Winter Wear To Work

Hey y'all! I am so excited to team up with the oh-so-beautiful and stylish Andrea over at JyJoyner Counselor blog. We are doing our Winter Wear to Work series and I couldn't be more excited. Honestly, my winter fashion has been a hodge podge of randomness. It has been a little bit of glam mixed with a whole lot of comfortable.

But first, let's "oooh and aaaah" over how cute Andrea is!! Here she is....

Yes we're back with one of my favorite topics...school counselor fashion!  I'm so excited to team up with my favorite school counselor/now assistant principal fashionista Melanie from The Stylish School Counselor Blog.  

We'd like to share some of our Winter Wear to Work Gear.

This season, I had a "little" obsession with wearing vests and thanks to jcrew, I went from owning 1 vest to 5 vests this season.  To justify my purchases I vowed to wear a vest at least once a week (makes sense right).

 Here are a few more wear to work gear looks:

Shirt: Nautica, Dress & Belt: Gap, Tights: Macy's, Boots: Coach

Cardigan: JCrew, Belt: Gap, Skirt: Banana Republic, Shoes: Bass Weguns

Scarf: Gift, Sweater: Gap, Pants: Banana Republic, Shoes: Cole Haan

Old Navy, Belt: Gap, Skirt: Thifted, Shoes: Bass Weguns, Necklace: Belk, Glasses: Kate Spade

 It's me....Melanie, again! Here is a little of what I have been wearing this winter!

Just like Andrea, I have been loving vests! I bought two this season. A furry black vest that I swear keeps me so warm and a white one that I wear with so much! 

Black fur vest (Apricot Lane), Dress (Nordstrom), Silver Tassel Necklace (Gap)

White Vest (Old Navy), Tunic (Groovy's), Scarf (Nordstrom), Skinny Jeans (Gap), Boots (Groovy's)

I have also been loving jewelry. Whether it's a bold pop of color or simply and dainty...I want to wear it all!!

Coral statement necklace and earrings (Charming Charlie)

Pendant and Drop Earrings (Kendra Scott)

 When the weather is cooler, scarves become my instant BFF! They always tend to tie an outfit together plus keep you warm!

Leopard Scarf (Nordstrom), Green Long Sleeve Tee (Express), Skinny Jeans (Gap), Boots (Target), Purse (Kate Spade)

Leopard Scarf (Nordstrom), Striped Dress (Groovy's)

And here is a pic to show how much I am lovin' these items altogether!!

Chunky Scarf (Nordstrom), White Vest (Old Navy), Tunic (Groovy's), Earrings (Kendra Scott)

I hope you join Andrea and myself during National School Counselor's Week for our School Counselor Fashion Challenge on Instagram and Facebook. We can't wait to see all of your style (guys and girls)!! Simply upload your outfit each day with #nscw15fashion

Short and Sweet

With Pinterest and all of the great ideas on social media, sometimes we get sooo excited in the delivery that we can sometimes forget about the meaning. I am only saying this because I have been caught up in this.

Sometimes, it is the short and sweet things that you can get so much from. I have some kiddos I have been seeing and I needed a quick activity that was a bit hands on so it wasn't pure writing. I gave them some color paper, scissors, a sheet of paper with boxes to cut out, and glue. It was an easy task!

Let me just say that when I went back to read it I noticed that there was some super deep information and also just fun facts that helped me know them a little better. I would definitely suggest this if you need an activity for a small group or maybe a student who doesn't want to talk.

The next thing seems silly because it's a no brainer. I forgot about the power of a handwritten note. I had some students that were tough. I didn't know how to get through to them. I knew they probably hadn't heard many words of encouragement from an adult that didn't seem so generic so I thought I would write them handwritten notes. My relationship with one of them completely turned around from one word answers and a little attitude to telling me I was like a mom they never had. Tears...y'all. Am I saying I did anything great? No way. Silly me forgot what it means to slow down and look at the kid and who they are. So often we get caught up in the day to day duties that we forget to look at what our kids truly need and sometimes it can be something so simple.

 I hope you are able to use these quick little ideas. What are some of your easy, go to activities??? I would love to see them! Feel free to share in the comments below!

Too Much....Hello, 2015!

Hey, y'all!!! I have missed you. I have missed catching up on reading other counseling blogs. I have missed creating. I have missed chatting with my counseling colleagues from around the world.

I kept saying I would be better about blogging and so this time I won't say it...haha. Life gets busy. Family, work, and friends have kept me busy but in a good way. I think taking a little break has been good for the soul but now I am ready. I have a crazy lady notebook of all of the things I want to create for you all!

I first want to say THANK YOU for all of the new Facebook "Likes" on The Stylish School Counselor. It kinda just warms my heart. I won't lie, I do feel a little more pressure (in a good way) to keep up with the blog even more so. I want to make sure I can continue to be a positive, useful resource for you all.

And...now...the bombshell. Some of you who follow me on Instagram (melroseacker is my username) saw me post a pic of my office change. I received some emails and Facebook messages wondering what in the world is goin' on?? Well, let me tell ya'........

 Starting on Monday, I will be the 7th Grade Interim Assistant Principal at my same campus. I am going from 8th Grade Counselor to this new position. I will still see some of my 8th grade "regulars" and work with them. It is a bittersweet change.

Some of you may be like, "Oh, no you didn't!" Haha...but let me first tell you what my career goals are and it might make sense why I want to continue this blog strong and why I am excited about this change. My goal is to one day work in a type of position supporting counselors or teachers like a mentor/new teacher coordinator or a director of guidance. This is in the way future because with the "in between" I want to learn how to be an administrator. My heart will always be in counseling just like it is still in teaching. I have always loved working with students and they bring a smile to my face every stinkin' day but I absolutely LOVE working with teachers and counselors and just educators in general. Helping provide resources, encouragement, constructive criticism at times, motivation, and help is absolutely where my heart lies.

One question I have gotten the most of is how am I going to handle discipline after being such a sweet counselor??? That is a great question and I can see why one would ask that. Many people think you have to yell or be super mean to be effective in discipline. My belief is that most kids that get into trouble may already hear yelling...nonstop at home. How effective is that going to be in creating a change? I think being firm, holding high expectations, and being wise in words to hold students accountable is even more fierce and effective than yelling.

Is this position permanent? No, not at this time. I am filling in and gaining experience and after this semester I am not sure what next year holds???? I am just thankful for the chance to get a glimpse into this side and get my feet wet. I will say, though, that this change is encouraging me even more to support fellow counselors. I feel taking step to the side of counseling while still being somewhat involved gives me a new perspective and new ideas if that makes any sense. Over break, I feel instead of focusing on my counselor to do's that I would usually be working on, I have been able to write lists and ideas for new units and products for my TPT store and also Freebies.

I am so excited for this new year. I already have some guest posts in the works by fellow counseling bloggers and Ms. Andrea over at JyJoyner Counselor and I have a fashion post heading your way soon!

Since I am so thankful for all of you, I have two Freebies in my TPT store to help you get organized for this new year!! I have a Counselor In & Out sign to hang on your door and I even made one for Social Workers since I have had a lot of requests for those too!!!

You can get your own for FREE HERE.
Note: Once you download, the words and website above will NOT be on your printed copy.


I also had a request for a portrait To Do List so it be kept in their binder. This is a great way to keep your daily or weekly To Do List in one binder so that you can see what you have coming up and can keep track of students you need to see, lessons you need to do, and phone calls or emails to make!

You can get your own HERE for FREE!

And if that wasn't enough excitement, I am having a sale this weekend in honor of us not wanting to wake up early...haha!

Today, I am working on a unit to add to my TPT store and I will also begin creating early literacy activities for classroom teachers or moms to use. I have been working with sweet Ella on reading and writing and have been working on creating some activities for her that I thought I would add to my store!!!


I hope y'all have a great rest of the weekend!!! Please feel free to message me any activities or themes you would like to see!!

melroseacker@yahoo.com