to all of my k-2 students. This book was a big hit!

Elmer is a cute story about an elephant who feels badly about his appearance. He is the only elephant who isn't gray and he feels like the other elephants are laughing at him. Elmer goes through great lengths to change his appearance but ends up discovering that his uniqueness is a good thing. Elmer's friends decide to celebrate Elmer's uniqueness with an Elmer's Day parade.

You can purchase Elmer HERE. There are a ton of follow up books to Elmer and I just ordered Elmer's Special Day as a follow up story.

How I used this book: I read Elmer to students. I asked students the following questions: Did Elmer like himself in the beginning of story? Why or Why not? Did the other elephants like Elmer? Why or Why not? Why did Elmer want to look like the other elephants? Did Elmer like himself better once he looked like the other elephants? Did the other elephants like Elmer better? I then had each student share a few things that make him or her unique. Each student was given an elephant (I printed from google images) to decorate in their own unique way. I gave them the option of using dot markers, regular markers or scraps of paper. I then displayed the elephants on a bulletin board. Here is my board halfway completed:

(I found this bulletin board idea on Pinterest and couldn't find the original source. If you know who credit belongs to please let me know.)

Lesson Connections:
Celebrating Diversity with Elmer
Elmer Lesson Pack (With outlines of Elmer)

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Attention Seeking

I've been sitting in a lot of meetings lately and one behavior that seems to keep coming up is negative attention seeking. Some students misbehave because they are trying to attract the attention of their teacher or their peers. These students don't care if the attention they receive is negative attention or positive attention. There are some great interventions for attention seeking behaviors at http://specialed.about.com. I use a lesson from www.projectwisdom.com to talk to students about attention seeking behaviors and I supplement this lesson with the book Millie Fierce. Millie Fierce is a great example of a student who uses negative attention seeking behaviors. Millie feels that she is ignored because she is too plain. Millie decides that she will start being fierce (cutting in line, painting the dog, stealing birthday cake) in order to get attention from others. Millie gets attention, just not the kind of attention that she was hoping for. Millie's actions end up being hurtful to others. and the meaner Millie gets the more others stay away from her.

Description from Amazon: Millie is quiet. Millie is sweet. Millie is mild. But the kids at school don't listen to her. And she never gets a piece of birthday cake with a flower on it. And some girls from her class walk right on top of her chalk drawing and smudge it. And they don't even say they're sorry! So that's when Millie decides she wants to be fierce! She frizzes out her hair, sharpens her nails and runs around like a wild thing. But she soon realizes that being fierce isn't the best way to get noticed either, especially when it makes you turn mean. So Millie decides to be nice--but to keep a little of that fierce backbone hidden inside her. In case she ever needs it again.
Connections:
Negative Attention Seeking Lesson Idea: www.projectwisdom.com.
Books: Mollie Fierce; Let's Talk About Needing Attention

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Tacky the Penguin

Tacky the Penguin is a cute book about being yourself. Tacky the Penguin is an odd bird and doesn't behave like all of the other penguins. He wears crazy Hawaiian shirts while all of the other penguins are in their tuxes. The other penguins find Tacky annoying until his odd behavior saves the day! I use this book with kindergarten and first grade students to teach lessons on tolerance, self-esteem, self-acceptance, etc...
Product Details

Purchase Tacky the Penguin HERE.

Connections:

Lesson: Read Tacky the Penguin aloud for students then lead a discussion:

Discussion Questions:

Tacky the Penguin

Next, use the Venn diagram from the link below to compare Tacky to the other penguins.

Tacky the Penguin

You could also use this printable to compare the actions of Tacky compared to the other penguins: This printable has a cute writing activity called "Like Tacky" with a shirt that students can decorate any way they wish.

Tacky the Penguin Companion Printables

You could also have students write on this paper:

Tacky the Penguin Writing

Next, have students create their own "Tacky Penguin":

Create your own Tacky the Penguin

Finally, have students write a sentence telling you what they like about Tacky:

Writing Prompt: I like Tacky because...

Here is another cute idea from Live, Laugh, Love Kindergarten: Tacky Penguin Craftivity

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Thursday, March 3, 2016

Friendship Behaviors with The Recess Queen

The Recess Queen is a great book to use to talk about friendship behaviors. If you don't have this book you should definitely consider adding it to your resources. There are a ton of great lesson ideas on TPT. I have made connections to my favorite FREE ones below.

Mean Jean dominates the playground. Everyone is afraid of Mean Jean. "Nobody swung until Mean Jean swung. Nobody kicked until Mean Jean kicked. Nobody bounced until Mean Jean bounced." Mean Jean is scary and and nobody plays with her. But when Katie Sue, a teeny girl, moves in she changes everything. Mean Jean stops yelling and bossing and pushing and bullying and learns to play with the other kids. You can purchase The Recess Queen HERE.

Free Connections: All of these resources are FREE on TPT:

The Recess Queen Chit Chat Cards

The Recess Queen

The Recess Queen - Reading Response

Mean Jean the Recess Queen Character Traits

I also purchased this Craftivity ($4.00)

The Recess Queen

Making Friends Is An ART!

Sportsmanship

Goodbye Bully Machine, Hello Kindness!

Juice Box Bully...Empowering Kids to Stand Up For Others

A Bug and a Wish (conflict resolution and problem solving)

Spreading Rumors

Pink Tiara Cookies for Three-A lesson on Friendship

Bullying

Enemy Pie (Friendship)

Kindness Counts and The Potato Chip Champ

Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon

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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Being Yourself (Self-Acceptance)

I wasn't kidding when I said I was focused on self-acceptance this week! If you missed my other posts about self-acceptance you can check them out HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. Today I am showcasing several books that I use to teach lessons on self-acceptance.

The Colors of the Rainbow:

Just like the colors of a rainbow, each of us is unique! Kids are encouraged to celebrate their differences. This is also a great book to teach diversity! You can purchase it HERE.

Lesson Connection:

Rainbow Of Friends: Celebrate Differences

Carla's Sandwich

This book encourages children to embrace their individuality, no matter what others think.You can Purchase Carla's Sandwich HERE.

Carla's Sandwich Connections:

I host a "Weird Sandwich Party" each year. The kids love it! You can get ideas HERE.

Strategy Sandwiches

Sandwich Self-Esteem Notebook

Odd Velvet

Velvet's classmates think she is odd but by the end of the story they find out that her differences are what make her so much fun! You can purchase this book HERE.

Odd Velvet Connections:

Odd Velvet Back to School Social Skill Activities and Discussion Questions :($1.75)

Lesson Idea

Discussion Questions

Promoting Character with Pride

Bulletin Board Idea (found on Pinterest...source unknown)

Zoe The Misfit

Zoe is a green triangle stuck in a world of red circles. Zoe has a hard time fitting in with the others because she is different. This is a great book for teaching students to be themselves even if they are different than others. It is a great reminder that everyone has something unique about them. You can purchase Zoe The Misfit HERE.

Hey, You're Great!
This book is great for students in grades 4-8. The story is fun and talks about the silliness that comes from trying to be just like others.

You can Purchase Hey, You're Great HERE.
Product Details

Lesson Connection:

whattheteacherwants.blogspot.com created an awesome lesson to go along with this book and it's FREE!

You can find another lesson idea HERE.
"Painted"-Social Skills poem and questions - self esteem, self respect

Social Skills poem and questions - self esteem, self respect

Monday, October 5, 2015

A Bad Case of Stripes

A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon, is a story about a girl who is embarrassed to let her friends know that she likes lima beans. She doesn't want to stand out as being different. This is a great story about self-acceptance and uniqueness. The story teaches several lessons: it is okay to be different; you should be proud of yourself; stay true to who you are; don't worry about what other people may think. There are hundreds of blog posts, lesson plans and ideas out there for this book. I am proving "connections" to the ones that are most relevant to school counseling. You can purchase this book HERE.

Reader's Guide and Activities

How I use this book: I take a photo of each child and upload it to ipiccy.com. I then use the "pencil sketch effect" to turn each picture into a coloring page. I have students give themselves a "bad case of the stripes". They can also do polka dots or any other design. They then complete an "i'm unique" activity found on TPT. Here is a picture of my daughter with a bad case of stripes using ipiccy.com. These picture would also make a great bulletin board display.

I use these discussion questions:
Why wouldn't Camilla eat lima beans?
How can we tell that Camilla was worried about fitting in?
Why was Camilla relieved that she didn't have to go to school?
How does Camilla feel when the students laugh at her?
Would you consider this bullying? Why or Why not?
Why did the old lady give Camilla lima beans?
Did Camilla continue to care what the other kids thought of her? Why or Why not?
Have you ever been afraid that people will laugh at you?
Are there things that you like that your friends don't like?
What is more embarrassing, having stripes or admitting that you like lima beans?
What makes you unique?

A discussion on feelings, a freebie and an adorable bulletin board can be found at http://theimaginationnook.blogspot.com