Wellness Check In's

Hey, friends. I hope you are well and took some time for self care this weekend. I enjoyed indoor camping and lots of baking. I hope to top off the weekend with reading. I am currently reading EQ Intervention and it is so good! 

Today I wanted to talk about wellness check in's. With what we are all facing right now, wellness check in's are so vital. Checking on our students, teammates/co-workers, family members, and friends is key to supporting each other socially/emotionally. I recently created a wellness check in to utilize in Zoom meetings. Many times in our meetings, we are very focused on the tasks at hand. However, we can't give our best if we are struggling emotionally. We know we can't get to Bloom's without meeting Maslow with our students. This is the same with adults, too. We can't be a highly effective team if we aren't taking care of our people. 

Many of you reached out through Twitter, Instagram, & Facebook asking for the link to get your own copy!! Details on how to access your own, FREE copy is at the end of this post. 

Ways to Utilize the Wellness Check In:

1. You can print the check in and use when we are all back to face to face settings. It can be used at the start of counseling sessions or even be used in a classroom cool off area. 

2. You can use these in a Google Classroom. You can post it under Assignments with Wellness Check In as the Topic. You can set it up where students just respond privately to you to give their number/check in.

3. You can use it as a form. You can use it as a picture in a form and have students submit their info to you. You can either have them enter their name or set the form to where it collects their email address. I would suggest names because their emails may not match up. Example below:

4. You can use it in Zoom meetings. You can do wellness check ins and you can have people enter their number in chat or privately message it (whatever you are all comfortable with). To show it in the meeting, just have it pulled up and share screen.

Keys to Using Wellness/Check In:

1. Keep it confidential. I think we all know this one but we want to ensure we are keeping people's check in confidential and not share with others.

2. Follow Up!! We have to make sure if someone says that they are a 3, 4, or 5 that we individually check in on them. Check in's are great but not if we aren't truly using them for the purpose they were created for...and that is to provide support. 

3. Remind everyone it's okay to not be okay. Discuss that it is okay if you're a 4 or 5. Sometimes people are afraid to be open with this. Let them know the purpose of this is to check on them and see how you can help. 

I hope this is helpful for all of you. You can get your own free copy below. The only disclaimer for copyright is that you keep my blog/name information at the bottom of the product. If you use the Google slide version and make a copy, please ensure that the copyright/info is not taken off. Other than that, it is all yours to print or use however needed.

Google Version

PDF Version

I would love for you to share how you are using it!! 

Please feel free to tag me on the following social media accounts (please just make sure you are following your district/business policies)

Twitter @melroseacker

Facebook: The Stylish School Counselor    (PS I am working at changing everything Stylish School Counselor to Counseling_and_Confetti)

Instagram (where I am the most active): Counseling_and_Confetti

Have a great week. Remember, there are positives each day, sometimes we just have to look for them! 

Throwing confetti your way,

Melanie

Negative Self Talk: The Awfulizer Book Giveaway & FREEBIE!

Negative self talk. This is something I think every person struggles with. I pride myself on having a positive outlook but can I tell you that negative self talk creeps in at times and it can sometimes limit what I do? I am an adult who is trained in mental health yet I am such a victim of this at times. So, how can we work with kids and teenagers with negative self talk?

I received this book a few weeks ago. It is called the Awfulizer: Learning to Overcome the Shame Game by Kristin Maher and illustrated by Robert Dunn.

Y'all, I am LOVING it. If you know me, I love all books but this one illustrates negative self talk and how to overcome it. The negative self talk is portrayed as a big, green, fluffy creature which won't be intimidating for younger children.

I have never utilized a book about self talk and shame. The book details strategies the character uses to overcome the Awfulizer and how to become an AWESOMIZER!!! This can also be tied in with having a growth mindset and grit.

This would be perfect for a small group lesson or a guidance lesson. After reading through this book, it got me thinking of how I could use it with a client or counseling group, so I created this FREEBIE that you can get HERE!

This is geared for students who can independently write or you can use this one sheet in a small group and the teacher can fill in the chart as the group members go around and share.

If you are interested in this book, you can check it out HERE.

Another thing I wanted to share that would be great to use for high school is this video. Although the animations look as if they are geared towards younger students, this is actually targeted for high school and even adults. As mental health professionals, we are all very familiar with good ol' Cognitive Behavior Therapy. If not, Cognitive Behavior Therapy is a treatment that helps clients truly understand their thoughts and feelings and how they affect or impact their behavior.

This 2 minute video gives two strategies that students or adults can use: 1. Distract    2. Combat
This would be great to show a group and then discuss or journal how they can utilize those two strategies when facing negative self talk.

I hope these resources are helpful for you to use in your school counseling program or in your counseling practice. I am excited to begin consistently blogging (my goal is every week)!!!

Take care of others and take care of YOU!

-Melanie

Counselor Introduction, My Counselor is a Princess, and #NSCW19

Hello, friends! Can you believe it is almost February? And that means celebrating one of the most exciting weeks of the year, National School Counseling Week. As a school counselor this was always one of my most favorite weeks. Not only is it a fun week to be recognized, but most importantly, it is an opportunity to highlight your school counseling program and the effects it has had on your campus.

Often times, I would create a menu of services or a cute, quick sheet highlighting things in the program, or fun facts such as our school has had 136 guidance lessons to date on these topics...or there have been 13 lunch bunch sessions. Not only is this a wonderful time to share what it is that you do, it is also a chance to advocate for the counseling program. I would also do an announcement each day sharing a counseling fact or something special about the program that week (Ex: we have learned about 3 important character traits so far at our school: respect, integrity, and kindness).

I would also give all staff members a certificate of appreciation for their support for our school counseling program. You can find some of my past links below:

2014
2015

You can also find ideas at ASCA's website HERE.

As I shared in my last post, my husband and I began writing books as a fun hobby. Our newest book is one I just knew I had to share with you all. It is called My Counselor is a Princess (HERE). This is a very light, simple read that discusses briefly what a counselor does. As with the other books in our series (My Teacher is an Elf HERE and My PE Teacher is a Ninja HERE) the students find some of her qualities to be that of a princess and wonder if that is what she really is. It would be great to use at the beginning of the year or during school counseling week as a fun activity.

Not only are we excited to release it right before National School Counseling Week but I have finally created a companion activity pack to go along with it on Teachers Pay Teachers. You can use the activity pack with or without the book. You can find it HERE

There are 5 activities (only 1 you would need the book for) and 5 posters. I must say the posters are my favorite and I will show you why! When I created these posters, I thought it would be important to not put the feeling word that most may think of when they see the pictures. I wanted these to be laminated and used in guidance to talk about feelings. Students may come up with great words aside from the usual mad or happy. They may think of frustrated, hurt, etc. These would also be great to have in a hallway or classroom.

The book and activity pack would be a fun. quick addition to your guidance lesson resources and if you do use it, I would love to see pictures. You can also now follow me on Instagram at @stylishschoolcounselorblog and also over @ackerbooks (side note: my husband's instatories crack me up)

 I hope you all have a wonderful School Counseling Week. I created and posted this earlier in the week but remember to take care of YOU. We cannot be our best and give our best if we don't take time for ourselves. Remember, self care is one of the top ways to prevent burn out. Even 15 minutes of yoga or singing in the car with a cup of coffee all alone...don't forget to invest in your well being.

Melanie

Mindfulness, Our Students Today, and a Julia Cook Book Giveaway!!

Friends...how is August almost here? I am hoping you had an opportunity to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. One of the vital parts of being a counselor is self care, right?

I was recently reading an article on mindfulness in children. With technology providing multiple distractions and immediate responses and gratification, mindfulness is something that we are losing touch of. I think we can all agree that this is very true with adults, as well.

So, how can we teach mindfulness to our students? There are so many benefits to mindful practice in our schools and with our kids. Below are a few easy ways to start:

• Start small with deep breathing and sitting in a relaxed position (start off with just one or two minutes). Have students close their eyes or focus on something for a minute. 
• Use a fun app. I have talked about Go Noodle before and I am sure many of us use it. It has a whole piece simply for mindfulness. They have tons of channels and one of them is called Flow. It has relaxation and mindfulness activities. 

• Use items to help practice mindfulness like sensory bottles, snow globes, or an hourglass with sand. Have students watch it settle and focus on it. Reflect on what they were thinking about and what it was like to relax and be mindful of the sand or glitter as it fell. 
• Use literacy to help students gain a better understanding. An amazing book to do this with is Julia Cook's new book Be Where Your Feet Are!! 

          I absolutely love this book. It is very unique because I have not seen many stories that focus on mindfulness. I think it is something we talk to kids about all the time but it can be hard to describe how it affects us. 

Julia Cook does a phenomenal job, once again, by really relating to how kids feel, giving vivid examples of what those feelings look like, and how to control them in a healthy way. She describes a young boy's day and how the many tasks and thoughts affect his day. I love the reoccurring theme and saying, "Be where your feet are!" It is an easy, catchy quote to teach students about being mindful and present. 

As I read this book, I kept thinking of the countless kiddos I have talked to that describe the very same feeling described by the character in the book. This is definitely a must have for your counseling libraries and would be great for a guidance lesson.  You can purchase the book HERE. 

To celebrate the release of this amazing, new book. I am giving away 2 copies to start your school year off with. To enter, like this blog post on Facebook and share. A winner will be announced this Friday, August 3rd. 

Have a wonderful rest of your week. It is such an exciting time of year full of being busy, don't forget to take care of you! :) 

Melanie

My Journey to Becoming a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern

I want to apologize for how long this may be. I had had a lot of requests and messages for this post, so here you go! :)

When I began graduate school right after undergraduate, I knew I wanted to one day be a licensed
professional counselor (I kind of want to be everything one day). I had it all planned out. I would
graduate with my Masters degree and would immediately start my hours towards becoming a licensed
professional counselor but as life usually works, things didn’t go as planned. When I started graduate
school the plan was to wait years before having kiddos. When I graduated in December 2009, I had a
2 and half year old precious boy and was pregnant with a baby girl. Although, my dream was to do it,
being a mom that could devote more time to my babies was much more important and I don’t ever
regret it. Being a full time working mom of 2 kids under 3 and working on those hours would have
been too much at the time.

Fast forward 8 years later. Becoming a LPC had still been on my heart and one day after thyroid
surgery, I received a call that really prompted me to go after it. I got a call from the surgeon saying
they had found a small amount of malignant carcinoma. I went to the next doctor which said it was
papillary thyroid cancer. It was all taken out and they continue to monitor. It was such a blessing that
it was all pretty quick and easy.

However, that experience really made me reflect. What if it would have been worse? What if it ever got
bad to where I couldn’t have worked full time? Being a wife and mom are my top priorities but I also
find so much joy working with people. I felt as if all of that was a push from God. I talked to my
husband and knew this was the next step for me. I do not have plans of pursuing this full time or
anything because I LOVE working in the schools but knew it was something I wanted to do and soon.
I immediately began studying for the NCE. Below are the steps I had to do and check off:

-I first had to go to my state’s website (I am in Texas) to see what the requirements were. I printed it off and made a checklist. One of the things that comes up is what kind of degree or classes are required. When I worked on my masters I did not get a Masters of Education, I received a Masters of Science. I went with the 3 and a half years degree plan, it was around 63 something hours. It included what I needed to be a LPC (clinical and classes on diagnosis) and a school counselor.

-I had to get approved through the National Board of Certified Counselors to take the National

Counseling Exam (which is required in my state and almost all I believe). I had to fill out some forms

and get my graduate transcript to them to ensure I had the correct degree/classes. Make sure when

you do this step to ensure you are applying to take the test and not to become a national board

certified counselor. You can do both but it not done correctly you won’t get approved to take the

needed test (I almost made that mistake).

-I studied as hard as I ever had in my life for the test. Remember I had a 9 year gap between
graduating with my masters so I had to refresh on a lot of material, especially the new DSM-5. I am a

positive person but I was almost certain I was not going to pass (where was my positive self talk,

right...lol). I used a great website I found online called National Counseling exam. It was exactly what

I needed. You can choose how many days you would like to use the program. It had printable features

like study guides which I made a binder out of but I mostly used the online study tools and practice

exams which were the most helpful part.

-After passing the exam, I began to look for a supervisor. You must secure a supervisor and

have them complete an agreement with you before you can submit all your paperwork to the state. I

simply looked online. There were so many great ones out there but I knew I wanted someone with

different experiences than I had. My background is all school so I knew I wanted to expand my

knowledge base so I looked for someone that had more of a hospital/clinical background. I contacted

her, we met up to see if we were both a good fit for each other, and I had my first supervision this past

week. Once you are officially approved through the state, you can begin your hours. I can tell I am

going to love supervision time with her. I already learned something new!

-After I completed the test, finding a supervisor, and gathering all the required documentation

(transcripts, application, state paperwork), I took the Texas Jurisprudence exam. This is not a pass/fail

test, this is more a review of ethics in regards to counseling.

-I bought a bright pink envelope because I wanted to send this in a “counselor version-Elle Woods”

way. I wanted it to stand out because I knew it was going to take months to get approval. I sent it the

fastest way possible. (Note: It did take around 2 months but not as bad as I had expected).

-Now I am working on getting my 3000 supervised hours. 1500 are direct counseling (counseling
and conversations with parents/families) and 1500 indirect (assessments, researching, documentation,

weekly meetings with my supervisor).

Finally a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern under the supervision of Erin James LPC-S

I hope that helps if you are considering starting the process. Just a reminder that I am in Texas so if you
are in another state, the requirements could be different. Please feel free to message me any
questions.

There are some exciting things with the blog coming up!! I have a collaboration in the works with
another blogger! We will have a bit of spin off with a FB group, new blog, and more!

I am also working on a Top 10 Back to School post and I can’t wait to share it with you! Hope you are
all enjoying your summer!

Love & Positive Vibes,
Melanie

Educator Spotlight: Counselor and Author Erainna Winnett

I am so excited and grateful to have author and counselor Erainna Winnett as a guest on the blog today. Not only is she sharing a little about herself and her journey to becoming an author, but she is giving away 5 signed copies of her book Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives. Read below to be inspired by Erainna and to see how you can have a chance to win!

First, thank you so much for having me as a guest blogger, I am honored to share my story with your readers. I’ve been in education for the past twenty-two years. After fifteen years in the classroom I felt a calling for something more—a deeper way to connect with and help children, which is how I discovered school counseling.

I moved from classroom teacher to school counselor in 2011 and absolutely fell in love. However, I soon discovered there weren’t a lot of up-to-date resources available for school counselors. After hearing me gripe about it for months my husband finally told me to write my own resources. Isn’t it nice to have someone who knows what you need before you do?

And so, I began researching self-publishing and taught myself the basics of publishing a book. To be honest, there were some costly mistakes: the cover for Mrs. Joyce Gives the Best High-Fives was redesigned five times—YIKES—before I found one that I felt was ‘right’. Most students didn’t even know their school had a counselor, much less how one could help them.

The first week of school during my second year as a counselor I went into every classroom and read the Mrs. Joyce book. The children loved it and I received many thank-yous from teachers. Needless to say, the following week my office was constantly busy.

I continued listening to my students and knew that I needed to write other books to address individual needs. This launched me into the Helping Kids Heals therapeutic activity book set. I’m thrilled with how well all of these books have been received. Just last week, I woke up to an email from Ireland requesting copies of my books. Who would have ever thought a small-town Texas counselor-author could reach professionals across the ocean?

As educators, counselors are often the least familiar to parents, students and sometimes teachers. I hope my efforts have offered you some tools and helped you appreciate the power of your roles in our children’s lives. And I invite you to continue to add to our community. I wish you luck in the giveaway and hope you are having a relaxing, restful summer. All the best and Happy Counseling. Erainna

Thank you so much, Erainna, for being an advocate for the role of counselors and for using your creativity to provide resources for educators. You can check out a trailer for her book below and also don't forget to take a look at her other resources and books HERE.

If you would like to enter for your chance to win your own signed copy, all you have to do is comment in the post below for one entry. For an extra entry, you can share this link or the link from The Stylish School Counselor on FB and comment that you did in the comments. Good luck! Winners will be announced on the blog on Friday, July 5th!

Educator Spotlight: Melissa Ferguson

Hey, y'all! I hope if you're back to school that you are having a wonderful week back and if you haven't went back, then....I am super jealous (haha)!

I must say I am impressed and a bit skeptical all rolled into one. I blogged earlier in the week and my hopes were to have a post each Thursday. Fingers crossed I can stick with it! I am excited for a new "segment" on the blog. It will be called Educator Spotlight. I don't know about you all, but I learn the most from others. Everyday I learn from our teachers, from fellow administrators, from our paraprofessionals, and central office staff. I enjoy talking about education and getting ideas from others. It's so neat hearing a totally different perspective. My vision is to interview different education professionals to ask questions, share their ideas, and have the chance to celebrate how awesome they are. Megan and I may be doing this on Principals with Purpose (you can find that here), as well. So, be on the look out for that!

Today I am super excited to share a little Q&A with a sweet friend of mine. She is the counselor at the school I work at and is a past Kindergarten teacher (teacher of the year to be exact)! Her name is Melissa Ferguson and I thought since it was her first year as a counselor, it would be a wonderful opportunity for her to share her thoughts so far. You would never know it's her first year because she is rockin' it. She also has a new blog called Classroom to Counseling and you can check it out HERE I am beyond excited to read this. Melissa is a wealth of knowledge and I learn so much from her. I have a feeling it will also be quite witty (think Lorelai Gilmore).

So, let's start. 

1.      What has been the biggest change going from the classroom to counseling?

There are two changes that really stand out for me going from classroom to counseling. The not having anyone else on my campus that does what I do.  This is especially difficult, when it is your first year!  I remember my first year teaching, when I didn’t know something, I just went next door J. But now, when I don’t know something, it requires a phone call, email or car drive.  It really did feel like an island at first.  When you are teaching, there is always someone right there to bounce ideas off of, put out fires with,  commiserate with, look at (you know the look – “Oh, my gosh! Are they kidding me right now?!?!”), laugh with. With teaching, you have built in relationships with your class and with your team. You also have built in teacher support on every campus, in the form of administrators and specialists.  With counseling, I have to cultivate that support and sometimes it is not easy to do, when the litany of things that I trying to figure out is ever looming!

That transitions nicely to the second biggest change, going from being very confident in what I am doing, to being reminded EVRYDAY of all I do not know and still need to learn J.

All that being said, I do feel like I have won the 1^st year counseling lottery by being on campus with the magical Melanie Acker, not many people get to have an AP that was a former counselor!  Also, my principal and everyone on my campus has been so supportive and welcoming, it has really helped!

2

           What's your favorite activity to do with a student on a first visit?

I love, love, love coloring/ drawing with students.  We can talk and share our drawings and it really helps to facilitate conversations.  It also gives them a chance to know me! 

3     What would be your advice for new counselors?

·         Find your person, both on campus and off.  Someone to talk to, cry with, laugh with and keep you accountable.

·         Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know.

·         Try out as many documentation systems as you need to, to come up with what works for you.

·         FOLLOW THROUGH – no matter what.

·         SAY SORRY – when something comes up and you can’t follow through until laterJ.

·         Don’t be afraid to ask questions – LOTS OF QUESTIONS!

·         Schedule time during your day for programming.

·         Laugh A LOT!

·         If you are not humble already, you will be…and that is ok.

·         Practice empathy – EVERYDAY!

·         I could go on and on, but I leave it at that…for now J

 I love her advice for new counselors. I think it can apply to all of us in education. My favorite piece of advice that I agree with 100% is "If you are not humble already, you will be....and that is ok." I believe this statement to be so true because we make mistakes, we don't know everything, and each day we are learning together. We have to be humble and give grace because heaven knows we will sure need it some days. At least, I sure feel this way!

You can check out Melissa's blog HERE
You can follow her on Instagram: @ferguson451
You can follow her on Twitter: @clsrmcounselor
Follow her on Facebook at:  Classroom to Counseling


Also, you can now follow Megan and I on Twitter for those of you who read Principals with Purpose
@meganandmel

My Instagram & Twitter: @melroseacker
Megan's Instagram & Twitter: @megangist
 

Thank you so much, Melissa, for being on the blog today. I hope you all have a magical day and thanks for stopping by.