Week of 5/5- Closing
This is our last counseling lesson of the school year. We read The End and discuss what we are going to miss/remember about 4th grade and what we are looking forward to in 3rd grade.
Ask your child: What is your favorite counseling lesson of this year?
Week of 4/8: Growth Mindset
This week, we read The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes and A Beautiful Oops discuss what we can learn from making mistakes. We create something beautiful from a scrap a paper.
Ask your child: Why is it beautiful to make a mistake?
Week of 3/24: Emotional Regulation (Handling Worries)
This week, we read Ruby Finds a Worry and discuss & practice ways to handle our big emotions and worries.
Ask your child: What is your favorite way to help big emotions?
Week of 3/3: Respecting Differences
This week, we read Sandwich Shop and complete a differences scavenger hunt. Students practice asking questions to learn more about their peers and understand that just because someone looks different, learns differently, or likes different things, we are all of equal value.
Scavenger hunt includes… find someone with a different: favorite color, food, school subject, name begins with, skin color, hair color, eye color.
Ask your child: What is something about you that makes you unique?
Week of 2/17: Career Exploration
This week, we learn about how people choose their career. Then students discuss their interests and share a career that sounds interesting to them.
Ask your child: What is a career you might be interested in?
Week of 2/4: NSCW Activities
Check out the books and activities in honor of National School Counseling Week.
Week of 2/4: Kindness
This week, we read Listening with my Heart and share acts of kindness we can do to help others.
Ask your child: What is a random act of kindness we can do to help others?
Week of 1/21: Circle of Control
This week, we read Alexander and the No Good Horrible Very Bad Day. We talk about the circle of control and watch a video on things we can control. Students share some of their favorite coping tools.
Ask your child: What are some things you can control? What are some of your favorite coping tools to use on the things you can't control?
Week of 1/6: Goal Setting OR Friendship (Teacher choice)
Goal Setting:
This week, we discuss what goals are and why people set them. We learn about the steps to making an achievable goal and practice setting goals as a group and on our own.
Ask your child: How do you know if a goal is reasonable? What goal do you want to work on at home?
Friendship:
This week, we review our conflict resolution strategies and build a snowman friend. Snowmen friends are made with qualities in others that we admire and our friendship strengths as well.
Ask your child: What are some positive qualities you look for in a friend?
Week of 12/5: Self-Confidence
This week, we watch Ish and discuss the power of positivity. Students work in groups to complete a self-confidence challenge, then create a brochure sharing their awesomeness.
Ask your child: What are some things about yourself that make you proud?
Week of 11/13: Personal Safety
District Personal Safety Lesson
Ask your child: What would you do if someone tried to hurt you?
October 28-11/1: Healthy Choices Week
Here's the virtual classroom all students will have access to this week. Click around to see the videos, stories, and games.
Week of 10/28-Bullying
This week, we review our rude, mean, bullying lesson from 1st grade. Then, we read Chrysanthemum and talk about what it means to bully/be bullied. During the story, students have their own paper heart and are instructed to crumble each time someone was mean to Chrysanthemum. At the end of the story, we talk about how apologizing can help smooth the heart out, but it will never go back to where it was because words and actions affect us.
Students learn that bullying is when someone is mean (STOP-Several Times On Purpose) or one big incident. We also learn that the best way to fight bullying is to STOP it (Start Telling Other People) and spread kindness. Students learn how to report bullying on our campus (tell a teacher or parent, so that an administrator can investigate it).
Ask your child: What is bullying? What would you do if someone was bullying you or a friend? How can words have a lasting affect on us?
Halloween Drug or Food.mp4October 21-25: Virtual Lesson Drug Awareness
It's Healthy Choices Week, also known as national Red Ribbon Week. Here is a quick virtual lesson that students will watch that explains what a drug is (anything that is not food that changes the way our bodies feel). Students will learn that it is very important, especially with Halloween around the corner, to ask an adult they trust before they eat candy or take medicine (or candy that is not in a wrapper).
Week of 10/15- Coping Skills (Wellness)
This week, we review the coping strategies we have discussed in class (breathing, count to 10, imagining a peaceful place/ people that love us, conflict resolution). We discuss how our bodies and our feelings are connected (how we may feel our muscles get tight when we are angry, or sweat when we feel nervous). We read Listening to My Body and practice several mindful and breathing activities. Then, we practice a guided meditation activity where we picture our favorite “special place” we can imagine when we are overwhelmed. Students draw this place and share if they would like.
Ask your child: What coping skill do you like the most? What did your “special place” look like?
Week of 9/30- Managing Emotions/ Time to ACT
This week, we talk about how Superheroes look out for people. We can also be superheroes and look out for friends that are in trouble or feeling sad. We need to ACT (Acknowledge, Care, Tell) and find an adult we trust to help. We also reviewed the 3 important parts of our brain.
Ask your child: Who is an adult you trust at home that you can talk to? Who is an adult at school you trust you can talk to?
Ignore, Walk Away, Take a Break.mp4Week of 9/23- Conflict Strategies: Ignore, Walk Away & Take a Break *Virtual Lesson*
This week, we discuss 3 more strategies for dealing with small problems.
Ignore- we ignore with our eyes, mouth, body and mind
Walk away- I can walk away and move to a new place
Take a break- wait and cool off to solve the problem when you are less upset
Ask your child: When might you ignore someone? When could you walk away? What’s your favorite way to take a break?
Week of 9/16- Conflict Strategies: Talk it Out & Apologize & Take Turns/Share
This week, we continue our conflict resolution series and discuss how to handle small problems on our own. We focus on 3 strategies: talk it out, apologize, and take turns/share.
Talk it out- let the person know how you feel and what you need. Say “I feel _______ when you ______ can you please _________?”
Apologize- Understand your part in it and say “I’m sorry” for what you did.
Take turns/ Share- Let others have a say and use things
Ask your child: Share an example of an I statement you can use when someone hurts your feelings.
Big Deals Little Deals 2022.mp4Week of 9/11- Big vs. Small Problems *Virtual Lesson*
This week, we discuss the difference between a small and big problem and what we can do about them.
Big problems are dangerous, make us feel scared, or someone is hurt. We need an adult to help us solve these problems.
Small problems make us feel annoyed, frustrated, or sad. These are problems we can handle on our own.
Ask your child: What's the difference between a big problem and a small problem? Who should you talk to when there’s a big problem?
Week of 9/3- Tattling vs. Reporting
This week, we read A Bad Case of Tattle Tongue. We learn the 4 tattle rules: 1. Be a danger ranger (get help if someone is in danger). 2. Be a problem solver (if the problem involves you, try hard to solve it yourself first) 3. Now or later? (Is it a NOW problem or something that can be solved at a later time) 4. MYOB (Mind your own beeswax. If it’s not dangerous or doesn’t involve you, do not tattle)
Ask your child: What's the difference between tattling and reporting? Give an example of a time you should report to your teacher. When’s a time when you need to MYOB?
Week of 8/19: Introduction to the school counselor
This week, I visit each class to talk more about what a school counselor does and how I can help students. We also talked about 3 important parts of our brain (Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and the hippocampus)
Ask your child: What does Mrs. Watkins do for students at school?
2024 Intro Video.mp4Week of 8/13: Video Intro
This week, teachers share the following video with students. It briefly describes the role of a school counselor, shares an office tour, and reminds students how to request to talk to Mrs. Watkins.
Ask your child: If you were feeling sad at school? Who could you talk to? How can you request to talk?
