Prepare to DISQUS!

I just added a new commenting platform to School Counselor Blog called Disqus.

I think Disqus will vastly improve the way people interact with School Counselor Blog.  The biggest change and the thing I am most excited about is now you can share pictures and videos in the comment section! I have been wanting to host contests on my blog where people upload a picture to enter, and now I have that option!

I am working on some future posts based on your School Counselor Blog Facebook Page feedback! I plan to write a post about National School Counseling Week ideas and ideas for pumping students up for state testing.  So, now you will be able to share pictures of what you are doing on School Counselor Blog as well as Facebook or instead of Facebook if you do not use Facebook.

I encourage you to try out the new comment section! Leave me a message on this post and let me know how you like the new commenting platform! If you are feeling inclined you can upload a picture or a video! I would love to see how it works.

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, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

My Current School Counseling Office "Show and Tell"

On the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page we are sharing pictures of our School Counseling Offices in the School Counselor Blog School Counseling Office "Show and Tell!"

If you are a regular School Counselor Blog reader, you probably know I used to have a small classroom as an office. It was an amazing space and I was able to do so much with it.

I now have a much smaller office in a suite with the other school counselor I work with and the school social worker. I have had to be creative with my space since I downsized. It is still hard to fit everything it... but I am beginning to adjust.

This is a view of the door leading into my office. I have my career area right beside the door. I also have applications for 8th graders to apply for 9th grade programs. 

Here is a view of my desk and the far right side of my office from the door. I used clear storage containers to put lots of materials and supplies in them. I used construction paper and my crayola slick stix to make the labels on the drawers.

 Here is another view of my desk area and the far right side of my office. It is a little hard to see, but I can't push my chair in the whole way because I have books and binders under the desk where feet should go. I love the banner that says "Children need to be seen, heard, and believed." My intern last spring designed it for me as a gift (from VistaPrint)! 

 Here is a view of the left and back corner of my office. I maximize every ounce of space! I use window coverings, window sills, etc to display student work and resources.  You can see my "Kid Drawn Emotions" feeling posters on the wall. On the curtain there are mini goal mountains girls in one of my groups made.

This is a view of the left side of my office. I purchased chairs for the table because the chairs that were provided for me took up to much room. I was able to get ottomans at Target that have storage in them that I use for seats for one side of the table.  The other side of the table has folding chairs that I purchased. I keep an extra folding chair behind the door. There is a good shot of my "Feeling Puzzled" bulletin board and my "Where's Mrs. Schultz?" sign!

I would love to hear your comments and ideas about my office! I would also love for you to share a picture of yours on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page! 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, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

School Counselor Office "Show and Tell"

I had a meeting with local school counselors today.  We were talking about our school counseling offices... I would love for us to do a "Show and Tell" of our school counseling offices!

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take a picture (or a few!) of your school counseling office. Then, upload the picture on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page. In the comment section of your picture, you can give a description of your office,  what grades you serve, some of your favorite (or least favorite) things about it, and anything else you want to share!

Let the School Counseling Office Posting begin! 

If you don't have a Facebook account, you can share your office pictures on Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+ too! (If you don't have any of those and would still like to share, email me at danielle@schcounselor.com).

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, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

Pining Over Pinterest!

I have a new favorite way of finding School Counseling ideas...

PINTEREST!

Some of you may know about Pinterest already... and maybe you are as addicted as I am... but did you know you can use Pinterest as a school counselor to find, organize, and share ideas?!

The best way to describe Pinterest is a virtual cork-board where you can keep track of all of the cool ideas and inspiration you find. Pinterest allows you to organize your inspiration by "pinning" things you like on to boards you create. Pinterest is currently invite only, but it only take a day or two to get an account once you request an invite!

Within Pinterest if you find an idea you like, you can "re-pin" it to one of your boards. If you find inspiration when you are surfing the web outside of Pinterest, you can download a
"pin it button" for your web browser that allows you to "pin" to your Pinterest boards!

There are many things I love about Pinterest.  It is very visual. I love seeing pictures of ideas. Just looking through pictures can be inspirational. Even if the item isn't about School Counseling I am sometimes inspired!

I also love that most "pins" are not just pictures. Many pins will take you to the original website including a description of the idea, a how to, or a post of some kind.

Source: schoolcounselorscrapbook.blogspot.com via Tabitha on Pinterest

A fellow school counselor and Pinterest addict, Tabitha, recently wrote a post on her blog, Scrapbook of a School Counselor, about ways she is using Pinterest as a school counselor! More proof that you need to join Pinterest! :)

Tabitha also mentioned a Beginners Guide to Pinterest from Mashable in her post if you are still feeling lost!




I have been working on "pinning" all of my posts from School Counselor Blog onto a School Counselor Blog Board. Here is a screen shot below of what a board looks like.  You can follow the board here, or you can follow my full profile here.  You can also pick specific boards to follow or just re-pin certain items you find interesting.

By pinning my posts, you not only get to see the picture, but you will be linked back to the original post when you click on it.

Here are some of my favorite School Counselor Blog Ideas I pinned:

Source: schcounselor.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: schcounselor.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: schcounselor.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: schcounselor.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Source: schcounselor.com via Danielle on Pinterest

Here are some School Counseling Ideas I pinned recently:

I love the idea of doing something like this for "No Name Calling Week."

Source: thegirlwhokeepsdreaming.tumblr.com via Danielle on Pinterest

This mural is just awesome! I would love to do something like this at my school.
I especially love that it is hands!

Source: flickr.com via Danielle on Pinterest

I am thinking of using this somehow for National School Counseling Week. I am not sure what I want to do yet, but the official theme is "School Counselors: Helping Students Be Brilliant." This year is ASCA's Diamond Anniversary, so I was thinking of using a play on words with "rock" meaning diamond... still thinking about it though :)

Source: cookingwiths.blogspot.com via Danielle on Pinterest

I am loving using Pinterest to keep track of ideas both personally and professionally!

For more ideas and inspiration follow my Pinterest boards!

Are you on Pinterest? How are you using Pinterest as a School Counselor? What cool ideas have you found? 

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, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.

#SCCHAT Transcript (January 3, 2012)

The First School Counselor Tweet Chat of the New Year was held on January 3, 2012 at 8pmEST!

We chatted about school counseling New Years resolutions and goals. We also chatted about ideas for celebrating National School Counseling Week!

School Counselors shared tons of great ideas and resources, including ideas for parent involvement and starting a Career Cafe at your school! Check out the full chat transcript!

To access all of the tweets with the hashtag #scchat, click here.

The next School Counselor Tweet Chat is on February 7th at 8pmEST. We will be chatting about Tech Savvy School Counselor Essentials!

View the 2012 School Counselor Tweet Chat schedule and transcripts here.

For information on how to participate in a future School Counselor Tweet Chat, click here!

Click here for transcripts of the 2011 School Counselor Tweet Chats.

School Counselor Tweet Chat is a collaboration between School Counselor Blog and SCOPE.

Did you participate in the School Counselor Tweet Chat? What did you think about it? What new ideas did you learn? Comment below or share via twitter #scchat!

Erin Mason is a former Middle School Counselor, now Counselor Educator who manages SCOPE, a group blog dedicated to chronicling the positive impact of School Counseling professionals. Connect with Erin via email, follow her on Twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the SCOPE 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, follow her on twitter, add her on LinkedIn or Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.