Helen Lester Book Guides

I have used the Helen Lester books in classroom lessons for many years.  The publisher recently released a free Discussion and Activity Guide on their site hmhbooks.com covering some of my favorites: It Wasn't My Fault, Listen Buddy, Me First, and A Porcupine Named Fluffy.  I have also used her books in small group counseling.

Nature - The Fountain of Life

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the
mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.  John Muir 1901

As part of studying mindfulness I have also been reading about the health benefits of nature for children (and adults).  The NationalWildlife Federation has a very informative slide share on the topic.

Spending time in nature can help prevent and alleviate mental health concerns.  Read this interesting study by beyondblue called "Beyond blue to green: The benefits of contact with nature for mental health and well-being".

Career Video Resource

One thing we are going to share in our Career presentation this week at VSCA is the drkit.org video series arranged by career clusters.  These would be a great back up if a career role model had to cancel at the last minute. I know about 10% of my boys would love to view the professional football player video.

Serving Up an Enticing Menu of Careers Can Be as Easy as Boling Water

I am putting the final touches on the presentation my co-counselor and I will be doing at the VSCA Conference this week.  I am always appreciative of the hard work of our leaders in offering this annual professional development opportunity for over 500 counselors.  We wanted to share the career development portion of our program because we are able to involve most of our teachers in this effort as well as over 50 volunteer career role models who come to talk to our kids about their occupations.  We do primarily class visits in K-2 organized by teachers and Career Cafe in grades 3-5 organized by the counselors. We also teach 2-3 lessons at every grade level on careers.

Terms You Should Know

It is hard for counselors to keep up with the digital world in addition to our schools.  Just the terminology of what happens online changes quickly.  Check out dosomething.org for terms you should know.

Grit

Tweens & Social Media, Yikes vs. Yes! — Guest: Carrie Goldman