Examples of Character and Just Way Too Much Typing....

Hey, y'all!!! I have been pretty busy this summer soakin' up every second with my littles since I go back to work August 1st. It is always bittersweet because I love my job but I absolutely enjoy feeling like a stay at home mom in the summer. I have loved seeing many of you at the ASCA conference and have already read some great blogs on what was brought back. If it weren't for us just going to Disneyworld last year, I would have been there in a heart beat.

Oh.M.Gee! Today, I wanted to share a resource with you all that I LOVE. I used this in elementary and have a couple of ideas of how to use them in middle school this year.

You may have heard of the site, it is called Values.com also known as the Foundation for a Better Life. They run the great commercials full of character lessons and examples of showing respect in everyday life. Many times their quick little clips bring me to tears. Here is one:

In elementary school, I would find ones that were age appropriate and related to whatever guidance lesson I was doing. In middle school, I think they would be great to show sometimes during lunch (maybe one every other week) and have a discussion/mini lesson while they eat.

You can get to the site HERE and they have such neat resources. They have inspirational quotes which can be read on announcements, sent out in a school newsletter, or even put on cute little notes for teachers throughout the year. You can also view the tv commercials from the site and if you click AT YOUR SCHOOL and then REQUEST POSTERS AND DVD'S you can get your very own copy of a cd with the commercials and a some posters to hang on your campus for FREE!!

I think no matter what level you are at and no matter what program your district is implementing, this can be embedded. What I see at middle school especially is that we have a school full of amazing kids but sometimes "making the right choice" or "showing respect in the face of a situation" may not be popular. I think a lot of times kids know and want to do the right thing but the aftermath of it not being the "cool" thing to do overrides that. I think if we can work hard to create an environment where respect and values are the norm, it can help change the culture of a school.

Academic support, emotional support, crisis response, and teacher support are on the top of my list as a counselor but I think creating a respectful culture can help in all areas. I would have to say that is one of my biggest goals this year!!

Don't forget to check out the site and get you some FREE resources. I have a little bit of downtime before volunteering at vacation bible schools and dentist appointments for the whole family. So in between play dates and hopefully getting into my office, my main focus is to create 3 TPT items for sale (oh and I can't wait to post them, they are halfway done), make some newer versions of freebies, and finish some stories to hopefully get published. My husband and I are working on one now together (remember he is a teacher) for children's books.

So, please be on the look out for some fun stuff! All 3 TPT items will be posted by the end of July just in time for back to school counseling shopping and speaking of back to school....Andrea (over at JyJoyner Counselor) and I are cooking up some fun posts!!

Let me leave you with a Stylish Spotlight which I hope to pick back up on!!!

This is on my wish list and a piece I would love to have for back to school! It is the Kendra Scott Rayne necklace and is available in so many fun colors. I had wanted the earrings but sadly they were too heavy for me! : ( You can find a link HERE. If you sign up for the mailing list you can get 15% off your next purchase! Maybe my hubby is reading this!!?

And I am accepting any new counselor questions that I will be answering in my next post. So please leave any comments/questions on this post or on facebook. I met up with our new school counselor this past week and we had too.much.fun!!! We talked about plans for this year but mostly had fun!! Maybe too much fun. This was a great time to just spend quality time together.

We had a nice little lunch at a tea place.

We are Chi Omega sisters (different chapters) and went to check out the new Chi Omega house at SMU!

Then we went to Sprinkles and she introduced me to this amazing place called Swoozies. Oh my word! Love! I may have had a mini panic attack because I was overwhelmed with goodness...haha! I told my sister in law about it because I knew it was her style and she said they have a website which you can find HERE! I love anything monogrammed and stationary so this was like a dream place!

Since we will be co-counselors we just had to get agendas together so we got the Kate Spade agendas and left them to get monogrammed.

I got this Kate Spade planner with a navy monogram.

Liz got this one with a black monogram I believe!

We had so much fun to say the least!! I am going to get to work on those TPT units and don't forget to comment with any new counselor questions or just questions in general. I would love to do a Q&A type format.

I have also been blogging over at my personal blog which you can find HERE!

And check our my sister in law aka blogging buddy Lauren's blog HERE!