School Counselor Blog

Self-pillows are pillows that represent your personality. My school counselor colleague, Natasha, had the great idea of creating self-pillows as an activity during our groups for children who have a loved one in prison . Self-pillows would also be great as an activity for grief and loss groups or self-esteem groups! 1. Pick fabric The most important and first step of making a self-pillow is finding fabric! Choose a variety of patterns of fabric that you think your students would like. You can even ask students what some of their favorite things are so you have some fabrics that go along with their interests. Also, consider the topic of the group.  We chose fabrics that related to feelings associated with our group. Children experiencing the incarceration of a loved one, can feel like they do not want anyone to be around them and keep people out of their life. We found some fabric that has gates and dogs that says "Beware" and "Keep Out." A number of...

I was first introduced to this powerful spoken word poem by Daniel Beaty at a Children of Incarcerated Parents training. I have since shared this video in individual sessions and group sessions with children and adolescents who have experienced the incarceration of a loved one. Beaty's performance is candid and emotional. It doesn't matter how many times I have seen it, I still become tearful each time I watch it. I encourage you to watch it and share it with others!!! I have created a google document with the words to the poem: " Knock Knock ." "Knock Knock" serves as a powerful discussion starter for children who have experienced the incarceration of a loved one. Students often want to watch it over and over because it is so powerful. The line that seems to stick with children the most is "Although we are our fathers' sons and daugthers, we are not their choices."  Often children experience guilt, shame, and stigma for having a paren...

I am currently running a group for children with a loved one in jail. One of the activities I have facilitated with my group is the kiwi lesson.  The kiwi lesson can be used to address many different topics including stigma, shame, diversity, tolerance, body image, and more.  This lesson is fun and engaging. It worked especially well in the context of this group. The idea for the kiwi lesson comes from  The Freedom Writers Diary Teacher's Guide  by Erin Gruwell.  In the book there is a lesson called the "Peanut Game." I decided to use a kiwi instead of peanuts because of how colorful kiwis are on the inside and to avoid any allergies.  At the beginning of the activity I pass out a kiwi to each child. I instruct students to explore the outside of the kiwi and to make a list of as many adjectives as they can that describe the kiwi.  I recommend having students pair up to do this part with one student recording the words at a time.  After ...

Looking for a visual way to display students' goals? Goal Mountain serves as a visual reminder that students can take positive "steps" to reach their goals. At the beginning of the Goal Mountain session I explain to students we are going to make a mountain representing our goals and the positive "steps" we can take to reach our goals. As a group we brainstorm some ideas of what types of goals we might have. Students usually suggest future goals, career goals, interpersonal goals and school goals. After we talk about some potential goal ideas, I instruct students to think of a goal they would like to work towards. I give each student a cloud to record their goal. I instruct students to use colored pencils ,  markers , or  construction paper crayons  to record their goal on their cloud. Some examples of students' goals include, "to go to college," "stay in school," "get along with my brothers and sisters more," and "get...

I am currently running three groups using the Girls in Real Life Situations curriculum. The curriculum is great! I especially like the Girls in Real Life Situations curriculum because it allows for flexibility. One of the activities in Girls in Real Life Situations is an activity, where girls stand on a line when they can relate to statements read by the facilitator. An example of a statement includes, "stand on the line if you like the color red." The purpose of the activity is to show similarities and how the girls are connected in different ways. The line activity in the Girls in Real Life Situations curriculum reminded me of "The Line Game" from The Freedom Writers Diary by Erin Gruewll. In Freedom Writers , the movie version of the Freedom Writers Diary , Erin Gruwell (played by Hillary Swank) facilitated "The Line Game" with her students. She instructed students to "stand on the line" if the experience she stated related to them....

I have received many inquiries about my work with children of incarcerated parents. Parental Incarceration impacts millions of U.S. Children. According to the Family and Corrections Network , 7 million, or one in 10, U.S. children have a parent under some form of criminal justice supervision - in jail, prison, on probation, or on parole. There are unique problems and stressors created by parental incarceration. Children often face a form of imprisonment of their own when a parent is taken away. Children of incarcerated parents are often difficult to identify because of the shame and social stigma associated with incarceration. In spring of 2009 I ran groups for children of incarcerated parents. There are some really great resources available for learning about children of incarcerated parents. Many of the resources can be used in individual and group counseling. A website to start learning about children of incarcerated parents is The National Research Center on Children and ...