Positive Post-it Day

My 5th grade students just finished celebrating Positive Post-it Day.  If you haven't heard of Positive Post-it Day you can read about the student who created it HERE.  You can also watch the YouTube video HERE.  I plan to have a school-wide postive post-it day next year but started with the fifth graders this year.  

Positive Post-it Day can be done with any grade level.  The Kindergarten Smorgasboard shared here lesson HERE.

My Lesson:

1.  Give each student a class roster (or write each student's name on the board).

2. Give each student a pack of post-it notes.

3.  Have students write a positive message on each note.  I asked students to write messages that would be meaningful to each specific student so we did include names in the messages.

4.  Allow students to place post it notes on lockers.

5.  Give students time to return to their own locker to read the messages their classmates wrote to them.

6.  Students leave their post-it notes on their lockers until the end of the school day when they can remove them and take them home with them.

I had a lot of positive feedback after this lesson.  Some of the students were really surprised by their classmates comments:)

The Energy Bus for Kids-A Story About Staying Positive And Overcoming Challenges

We are coming back from a 4 day weekend and I'm hearing a lot of grumbling today!  I thought it was the perfect opportunity to introduce The Energy Bus for Kids to some of my students!  The Energy Bus for Kids is a great story for changing a negative attitude.  A great perk of using this book is that there are plenty of free resources that go along with it.  I have downloaded the posters, journal and teaching guide and am so impressed with free materials (links below).  

The Energy Bus for Kids:  The book teaches students how to overcome negativity, bullies and everyday challenges.  The story is about a boy, George, who is having a bad day until his bus driver, Joy, helps him to understand that he has the power to choose his attitude.  George learns to fuel his ride with positive energy and finds that he has the strength to overcome challenges that come  his way.  He also learns that he can pass this positive energy on to others.  I love this story but I will warn you that it is a bit lengthy for little ones.  The message is great for any age but I would definitely break it down into several lessons.  The bullying section of the book is a lesson in itself!  

Some of my favorite themes from this book are:

"If you have a vision, then you also have the power to make it happen."

"If you fuel up with positive energy, you will have the power to overcome challenges and achieve your goals."

"Make sure you keep filling your tank with positive energy."

"When you show kindness to others you attract kindness like a magnet."

Connections:

Go to the book's website, http://www.energybuskids.com/, to download free posters, a free teaching guide and an Energy Bus Journal!

Free Teaching Guide-Lesson Plans and Activities

Energy Bus Journal

Guidance Curriculum:  Ideas for 9 lessons using this book! (shared by Leslie Avery and Leslie Johnson)

Energy Bus-One Word

Energy Bus Discussion Guide-This is for the adult version of the book but I thought it was worth sharing as some of the questions would be great for Junior High/High School students. (The adult version of The Energy Bus can be purchased HERE)

Interactive Bulletin Board Idea shared by Whats "App"ening Wesleyan?

Door Decorating Idea shared by Happy School Counselor

Purchase The Energy Bus for Kids HERE.

Mindfulness Monday (coloring)

One of the purposes of teaching mindfulness to students is to enhance focus on the here and the now. One way to to do this is through the use of coloring books. Coloring books aren't just for fun and they aren't just for kids.  I even ordered some adult coloring books as Christmas gifts for my own family members.  These coloring books are designed specifically with mindfulness in mind.  There are books with all different themes: forests, cities, oceans, mandalas, etc...  These coloring pages are designed to enhance concentration and calmness and the pictures help to bring the student to a relaxed, focused, peaceful state.  The finished result could be framed and displayed which would be great for enhancing self-esteem.

Mindfulness Coloring Book Connections:

Mindfulness Coloring Book for Children: A Fantastic Introduction to Mindfulness for Children

My First Mandalas Coloring Book

The Mindfulness Coloring Book: Anti-Stress Art Therapy for Busy People

Color Me Mindful: Underwater

Really Relaxing Colouring Book 11: Wild About ANIMALS (Really RELAXING Colouring Books)

The Art of Mindfulness: Peace and Calm Coloring

The Art of Mindfulness: Happy and Energized Coloring

The Art of Mindfulness: Relaxed and Focused Coloring

Related Posts:

Mindfulness Monday (Anger)

Mindfulness Monday (Pebble Breathing)

Mindfulness Monday (glitter jar)

Mindfulness Monday (It's Hard To Be A VERB!)

Mindfulness Monday (Test Anxiety)

Mindfulness Monday (Breathing Ball)

Mindfulness Monday

ONE (bullying and bystanders)

I odered the books ONE and Zero a few months back and finally got around to using ONE of them. I had heard a lot about these books but I was still pleasantly surprised with the powerful message behind ONE.  If you don't already have this book in your counseling library I would definitely recommend it!  ONE has a great message of inclusion, empowerment, and tolerance.  This book does a great job of teaching elementary students the power of ONE person.  In the story, Blue is the quiet, passive color who is bullied by hot headed Red.  The other colors are bystanders, who don't like the way Red it treating Blue, but don't stand up for him.  Every time Red bullies Blue and no ONE speaks up, Red grows larger and more powerful.  Finally, the number ONE stands up to Red and teaches all of the colors that everyone counts.

You can purchase ONE HERE.

You can find three different lessons to go along with ONE at welcomingschools.org.  You can find discussion questions to go along with ONE and ZERO HERE and worksheets to supplement the story HERE. There is also a fun demonstration using food coloring HERE.

Everyone Counts Pop-Up Craft by http://readandcreate.co.uk/

Worksheet

Watercolor Activity Page

ONE Lesson and Bulletin Board by Jyjoyner counselor

Being an Upstander

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Mindfulness Monday (Test Anxiety)

I recently started an anti test-anxiety group based on the book The Anti Test-Anxiety Society by Julia Cook.  I am running this group with a group of 3rd graders as well as with a group of 5th graders.  The group will meet once a week for 5 weeks and we will be incorporating mindfulness and mindset into these lessons.  I have connected you to everything that you need to conduct this group, starting with the book that I am using:

The Anti Test-Anxiety Society

Description from Julia Cook's Website:  

Betha Billinsworth (BB for short) is basically a happy person until she has to take a test.  To her, the word test stands for Terrible Every Single Time, because that's how she does on them, TERRIBLE!  

"Whenever I see or hear the word test,

The hair on the back of my neck stands up.

My face turns as red as a beet.

I start to sweat, my stomach aches, and I can't control my feet!

What if I get every answer wrong?

And I don't get any right.

I just know I'll get a bad grade on this test, so I don't even want to try!"

BB's teacher comes to the rescue by inviting her to become a member of the Anti-Test Anxiety Society.  She tells BB that TEST stands for Think Each Situation Through!

She also ends up teaching BB the Dynamic Dozen (12 amazing test taking strategies), and convinces her to use her "GET To" brain instead of her HAVE TO' brain.

Now when BB takes a test, she is calm and focused and thanks to her teacher, the Terrible now stands for Terrific. You can purchase The Anti Test-Anxiety Society HERE.

Outline of Group Sessions:

Session 1:  

Students complete a test-anxiety assessment.  You could use either one of these:

Test Anxiety Assessment

Test Anxiety Assessment

I then read pages 3-15 in Julia Cook's The Anti-Test Anxiety Society and have a discussion about Warning Signs.  I use the second step program with grades k-2 so we applied information from the Second Step Emotional Management lessons.  We wrote BB's warning s signs on the board and talked about how your brain has trouble thinking when feelings are strong.   I then  had students complete Mindset Worksheets.  For some reason I am having a hard time getting the picture to turn...the cloud worksheet says; Instead of saying..."Terrible Every Single Time" and the sun worksheet says; Try Saying... "Think Each Situation Through".  These quotes come directly from The Anti-Test Anxiety Society.   I use mindset with all of my students in their classroom lessons so I didn't need to introduce this concept to them.  You can get the pictured worksheets for Free on TPT.  If you don't already cover mindset and warning signs in classroom lessons you may want to break this session into two sessions; one covering warning signs and how strong feelings make it difficult to think and the other session talking about mindset.  You can find some mindset materials HERE.

Session 2: 

During session 2 I read the rest of Anti-Test Anxiety Society.  We talk about how the brain works and we go over the mindfulness poster that comes with the MindUp Curriculum.  We talks about our mindfulness posters from the week before and then discuss using the GET TO part of your brain verses the HAVE To part of the brain (pages 16-17 in The Anti-Test Anxiety Society).  We review the warning signs from the previous lesson and begin a discussion on how strong feelings prevent the thinking part of the brain from working and allow the feeling part to take control. (Hand visual from Second Step).  These are some good resources that are FREE on TPT:

Reducing Test Anxiety Freebie on TPT

Test Strategies: Stop the Anxiety

Hand Visual-Flipping your Lid

Session 3:  

We review the information from sessions 1 and 2 and then focus on the "Dynamic Dozen" from Anti-Test Anxiety Society.  This is a list of 12 simple things that will lesson test anxiety.  I then have students create this foldable.  I changed mine to read T.E.S.T. on the outside ( Think Each Solution Through) and then I had students put the 12 tips from the "Dynamic Dozen" on the inside.  They did 3 tips per door.

Test Taking Tips Foldable "RELAX"

Session 4:

Session 4 is spent practicing tip # 6 (Stay relaxed).  We review our warning signs and then brainstorm ways to relax.  I use some of the strategies from Wilma Jean The Worry Machine, another book by Julia Cook, in the lesson as well as strategies from A 5 could make me lose control.  We practice the following techniques:

Breathing using the "Breathing Ball"

Visualization-Special Place

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Positive Self-Talk

Session 5:

We review the materials from previous weeks.  We discuss warning signs and each student reads the 12 tips from their foldable.  We then practice our "calming-down" strategies.  At the end of Session 5 I handed out notes of encouragement:

Notes of Encouragement for Test Takers FREEBIE

More Connections:

Test Taking Tips Freebie on TPT

7 Proven Strategies to Reduce Anxiety at School and at Home

Parent Handout-Test Anxiety

Parent Handout

Teens Health:  Test Anxiety Info

Test Anxiety Booklet

Mindset

The Big Test

Outsmart Test Anxiety-Workbook for kids

Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety: A Workbook for Overcoming Anxiety

Purchase The Anti Test-Anxiety Society HERE.

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Counseling Vidoes

I often use movies or movie clips s to reinforce my counseling lessons.  Here are some of my favorites:

  

  Natural High:  Natural High is a nonprofit organization that spreads a message that it's cooler to say yes to a natural high and no to drugs.  Natural High captures the stories of role models-word renowned athletes, celebrities, artists and musicians who believe in a drug-free lifestyle-and create captivating videos and research based curricula for educators and parents, completely free of charge.

Auto B Good:  I use these videos with my 2nd graders.  Auto-B-Good is a character development series featuring animated vehicles, each with his or her own personality.

Berenstain Bears DVD's:  I use these videos with k-1 students.  Each DVD has several episodes and each one teaches a lesson/moral/value of some sort.  

Veggie Tales:  These are great videos to use with k-2 students.  These are the educational series and are not religious.  Each tale teaches a valuable lesson.  Larry Boy and the Fib From Outer Space is my favorite of the bunch and teaches about honesty and lying.  Are You My Neighbor? is about respecting each other even though we all have our differences.  The Story of Flibber-o-loo is about empathy and compassion.  Each of these videos has a downloadable discussion guide and coloring sheet as well.  

The next series of videos are the videos that I use when teaching careers to middle school students.  The Careers Video Tour needs to be updated so I'm not sure that I would recommend it.   The other three videos are great!  My favorite is From Sports to Career.  I also like the Major Decision Career Series from New Dimensions.

The Wumblers is another series that I use.  I use these videos in small group or individual sessions.  The Wumblers devote each lesson to making the world a better place. 

Other Movies that I have used during counseling sessions:
Inside Out:  Check out the Helpful Counselor's post:  20+ counseling themes found in Inside Out
The Lorax:  Citizenship/Perseverance
Monster University:  Career and College Readiness.  Check out http://monstersuniversity.com/edu/  as well.  It is made to look like an actual college webpage and there are a few activities.
Mean Girls:  Relational Aggression (I only use clips from this video as there are parts of the video that are not age appropriate)
Odd Girl Out:  Relational Aggression (I only use clips from this video as well)
X-Men:  First Class-Self-Esteem (I only use clips from this video.  You can find a lesson from Elementary School Counseling using X-Men: First Class HERE.)
Buddy Learns to Listen:  Listening grades k-2
Buddy Learns to Play Fair:  Sportsmanship/Fairness grades k-2
Buddy Learns from his Mistakes:  Consequences of a Poor Attitude grades k-2
You can also visit Elementary School Counseling's Amazon Store for some great movies!  Make sure you check out her blog as well!

The Helpful Counselor also posted about counseling themes found in Star Wars:  The Force Awakens

If you are a high school counselor make sure you check out this list of lifetime movies.  There are discussion guides and resources that go along with them!

The Pioneer Woman blogged about must see movies for counselors when her own daughter was pursuing a counseling degree.  There are some great recommendations in this list!

Amazon Prime is currently offering a 30-day FREE trial of Amazon Prime!   With Amazon Prime, you get unlimited, instant streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows.  In addition, your free trial will give you access to free 2-day shipping and other Amazon Prime benefits.  You won't be charged anything for your free trial as long as you cancel it before the 30 days is up.  If you choose to keep your membership you will automatically be upgraded to a paid prime membership at the end of the free trial.  Th is a great opportunity to check out some movies for free!

*To cancel your free membership you will need to do the following:

1.  Go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/primecentral.
2.  Click Do not continue.
   • Note: If you don't cancel your Amazon Prime free trial, you will be automatically upgraded to a paid membership plan at the end of the trial period. You can find this date listed on the left-hand side of the Manage Your Prime Membership page. You will still have access to your Prime benefits until this date.

Good Bye Bully Machine, Hello Kindness!

My fifth graders just finished their bullying unit using the book Goodbye Bully Machine! 

Description from Amazon:  Kids learn what bullying is, why it hurts, and what they can do to end it with this fresh, compelling book.  The unique format of Good-Bye Bully Machine helps kids understands the definition and impact of bullying by comparing git to a mean machine-the bully machine.  Kids can see how bullying makes the machine grow more imposing, while kind behaviors dismantle it.  Through the machine, kids gain awareness of their roll in bullying, whether they are targets, bullies, bystanders--or all three.  The role of the bystander is especially important.  Good-Bye Bully Machine helps kids see the power of the bystander to becoming an ally, which means learning how to show empathy, engage in kind acts, and take a stand against bullying.  It's a perfect way to engage reluctant readers and hard to reach kids.    

 This book does a great job at explaining the different types of bullying as well as the feelings that the victims of bullying feel.  We used the free reader's guide and worked on this unit for 8 weeks.  You can download the reader's guide here.   You can purchase the book here.  Here is the breakdown of our lessons:

Lesson 1:  Read Goodbye Bully Machine!

Use the discussion questions on pages 4-9 in the Reader's Guide to lead a group discussion.  We discussed the questions as we went through the book verses saving all of the questions till the end.

Lesson 2:  Make Bully Machine Collages

You can find this activity in pages 12-14 of the Reader's Guide.  Here are some examples:

Lesson 3:  Our Classroom is A Place Where...

You can find this activity on pages 15-17 of the Reader's Guide.  Directions for leading this activity are on page 11.

Lesson 4: Class discussion on the perspectives of the bully, the victim and the bystander.  This group read the Weird Series last year as fourth graders so we referred back to the main characters in Weird, Dare, and Tough. I first did my Good Bye Bully Machine lesson two years ago and really wanted to build on it.  As I was looking for ideas I came across the school counseling by heart blog.  She also used the weird series as party of her Bully Machine unit so I am sharing a link to that as well.   You can find her blog HERE.

Lesson 5:  Class discussion on I messages.  "I-Message" worksheets (found in the Reader's Guide on pages 18-19)

Example Lesson

YouTube Video

You Tube Video

You Tube Video

Lesson 6:  Bully Book Review

I divided the class into small groups and assigned each group a book about bullying.  The students were given this worksheet from school counseling by heart's blog to complete.  These are the books that I assigned them:  Mookey the Monkey Gets Over Being Teased, Bully B.E.A.N.S., Tease Monster, Alley Oops, My Secret Bully, Just Kidding, Nobody.  

Lesson 7:  Bully Book Review Continued

I had students return to their groups from the week before and gave them time to finish their book review worksheet.  They also had time to create a poster about their book

Lesson 8:  Students Presented their Bully Book Review Book Reports

Bulletin Board/Hallway Display:  We used the "Our Classroom is a Place Where..." lesson from the activity guide to create our bulletin board.  We cut out the different sayings on pages 15-17 and pasted them to the display.  

You can purchase Goodbye Bully Machine! HERE.

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Friday Freebies (Impulse Control)

A Collection of Anger Management/Impulse Control Activities & Lesson Plans (PreK-3rd grade)

Power Point to teach kids about impulse control

TPT: Impulse Control Activity

TPT: Under Control Activity: Stop and Think

Stop and Think Posters

Under Control Activity

TPT: Talking Tickets

Self-Control Bubbles

Anxiety Group (3rd-6th grade)

Session 1:  Begin with introductions, purpose of the group, group rules, and a get-to-know-you game. I usually do the M&M or Skittles Game.

Session 2:   A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control is then used to identify stressful situations.  Students spend time sorting through word/picture cards and rating the stress level associated with that particular situation/place/object.  For example, a student may take the cafeteria card and rate it as a 5. This tells you that the student views the cafeteria as a highly stressful environment.    (Newer version: A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control).

Session 3:  When my Worries Get Too Big! is a great follow up to  A 5 Could Make Me Lose Control!   This book offers strategies for dealing with the stressors that were rated in the 3-5 range. We begin the lesson by reading the book together.  This book is interactive in that it asks students to talk about things that they are good at, things that make them feel relaxed and finally, things that make them anxious.  The book gives an example of a calming-down sequence and strategies to reduce anxiety.

Session 4:  Review When My Worries Get Too Big!  Review calming down strategies listed in the book.  Students then create index cards with calming down strategies.  You can find some great free ones HERE or HERE.

Session 5:  Review the calming down sequence used in  When My Worries Get Too Big! Each student creates their own calming down sequence.

Session 6:   Create a plan! I love  these books on TPT!  Take all of the information gathered from the previous sessions and put it together to create a plan for managing anxiety.

Sessions 7-8:  Check-in with students/review calming down strategy plan, strategies and calming-down sequence.

Simon's Hook: Dealing with Teasing

Simon's Hook is a fantastic story about teases and put-downs.  Students learn several different ways to respond to teasing.  I use this book with my 3rd grade students during their classroom lessons.

Simon's Hook description from Amazon:  Simon is having a bad day; a bad hair day.   First his sister gives him a strange hair cut, then his friends tease him. Simon doesn't know what to do.  Lucky for him he runs into Grandma Rose.  After listening to his sorrowful story she helps him learn an important life lesson; how to handle teases and put downs.  By comparing teases to fishing hooks she tells him a tale of how fish learned not to bite.  With fanciful characters such as Harmony Hippy Fish, Freddie Fang, Max the Mouse Fish and more, Simon learns that he, too, can swim free from the teasing hooks that people toss his way.  

I love these posters, bookmarks and lanyards HERE.

Lesson Connections:

Responding to Teasing and Putdowns (This is my favorite lesson)

Lesson Plan from The Inspired Counselor

Paper Fish Strategies from The Crafty Counselor

Beware of Bait Game Idea

Craft Idea...Have students write a strategy on the fish!

Simon's Hook Activities

Lesson Plan Outline

Story: The Smart Fish (don't take the bait)

Bulletin Board Idea

Online Quiz and Diploma

Here is an idea for centers.  If you know the original source please share.  I can only find this picture and it doesn't link to anything.  

TPT:  Self Esteem Activity: Put Ups and Put Downs (FREE)

TPT:  Free Classroom Poster

TPT:  Activities to teach students how to respond to teasing

TPT:  Don't Bite the Bait: Responding to Teasing and Put-Downs


You Can Purchase Simon's Hook HERE.


Personal/Social Development ASCA National Standards: 
Standard A: Students will acquire the knowledge, attitudes and interpersonal skills to help them understand and respect self and others. 
PS:A1.6 Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate behavior 
PS:A1.8 Understand the need for self-control and how to practice it 
PS:A1.9 Demonstrate cooperative behavior in groups 
PS:A2 Acquire Interpersonal Skills
PS:A2.2 Respect alternative points of view 
PS:A2.6 Use effective communications skills 
PS:A2.7 Know that communication involves speaking, listening and nonverbal behavior 

Standard B: Students will make decisions, set goals and take necessary action to achieve goals. 
PS:B1.1 Use a decision-making and problem-solving model 
PS:B1.2 Understand consequences of decisions and choices 
PS:B1.3 Identify alternative solutions to a problem 
PS:B1.4 Develop effective coping skills for dealing with problems
PS:B1.5 Demonstrate when, where and how to seek help for solving problems and making decisions 
PS:B1.6 Know how to apply conflict resolution skills 


Standard C: Students will understand safety and survival skills. 
PS:C1.5 Differentiate between situations requiring peer support and situations requiring adult professional help 
PS:C1.7 Apply effective problem-solving and decision-making skills to make safe and healthy choices