School Counselor Blog

Marissa Rex at   ElementarySchoolCounseling.org   is hosting the  School Counseling Linky Party   to highlight the best of school counseling blogs for 2012!  I think this is a super fun way to reflect on 2012 and get excited about blogging for 2013!   I am soooo excited to participate in the  School Counseling Linky Party 2013  especially because I have never participated in a Link Party!   My favorite feature of School Counselor Blog is School Counselor Spotlight .  I actually started  School Counselor Spotlight in 2012! I wanted to come up with a way to showcase other school counselor's ideas with the School Counselor Blog audience.  Seven school counselors have been spotlighted so far, including school counselor bloggers such as Andrea Burston from JYJOYNER Counselor ,  Barbara Gruener from The Corner on Character , and  Marissa Rex from ElementarySchoolCounseling.org .  I am always taki...

I hope you all have a wonderful winter break filled with family, friends, and relaxation! I am excited to spend time with my family and friends!  I am also looking forward to reading lots of books over break (non-academic ones!). How are you spending your winter break?  Comment below,  tweet ,  contact Danielle , or 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. Connect with Danielle via  email ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest ,  LinkedIn ,  Google+ , and become a fan of the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page .

Many people are wondering how they can give back or do something to honor the lives lost in the tragic Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. Below I compiled some resources with ideas of how to support Sandy Hook.  A Blizzard of Love from Corner on Character  Source: corneroncharacter.blogspot.com via Danielle Schultz on Pinterest How to Help Sandy Hook from Really Good Stuff Source: blog.reallygoodstuff.com via Danielle Schultz on Pinterest Sandy Hook School Tragedy - How to Help from  Fairfield County Community Foundation Source: fccfoundation.org via Danielle Schultz on Pinterest #26Acts of Kindness You Can Do Right Now from Today Source: todaynews.today.com via Danielle Schultz on Pinterest Have you done anything at your school or personally to support Sandy Hook? Share your ideas below! Comment below,  tweet ,  contact Danielle , or share on the  School Counselor Blog Fac...

Need a last minute gift for a School Counselor on your list? Buy a School Counselor Blog Store gift certificate! School Counselor Blog Store  gift certificates are vailable in amounts from $5 to $1,000! ;) You can print the gift certificate or have it sent via email! You can even schedule when you want it to be sent! School Counselor Blog Store gift certificates make great gifts for school counseling graduate students, interns, new school counselors, school counseling supervisors, and any other school counselor in your life! Gift certificates are great for all occasions including holidays, birthdays, graduations, the end of an internship, a new job, or just because! Comment below,  tweet ,  contact Danielle , or 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 idea...

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog ! In my latest post,  The Most Wonderful (Stressful) Time of the Year ,  I share advice on how to manage stress during the holiday season.   How do you manage stress this time of year? Please share your comments and ideas in the comment section of my post! I started writing for  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog  in April of 2012. Check out the  Counselor's Corner  for more Free Spirit Publishing Blog Posts by me! I love  Free Spirit's books  and I am so excited to contribute to  Free Spirit's Blog , "a springboard of ideas for teachers, counselors, and anyone who cares about kids!" Comment below,  tweet ,  contact Danielle , or 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 ...

I have compiled a list of books that you can share with elementary school aged children after a tragedy.  My hope is that these suggestions will support you in your efforts to help children heal after a tragedy such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. The books on this list do not specify a specific situation and can be used in a variety of different situations. If you know of other books that are good/helpful, please share about them in the comment section.  For more resources visit my post about Tragedy and Disaster Response Resources . A Terrible Thing Happened   by Margaret M. Holmes, Illustrated by Cary Pillo In  A Terrible Thing Happened , Sherman saw a terrible thing happen. He begins feeling sick to his stomach and acting out in school. After talking to a counselor he feels much better.  There is a section at the end for parents and caregivers about talking to children after a tragedy.  The "terrible thing" is never named so...

I cannot begin to imagine the insurmountable grief the community of Sandy Hook Elementary School is experiencing after the horrible school shooting tragedy.  My thoughts and prayers are with the parents, students, school staff, community and those affected by the shootings. As school counselors, we play an integral role in supporting crisis planning and crisis response. The School Counselor Blog Facebook community has come together to share resources related to trauma and crisis response.  I will be adding to this list as I become aware of more resources. Please add resources you know about in the comment section of this post. I urge you when you return to your schools on Monday to review your school crisis plan, whether you are a seasoned school counselor or a school counseling graduate student. If your school does not have a crisis plan assemble a team to make one. If you are a graduate student not yet in a practicum or internship site, start a conversation at your univ...

Puppets can be a fun and interactive way to add excitement into your school counseling program. Marissa Rex , author of Elementary School Counseling Blog , shares how she uses a puppet named Tim to impact her school and community. Adventures with Tim  by Marissa Rex, Ohio blog: www.elementaryschoolcounseling.org Tim is my very good puppet friend. He is a Hiawatha TIM berwolf, just like the rest of us at my school. Tim is from England, so he sometimes needs help learning how things work at Hiawatha, so it is our job to help teach him. I pick one positive school behavior every 3-4 weeks, such as walking quietly in the hallway or keeping your desk clean, and catch students who demonstrate these behaviors. I then email my picture of the students and Tim to the classroom teacher(s) to share. Many teachers use the picture as their desktop background, which is visible to students on the SMARTboard. I also include pictures in my monthly newsletter to staff. Als...

December's #SCCHAT was held on December 4, 2012 at 8pmEST. The topic was Recognize ASCA Model Programs (RAMP) .   Dr. Erin Mason ( @ecmmason ) was the moderator. There was lots of great conversation and questions about the RAMP Process. School Counselors who work in RAMP schools shared information and tips about becoming RAMP. Books and resources were also recommended. This is a great chat to read if you are thinking about RAMP, are in the beginning stages of RAMP or almost ready to apply! Check out the full chat transcript here! To access all of the tweets with the hashtag #scchat,  click here . For transcripts of previous #SCCHATs, schedules for future School Counselor Tweet Chats, and information on how to participate, visit #SCCHAT Info: http://bit.ly/scchat-info . The next School Counselor Tweet Chat is on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 8pmEST. Darrell Sampson ( @CnslrDarrell ) will be moderating the chat about Working with LGBT Students and Families.  D...

The next School Counselor Tweet Chat is Tuesday, December 3, 2012 at 8pmEST! The topic of School Counselor Tweet Chat this month is the  Recognized American School Counselor Association Model Programs (RAMP) .   Dr. Erin Mason  ( @ecmmason ) will be moderating the tweet chat. We will be tweeting about aspects of the RAMP process. I am sure you will get some great ideas if you are currently working towards RAMP, are already in a RAMP school, or want to learn more about what it means to be a RAMP school. Also if you are a school counselor, counselor educator, or school counseling graduate student who uses Twitter, please take this survey . I am helping Dr. Mason with research about how school counselors use Twitter. We look forward to tweeting with you! Join  School Counselor Blog  and  SCOPE  for  #scchat  the first Tuesday of the month @ 8pmEST!  For transcripts of previous #SCCHATs, schedules for future School Counselor...

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog ! In my latest post,  3 Ways to Spread Warmth and Good Cheer to Your School and Community ,  I share ideas of how you can host your own donation drive or benefit from donation drives in your community. I also mention a hats and gloves drive that my aunt's church did for my school. You can read more about that here and get "thank you" idea for organizations that donate to your school !  A few school counselors bloggers have written about how they facilitate holiday donation programs recently. Check out their posts for more ideas and information:  JYJoyner Counselor  -  Planning for Holiday Assistance at Your School Creative Elementary School Counselor  -  A Season of Giving Adventurous School Counselor - The Giving Tree The Corner on Character -  Be a Gift ***If I missed yours please email me or post it in the comment section! :) I started writing for...