School Counselor Blog

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog !  Check out my post  Don't Judge a Cat by His Coat   about using teachable moments to talk to children about prejudice and stereotypes.   This post features my kitty, Perry! 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 ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via  email ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest ,  Linke

On Sunday the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page  reached 4,000 fans! When I first started School Counselor Blog in 2009 I never imagined that I would have the opportunity to connect and share with School Counselors all over the world! It has been an amazing ride and I am so excited to continue it with you! To celebrate reaching 4,000 fans, I am hosting a giveaway on the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page  this week. One lucky winner will receive a FREE Banner of their choice from the School Counselor Blog Store. To enter the giveaway visit the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page  and leave a relevant comment on the contest photo . The giveaway will run from 10/22/12 until 10/28/12 at midnight EST. A winner will be announced on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page  and School Counselor Blog 10/29/12. Congratulations to Shelly! Shelly won a FREE banner of her choice! Shelly, email me or send me a message with your address and which banner you want! To view th

Kayla, a second year counselor at a rural K-5 Elementary school, shared how she uses Lunch Bunches to connect with students she serves. Kayla is able to get to know all of her students and build rapport by meeting students during lunch. Kayla wrote: One goal that I have set for myself this year is to get to know the students in my building better. Besides classroom lessons, groups, and individual counseling, I wanted to create a something where I gave each student the opportunity to meet me, regardless of whether there was a problem or concern. So, after brainstorming I decided to put together a program called Lunch Bunch where students could sign up to have lunch with me in my office one time during the school year. Kayla's Lunch Bunch sign up sheet.   Click on the image to download a PDF Lunch Bunch sign up sheet . Students are bunched into groups of 3-4 and are invited to bring their lunch to my office for a special lunch with me. Each class is assigned to

School Counselors are often in charge of coordinating Red Ribbon Week at their school. Check out the links below for Red Ribbon Week themes/days ideas you can implement at your school. Many of the ideas are easy to implement. Even if you have not started planning for this year's Red Ribbon week (October 23rd - 31st) you could implement some of the ideas below to kick off your Red Ribbon Week. School Counselor Spotlight - Character is Our Super Power - Red Ribbon and Character Counts Theme Career Dress Up Day Dress for Success Day College, University, Military, and Trade School Day College Door Decorating and School Spirit Day Red Ribbon Week Ideas  - Career Theme Bee Drug Free!  - Grocery Store Bag Decorations How do you celebrate Red Ribbon Week at your school? What themes/days ideas have you used? Comment below,  tweet ,  contact Danielle , or share on the  School Counselor Blog Facebook Page ! Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Ce

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog !  Check out my post Three Lessons I Learned as a School Counselor  about things I learned as a beginning school counselor that can be applied to school counseling and beyond.  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 ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via  email ,  Twitter ,  Pinterest ,  LinkedIn ,  Goo

Love the sense of accomplishment you have when crossing things off of your to-do list? Need to set a reminder for your classroom lesson? Want to keep reminders for every aspect of your life all in one place? Whether you are a professional school counselor or a school counseling graduate student, Any.DO  can help you keep track of any and everything you have to do!                          Source: google.com via Dukes on Pinterest Any.DO  is a sleek, easy to use, FREE task management system.                                                                   Source: any.do via Danielle Schultz on Pinterest Any.DO  allows you to create and organize reminders, make to-do lists, share lists, categorize items and much more!  You can download a FREE app for  Any.DO  for your  Android  device,  iPhone , and for  Google Chrome .                                                                 Source:  any.do  via  Danielle Schultz  on  Pinterest If you use t

I don't know about you, but it completely irks me when someone calls me a "guidance" counselor. I could go on and on about how "guidance counselor" is an outdated term and does not encompass everything we do as SCHOOL COUNSELORS such as support the academic, personal/social, and career development needs of students. I created the Some E-cards below as a funny response to the "g"-word dilemma. Click on the images below to share them with your school counselor friends and colleagues. I think this is a fun way to advocate for SCHOOL COUNSELORS. How do you advocate for your role as a SCHOOL COUNSELOR? Do you correct people when they call you a guidance counselor? 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,  c

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog !  Check out my post SMART Back-to-School Goals for Students  about using SMART goal setting.  I give suggestions of goals that you can help students create at the beginning of the school year and beyond.  I also wrote a post for the  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog  about SMART Goals for Counselors and Educators . SMART goal-setting would be a great topic for students of all ages as a classroom lesson or group counseling session.  You could also work with individual students and help them create and track SMART goals. 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 Daniel

Red Ribbon week (October 23 - 31, 2012) and National Character Counts week (October 21 - 27, 2012) overlap this year. Babara from The Corner on Character shared great ideas for a week worth of themes to combine Red Ribbon Week and Character Counts week! Barbara's blog is chalk full of character education ideas, so I was very excited when she submitted this SUPER idea for the School Counselor Spotlight!  Barbara writes: I wanted to share our Red Ribbon/Character Counts Week theme and what we've got planned for a school-home connection. This year our theme is Character Is Our Super Power.  We have events planned for each day of the week. We are wearing "I Can. I Care." Superman style t-shirts.  For Red Ribbon/Character Counts week, I'm sending home "Character is Our Super Power" Parent Homework to ask parents to tell us what is their child's super power.  I can't WAIT to get these back because I think t

I have a new post on  Free Spirit Publishing's Blog !  Check out my post Group Motivators for Students of All Ages  about different incentives to motivate classrooms and groups. I share easy and low or no cost ideas you can implement in your school.  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 ideas,  creative lesson plans,  and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via  email ,  Twitter ,  Pinter

I get tons of questions about how to find out about educational dates and causes to promote at school.  I was so excited when I found a comprehensive list of dates for the 2012-2013 schoolyear  available for download on the American School Counselor Association website . The National Education and Health Awareness Dates 2012-2013 Calendar is a valuable tool for school counselors and educators! October has lots of causes you can promote awareness for at your school! October is: AIDS Awareness Month Breast Cancer Awareness Month Child Health Month Computer Learning Month Depression and Mental Health Month Diversity Awareness Month Domestic Violence Awareness Month Family Health Awareness Month Head Start Awareness Month Month of the Young Adolescent National Book Month National Communicate with Your Kids Month National Crime Prevention Month National Dental Hygiene Month National Depression Education and Awareness Month Positive Attitude Month Important Educa