The Counselor Stop

Happy Monday everyone! A while back I talked about how there was a new look and name coming for counseloretc. Well, that time has arrived!

I have officially transitioned from this site, to my own site, The Counselor Stop. This site should directly forward on to The Counselor Stop, but I know there have been some hiccups along the way. I would hate for you to miss out on the new-age of counseloretc., my posts, articles, tips, tricks, advice, etc.

All new posts will be published through The Counselor Stop. If you would like to receive these updates directly to your email follow these simple steps:

1. Visit The Counselor Stop via www.thecounselorstop.com on your favorite web browser. 
2. You will come to the home page which should look like this: 
3. Scroll down just a bit to find the “Subscribe to Blog Via E-mail” section in the right hand sidebar. 
4. Type in your e-mail address and hit subscribe.                      
5. You may think you are done, but you are not. Now you have to confirm your subscription.
6. SO now, login into your e-mail account and check your e-mail for something from The Counselor Stop. 
7. Click “Confirm to Follow” 
8. It will take you to this page to show you that you are now following The Counselor Stop. You can even click on the blue hyperlink to send you straight to the page. 
9. Voila! Done . . . . and I promise I don’t ever bombard your inboxes. Pinkie promise!

I would love to have you following The Counselor Stop! Your support is how I now have the opportunity to grow my site and business. I truly couldn’t have done it without you. So, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE continue this joinery with me. P.S. if you already follow this blog, you should be okay. I think (I’m no computer genius) I have everyone successfully transferred to my new site to receive updates. If you don’t receive my new post tomorrow, follow the steps above.

There are currently 3 ways to follow The Counselor Stop (formerly counseloretc.):

1. Through e-mail updates . . . directions above.
2. On Facebook. Like my page The Counselor Stop. I will post all new and old articles there along with little extras you can’t get anywhere else!
3. Or on Pinterest where you can pin your favorite links, lessons, and articles to share with friends around the globe.

I look forward to your continued support. You all are super awesome!

A Healthy Amount of Curiosity Never Killed The Cat

Our 4th new character skill was curiosity. This one was especially hard to teach because so many students were taught that curiosity would get them into trouble. I had to reframe their thinking into remembering that curiosity leads us to learn new things. All learning starts when we are first curious about something. 

Your Outlook on Life

We’ve all heard the saying, “Seeing the world through rose colored glasses.” Little do we know, children are looking at their world through all sorts of different colored lenses.

During a lesson with my 2nd graders, we discussed how certain feelings will make us see things differently. They will make us look at the world, the problem, the situation, and our friends differently. The lesson helped us recognize these lenses and how we can fix our lenses to see things clearly. 

Summertime Cilantro Quinoa

There is nothing that puts me more in the mood for cooking than a beautiful day. Sunny skies, perfect temperatures, and a lazy Sunday all remind me that summer is right around the corner. I feel happier and more energetic. I got more done today than I ever could get done on these rainy, dreary work weeks in Houston.

Preschool Animal Hunt

Beginning this year I started working with our preschool students . . . we are talking 3 and 4 year olds. There is nothing more in this world that makes me more confused about having kids than working with preschoolers.

New name! But Why?!

Before starting this blog in 2012, I was a first year school counselor, a grad student, member of a professional dance team, and a side artist. I had little time and quickly became frustrated with the lack of resources I was finding out there for busy school counselors like myself. I started the blog in hopes of helping others around me with similar issues.

Today is Wonderful Because . . .

I got a little bit ahead of myself when I posted my zest article . . . I went ahead and assumed that my optimism lesson wasn’t that good because I never had any student work to prove that it went well . . . and then I discovered a sneaky little pile of paper that proved me wrong!

There tucked safely away, was a month’s worth of optimism lessons. Just sitting there optimistically awaiting their finding. So after reviewing what I actually taught and looking at the work samples, I was surprised to see just how awesome the lesson actually was! Cue “Everything is Awesome” song in your head . . . . and scene . . .

Everything is Awesome

Back in December, I switched my character skills to some that might have more learning potential than our original 6 traits that we practiced in the past. You may remember my post about this. We began with Grit, moved into Optimism, and then on to Zest.

Promoting Your Program Through Monthly Newsletters

I apologize for the throughly lame title to this post . . . but I honestly couldn’t think of a cute, witty title  . . . Don’t judge a book by it’s cover, I promise this will be worth the read!

Last year, I started writing up monthly newsletters for the parents. I wanted to promote my program, so they knew what their child was learning during “Character Education.” During my first year of counseling (as the first counselor at the school), I kept battling parents who were truly angry when they heard their child came to see me or that I went into the classroom to teach a lesson. They figured if their child saw the counselor then there was one of two problems:

1. Their child was spilling all the family secrets

and/or

2. Something was wrong with their child and he would come talk to me

and inadvertently, even though he was only 4, he would spill all the family secrets.

Emotional Needs of Boys

Three weeks ago today, I was asked to speak at my school’s Benefactor Dinner. They asked that I speak about how my program addresses the emotional needs of boys. I was about one second away from declining due to my fear of speaking in front of more than 1 person . . . an introvert’s nightmare. Give me 100 children, I’ll sing and dance for you, but a room full of adults, the most influential adults in our school community? Ya I’d turn that down, sweat through 15 shirts, and nearly have a panic attack . . . instead I said yes . . . sweat through 2 shirts, nearly had a panic attack, and settled for a glass of wine to cool my nerves instead.