School Counselor Blog

If you have been shopping recently it is probably not a news flash that the start of school is just around the corner.  It most stores summer items are now on sale. Now is the perfect time to get some items that will make a splash in your school counseling office in the fall and all year round! Pool Noodle When you think of a pool noodle you probably think of a fun way to float around a pool, not school counseling.  I was inspired by seeing an occupational therapist use a pool noodle to make stress relievers.  Creating stress relievers out of a pool noodle is an easy and very affordable way to provide students a way of reducing anxiety and/or fidgeting. Stress relievers are also a great tactile item for students who have anger outbursts. How to video:  How to Make Stress Relievers Using a Pool Noodle Sand Sand is enjoyable and relaxing at the beach and in your school counseling office!  Every since my friend Shelly made me a portable sand tray, it has become

My previous post about 3 Ways to Have a Ball with a Beach Ball All Year Round inspired me to make a video. Play the video below to learn how to create a question ball using a beach ball. What questions would you write on a question ball? What kind of activities would you use a question ball for? Comment below,  tweet , or  contact Danielle , share on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page ! Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at  School Counselor Blog , a place where school counselors share innovative ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources.  Contact Danielle via  email , follow her on  twitter , and become a fan of the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page .

Beach balls are an affordable way to have a ball during individual sessions, group sessions, and classroom lessons! I use beach balls many times throughout the day in my work with students. Here are a few ideas of how you can utilize beach balls in your work with students! Ask a Question My school counselor colleague, Natasha, had this great idea! After seeing many blow-up balls with questions on them in magazines for counselors, she decided to make her own. Manufactured question balls can be expensive when you do not have a large budget. Creating your own question-ball is simple and very budget-friendly! All you need is a beach ball with multiple colors or sections and a permanent marker.  You can write any questions you like on the beach ball.  Students take turns throwing the ball up in the air and catching it. Wherever their thumbs land is the question they answer. The questions in the ball pictured are from the  Seeing Red  book I used for Anger Management groups. The ques

There is a beautiful plaque in the ground by the Public Market in Seattle, WA that says: "I have always known that at last I would take this road. But yesterday I did not know it would be today." - Narithtra The quote speaks to me about having a vision or a feeling of purpose in life. You may not always know exactly where the path may lead you, but when you are there you have a feeling as if it is meant to be. My journey  of becoming a school counselor started when a school counselor visited my introduction to helping services graduate school class as a speaker. Everything he shared about his job directly aligned with my passions. I wanted to be an advocate and support for students, but I also wanted to be a part systematic change.  Being a school counselor was my purpose all along... Seeing this plaque in the ground completed my ASCA Conference experience. It serves as a reminder of the sense of purpose I feel as a school counselor. What does this quote mean

Seattle is a beautiful city! I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend time exploring the city while I was at the  ASCA National Conference . I have made a slideshow of some of the photos I took while I was in Seattle. I'm kind of a nerd... so... I made a point to take pictures of things I remembered seeing on the cover of the conference manual (kind of like my own personal scavenger hunt!) ;) Enjoy! Comment below,  tweet , or  contact Danielle , share on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page ! Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at  School Counselor Blog , a place where school counselors share innovative ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources.  Contact Danielle via  email , follow her on  twitter , and become a fan of the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page .

I arrived early at the "WE SOAR TV: 10 Minutes Makes a Difference" session because I was so excited about attending it.  I wanted to gain ideas about how I could infuse ASCA standards into the morning announcements at school next year. "WE SOAR TV" is a student run television show. Presenters Anaid Shaver, the school counselor and Cheryl Phillips a Instructional Technology Resource Teacher facilitate the program. "WE SOAR" airs live everyday on TVs in the school. Anaid is able to integrate ASCA academic, career, and personal/social standards into the program to reach every student, every day. Since I came early to the session and was invited to be a "host" to demonstrate the program live for the conference audience along with another "host." It was so much fun. We both really got into it. The whole time I was "hosting" I was picturing students at my own school and how much they would LOVE to be the hosts of a televisio

I left the ASCA National Conference in Seattle, WA feeling energized and refreshed (all the coffee I consumed was only partially responsible). My conference experience was a whirlwind of activity... I presented during the pre-conference, attended keynotes, and sessions. I met amazing people and made new connections . The ASCA National Conference is an idea-sharing-extravaganza. Everyone shares with each other, talks about things they have done in their school, and asks about things you have done in your school. I wrote blog entries for the ASCA Scene during the conference: The When is Now and  Connecting .  Be sure to check them out ! The most beneficial sessions were interactive and gave me ideas and tools that I could implement at my own school. I attended lots of sessions but my favorite sessions included creative and fun things you could implement at any school and at any level.  I am going to profile some of my favorite sessions by sharing information about the session an

I created this Prezi to share during the presentation "Using the Internet to Perk Up Your Program" with Julia V. Taylor and Dr. Russell Sabella . We had so much information to share that I didn't get a chance to show this Prezi .  The Prezi is about why you should blog, why I blog, how to get started, and links to add some of the features of School Counselor Blog to your own blog! School Counselor Blog on Prezi Do you have a blog about school counseling? Comment below,  tweet , or  contact Danielle , share on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page ! Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at  School Counselor Blog , a place where school counselors share innovative ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources.  Contact Danielle via  email , follow her on  twitter , and become a fan of the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page .