Teaching Students About the Brain to Promote Self-Regulation

We use the MindUp curriculum which emphasizes the need for children to learn how their brain works to foster self-regulation. I think this would be a great supplement for grades 4-6.

STEM Resources for Parents

We had a great speaker for parents last night from a local after school STEM program that offers programs to kids 4-14 to encourage STEM skills and careers, called Rosie Riveters. Research shows after school programs are a great way to encourage children in the STEM field but some of our girls don't want to do them because they already have a stereotype that this area is for boys! The organizataion chose the iconic logo because when kids say "I can;t" they respond "Why not?" They want kids to experience failure in a safe setting so they have tools later in life. The speaker shared that their groups with ages 4-7 and 8-10 are easy and lighthearted but the group of 11-14 girls was hard to engage. The older girls avoid engagement and showed lots less confidence. Other resources parents can use at home are https://talkingmathwithkids.com/  https://babbledabbledo.com/ http://www.science-sparks.com/ These sites give parents suggestions for how to make math, science, and engineering fun for kids at home. Another resource is this article offers great suggestions for science toys (geared to girls) http://www.amightygirl.com/b 

Scardies Away!

When working with anxious children it is critical to collaborate with staff and parents so that tools taught in counseling are used across settings. The book Scardies Away! by Fiorile and McDonagh teaches "Magic Finger Countdown" as a strategy that can help a child cope with anxiety and panic in all settings. It can be used with any age student. The authors also have a blog that offers suggestions about anxiety. I really like their post about identifying buffers that strengthen resiliency and encouraging physical buffers. Check out the blog at scarediesaway.com/blog

College and Career Month April is STEMazing

Our school is focusing on college and career exploration this month. We kicked it off today with our monthly college wear day. Throughout the month we will have career speakers come to classes and two grade levels will have special "career days" so students can choose what speaker they want to hear. I am fortunate that my teachers cooperate with the counseling program and understand they have a role in career awareness too. Based on our data, we decided to focus on the STEM Career Cluster and STEM skills this year. Our girls do not score as high as the boys in the upper grades in math and science and many voice a negative attitude about themselves as math learners. We have been able to get STEM speakers but the challenge has been finding females to serve as role models. Our program uses the 6 components of college and career counseling developed by the National Office for School Counselor Advocacy https://8_Components_WEB_111107.pdf

Milton's Secret The Power of Now

I know many counselors are teaching children about mindfulness. It is a great tool for students, especially the 1 in 8 students who are anxious. I use this book in small groups to teach the power of living in the here-and-now. It is a powerful lesson for all of us!

Evidence-Based School Counseling

I was fortunate enough that my PTA helped pay for me to go to the Fourth Annual Evidence-Based School Counseling National Conference last week in Georgia. The EBSC conference provide counselors with critical information about successful practice, evaluation, and relevant research to create dynamic and powerful school counseling programs.  The conference uses a unique format to incorporate both peer-reviewed research presentations and small group consultation with leaders in the field.It was my first time attending this conference even though I had followed it on the web the past few years. I have to say the sessions I went to were some of the best I have ever attended at counseling conventions and conferences in my 30 year career! Check them out yourself at http://EBSCConference/2016_presentations.html Since my return I have shared what I learned with my school psychologist, school counseling practicum student, and district level supervisor of counseling to disseminate some of the handouts to all the counselors in our district. One of my favorite session was led by some dotoral students who had us discuss a case using the Peeling the Onion: Developing a Problem Protocol from the National School Reform Faculty http://www.nsrfharmony.org/free-resources/protocols/a-z We are hoping to use this at our elementary counseling meetings in our district in case consultation. I think the location at the University of GA Conference Center was great and the size of this conference is very manageable.To get the perspective of a high school counselor on the conference go to http://forhighschoollessons-learned-from-evidence-based.html To learn more join Erin Mason for a Twitter Chat on March 8 at #scchat.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss