School Counselor Blog

Need a purrrfect way to de-stress after state testing? I got you! I literally lived my best life this week when we hosted Therapy Cats from a local therapy pet volunteer organization. It is all part of De-Stress After the Test, a series of stress-free activities to help students unwind and recharge after state testing. Some other activities that we're hosting include:  🧘🏼‍♀️ Yoga 🃏 Cards & Board Games 🐶 Therapy Dogs 😻 Therapy Cats 🎮 Esports 🥳 Dance Party I wrote a whole blog post about how you can implement this at your school. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/scdestress But wait, there’s more! I will be hosting an ASCA Webinar on this topic, May 20th at 11:00am: Promote Self-Care to Your School Community. A f ull registration link is available here: https://members.schoolcounselor.org/event-details?id=ba470317-780a-f011-a4de-6045bd866234 What questions do you have?! Connect with Danielle! If you have questions, connect with me on on  Instagram ,  Faceboo...

The days leading up to winter break can be stressful! To help students and staff cope with the stress of the season, the Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) team at my school is hosting a daily self-care challenge for the 12 days leading up to winter break. Each day, students and staff can take a selfie featuring them doing the daily self-care prompt. Students and staff who submit a self-care selfie, will be entered in the daily prize drawing for that prompt.   The challenge starts on Wednesday, December 7th and continues through Thursday, December 22nd.  I am sharing everything you need to host this challenge at your own school! Students and staff will submit their selfies using a Google Form. I made a template of the form I am using so that you can use it too! You can access it here: TEMPLATE FOR SELF-CARE SELFIE FORM   I created a slideshow on Canva to share the daily prompt with students and staff on the closed circuit TVs. I made a version that you can ...

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog ! In my latest post Mental Health Awareness Month   for Free Spirit Publishing's Blog , I share fun ways you can educate your workers about mental health and wellness. How do you support mental health and wellness at your school? What things do you do to take care of your own mental health and wellness? Please share your comments and ideas in the comment section of my post on the Free Spirit Blog! 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 Certifi...

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 am so excited to host the  School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest , which is 10 days of daily giveaways starting September 1st and ending on September 10th! Today is day six of the  School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest . Today's giveaway for the School Counselor Blog Back to School Contest  is Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future   by Dr. Jean Sunde Peterson from  Free Spirit Publishing . Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them: Ready-to-Use Discussions on Stress, Identity, Feelings, Relationships, Family, and the Future   is a brand new book geared for students in grades 6-12 . I just received a review copy of this book from  Free Spirit Publishing  and I am excited to use it with the students I serve in grades 5-8. Talk with Teens About What Matters to Them   includes 75 guided discussions in six focus areas: ...