Middle Year Review

Hello Everyone!

As we are wrapping up our third quarter I realize how little I have updated my blog this year. I wanted to share a quick run down of something I have done with each grade level and a few other fun projects.

With Kindergarten I did a fun new activity I learned about at the NC School Counselor's Conference. I introduced the topic of feelings by reading the book Today I feel silly by Jamie Lee Curtis. After introducing how we all have many different feelings and how we may feel several different things all in the same day. I asked the students if any of them have ever felt angry or mad. Of course everyone has felt angry before. I read part of the book the Angry Octopus by Lori Lite. I talked briefly with the students about the steps the octopus took to relax. Then here comes the fun part I learned at the conference! I gave each student half a paper plate and asked them to draw a face and decorate their octopus. Then I gave each student a streamer and had them rip it into 3 pieces. With the help of a parent helper we stapled the streamers to the paper plates. Then I showed the students how to take big deep belly breaths by watching a video of Elmo taking deep breaths and blowing it out. Here is the video. The students practice taking deep breaths and blowing their octopus tentacles. 

With the First graders we have been talking about different ways they can solve problems with their classmates. We recently start talking about using an I-Message to stand up to their classmates or peers. I had each student practice telling me an I-Message. We have been using a story about 2 bugs (Anthony Ant and Brenda Bee) who have been bullied by Big Beetle. Big Beetle always tells the other bugs that they look like frogs. So I pretended to be Big Beetle and I had the students be Brenda or Anthony and give Big Beetle an I-Message. Below are the frame works of an I-Message I taught the students. I have these up in my room so when the students come to me to work out problems they are there in the room to reference.

I feel ______________
when you__________________.
I would like you to _________________.

It bugs me when you __________________. I wish you would ___________________.

I love when you___________________. I wish you would ________________.

The second graders are wrapping up our conversations about friendships. We have been talking about all the different types of friendships, how to find friends, how to include everyone and how to communicate properly with other people (kids or adults). We went over 4 very basic communication rules. I told the students that no matter who they are they have to follow theses rules.

1. Take Turns Talking (I tell the kids they shouldn't talk more than 3 minutes before they give someone else a chance to talk.)
2. Nothing Personal (This could be a safety issue if students are giving out address and phone numbers. We also talk about how if the want a friend to come play then it is ok to give our friends our phone numbers IF our parents say its ok).
3. Nothing Gross (I think this one explains itself)
4. Keep it Pleasant (also pretty self explanatory)

I have to share two things our third graders are doing. We did a fun activity that I found on teachers pay teachers about careers. I put the students in 5 groups and they were given a bubble map to fill out. I gave each group a company and they had to try and name all of the different jobs that take place in that company. Some of the companies were pretty easy but some of the others could be pretty difficult. It brought up a really good conversation about how we all have to work together to be successful.

With the third graders I have also been starting our conversation about how to handle bullying. I use the Second Step Program for Bully Prevention. The version I have at my school is one of the older versions (I still have over heads!). Even though it is older the point is still really clear to get across and I project the pictures using my elmo projector with a piece of paper behind the overhead. One of the reason I love this program is because it teaches the children what bullying really is! Bullying as become a buzz word and students (staff and parents) are all fast to say someone is bullying. Well is it really bullying? Or is that child just being mean? I think this program does a GREAT job at helping the students learn what is bullying and what is not. As well as, how to stand up to those are are bullying.

With my fourth and fifth graders I have been doing alot of lessons on career exploration. This was the first year I decided to host a Career Day event at our school. When I went to the WCPSS school counselor kick off I had the opportunity to hear about some of my fellow counselors present on their career day. I decided to host my own at RRES and it was awesome! All the kids, staff, parents, and community volunteers seemed to have a great time!! I can't wait to do it again next year!

I hope to add some more pictures to this post over track out! 4 more days until track out!!!

Red Ribbon Week 2015

Welcome back!

Hello Everyone! I know I have been a little slack this year about posting! I can't believe we are already about to start second quarter! It was a busy first quarter but I know we are all rested and ready to jump back in. And what better way to jump back in then with Red Ribbon Week!

Red Ribbon Week 2015 Oct. 26th- 30th!

April was month of the Military Child

Good afternoon! I know this blog is about two months late but I still wanted to share about month of the Military Child.

Earlier this year I went to a training by the Military Child Education Coalition. It was a great training and brought to light that we actually have a pretty high number of military families at RRES. As we are only about an hour from Fort Bragg we have several families who commute to and from base each day. We also have several families who have a parent in the reserves.

After the training I decided to do some of my own research and found out that April is the month of the Military Child. There are events throughout the community (mostly around Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base) for families to attend. Since there wasn't alot around our area I decided to at least honor the military students at RRES by presenting them with an award. I also did an Army bulletin board in place of a college.

If you are a military family please check out the list of resources below or message me for some more information.

Military Child Education Coalition 

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/militarysupport/

http://www.bcbsnc.com/content/campaigns/redwhiteandbluencprovider/index.htm

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/

A big thanks to the families of these 4 boys for letting me share their picture. They are 4 of the 18 military kids we have at RRES!!

Thank you to these two families who allowed me to share their picture! These are 4 of the 18 military kids at RRES!

A super huge thanks to the recruiters in Garner, NC for giving me tons of pictures and goodies! Recruitment for college and the military starts in elementary school!!

A huge thanks goes out to the Recruitment office in Garner, NC for all of the amazing pictures and goodies they gave me! Recruitment starts at birth for college and for out military!!

Red Ribbon Week and Treats for Troops

Greetings! Next week is going to be a very busy week here at RRES!

Monday we kick of Red Ribbon Week! This year's theme is "Love yourself. Be yourself. Stay Drug Free!" Each child was given a sticker to wear home or put in the agendas with a different dress up day each week. In case you haven't seen the stickers here are our fun days...

Monday- Wear Red to show you are choosing to live a healthy life!
Tuesday- Sock it to drugs! Wear crazy socks!
Wednesday- Team up against drugs! Wear your favorite team gear!
Thursday- Peace out to Drugs! Wear tye-dye and peace signs!
Friday- Put drugs to rest! Wear your PJs to school but don't forget real shoes!

On Monday we will also be kicking off our first ever Student Ambassador Treats for Troops! We are collecting candy to send to our men and women who are currently serving overseas. There will be a box either outside my office or just inside the door for candy donations. The flyer below was sent home last week. I hope this is the start of a great tradition at RRES!

Peer Pressure Gauge

I am going to be working with the 4th and 5th grade students about how to recognize peer pressure and how to resist peer pressure. I came across this great book by Julia Cook called Peer Pressure Gage. One of the things I love about Julia Cook is how she can take a hard topic to understand and put it in kid friendly language. Another thing I love about Julia Cook is that the back of her book has resources for parents and teachers in the back. Below is some of the information that she shares in the back of her book Peer Pressure Gage.

Tips for Parents and Educators (From Author Julia Cook):

Peer Pressure is the influence that a peer group has over a person. This influence can change the person's attitudes, values, or behaviors to conform. It plays a big role in who you are, how you dress, how you act, etc. Peer pressure can occur at all ages, but as children grow older, the behaviors negatively affected by peer pressure become more risky. While positive encouragement is a good thing, negative peer pressure can cause many difficulties in your child's life. 

- Talk with your child about making friendships. What are the qualities that a good friend should have? What do you admire most about your friends? How do your friends handle conflicts? how can you choose the best friends for you?

Discuss what peer pressure is and talk about what it look/sounds like: 

Insults: Making a person feel bad for not doing something. 

Rejection: Excluding a person because he/she chooses not to do something.

Reasoning: Giving reasons why a person should do something. 

Unspoken Pressure: Seeing everyone else doing something or wearing something. Observe negative body language (eye rolling, etc.) when you don't conform to what others expect. 

Talk about the cost of saying NO, and let your child know that you understand how difficult it can be. You may lose a friend, your social position, or something else that means alot to you. Tell your child stories about how you dealt with negative peer pressure effectively. Expressing genuine empathy will give your child strength and validate feelings. 

Role-play different scenarios with your child so they can practice their responses to negative peer pressure, and practice their resisting skills.

Encourage your child to: 

- Understand his/her own beliefs and values.

- Have self-confidence

- Choose his/her friends wisely

- Talk to a trusted adult if needed

- Not make excuses, instead practice saying exactly how he/she feels

- Practice coming up with reasons for getting out of tough situation

When resisting negative peer pressure, have your child: 

1. Look at the person

2. Use a calm, assertive voice tone

3. State clearly that you do not want to engage in the inappropriate activity.

4. Suggest an alternative activity

5. If the person persists, continue to say, "NO".

6. If the peer will not accept your "NO" answer, ask him/her to leave or remove yourself from the situation. 

*For more Parenting information please visit parenting.org from Boys Town. 

Learning Styles

In a few weeks I am going to be having the 5th grade students do a learning styles quiz. We will be talking about why it is important to know your learning style and how you can use it to your advantage in the classroom. I came across this great article that talks about the three different learning styles and the ways you can help your students. It may also help you understand how to help your students with homework. I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did!

http://www.uisd.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/help-your-child-develop-good-learning-styles.pdf

Welcome to a New School Year!!

Hello everyone! We are already off to a great start! All classes are working on rotating through specials and by the end of the month I will have met every class. There are very few things that are changing this year with Guidance. The biggest change is the way students will request to come and see me. This year the students will "text me". I have paper cell phones in every classroom that the students can write to me. They will fill out their names, teacher, and give me a little summary of what the situation is. Hopefully this will allow me to meet with the students who have a greater need quicker. I will post a picture of one a little later.

Here are some things to be looking forward to:
Treats for Troops (New this year!)
Random Acts of  Kindness Week
Pasta for Pennies