Books That Heal Kids: counselor resources

Showing posts with label counselor resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label counselor resources. Show all posts

Book Review: The CBT Art Activity Book - 100 Illustrated Handouts for Creative Therapeutic Work


By: Jennifer Guest

About This Book: Explore complex emotions and enhance self-awareness with these 100 ready-to-use creative activities.

The intricate, attractive designs are illustrated in the popular zentangle style and are suitable for adults and young people, in individual or group work. The worksheets use cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and art as therapy to improve self-esteem, emotional well being, anger management, coping with change and loss, problem solving and future planning. The coloring pages are designed for relaxing stress management and feature a complete illustrated alphabet and series of striking mandala designs.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I'm so happy to have this workbook to use with students in my counseling sessions. It can be a challenge finding resources that have SOLID handouts to help kids work through problems. These will really enhance your toolkit. I HIGHLY recommend!






A Link To This Book:
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Book Review: Ready-To-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom


From the Book Jacket: Ready-to-Use Resources for Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with tools they need to help students change their thinking about their abilities and potential. The book features ready-to-use, interactive tools for students, teachers, parents, administrators, and professional development educators. Parent resources include a sample parent webpage and several growth mindset parent education tools. Other resources include: mindset observation forms, student and teacher "look for," lists of books that contribute to growth mindset thinking, critical thinking strategy write-ups and samples, and a unique study guide for the original book that includes book study models from various schools around the country. This book is prefect for schools looking to implement the ideas in Mindsets in the Classroom so that they can build a growth mindset learning environment. When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. This book contains many of the things that schools need to create a growth mindset school culture in which perseverance can lead to success!

Why It's On My Bookshelf: So thrilled there is a resource guide to go with Mindsets in the Classroom. I blogged about this book about two years ago and was really hoping a curriculum would eventually be published to go with it. My wish came true! I've been piecing together my own lessons around mindset for the past year. This is going to be so helpful to my work in this area. I highly recommend this one to start out your school year. Feeling inspired!









A Link to This Book and Others You Might Find Helpful: 



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Mindsets in the Classroom

Author: Mary Cay Ricci

From the Book Jacket: When students believe that dedication and hard work can change their performance in school, they grow to become resilient, successful students. Inspired by the popular mindset idea that hard work and effort can lead to success, Mindsets in the Classroom provides educators with ideas for ways to build a growth mindset school culture, wherein students are challenged to change their thinking about their abilities and potential. The book includes a planning template, step-by-step description of a growth mindset culture, and "look-fors" for adopting a differentiated, responsive instruction model teachers can use immediately in their classrooms. It also highlights the importance of critical thinking and teaching students to learn from failure. The book includes a sample professional development plan and ideas for communicating the mindset concept to parents. With this book's easy-to-follow advice, tasks, and strategies, teachers can grow a love of learning in their students.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I'm not in the position to review this book yet because I just got it. But it looks so fabulous and we have talked about the adult version of Mindset in my school before. I had no idea there was a KID version so thank you to the person who commented in one of my blog posts that they use it as a resource. So excited to start reading it. I am always looking for creative inspiration in my profession and I really see this bringing forth A LOT of change in students' thinking.

A Link to This Book:

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Review: Building Everyday Leadership in All Kids


Building Everyday Leadership in All Kids: An Elementary Curriculum to Promote Attitudes and Actions for Respect and Success
Author: Mariam G MacGregor
Publisher: Free Spirit Publishing
Grades K-6

About It: Can elementary aged kids be leaders? Yes! The fun, interactive sessions in this book help kids learn a leadership attitude that can benefit them in social, emotional, and academic ways.
  • 48 ready-to-use sessions teach leadership skills through activities, discussion, observation, reading, writing, and goal setting
  • Activities are geared specifically to early elementary and upper elementary kids, with special modifications for students transitioning to middle school
  • Applicable in a wide range of settings: classrooms, after=school groups, advisory or family groups, service learning and leadership programs, and community and faith based programs
  • Supports academic subjects as well as character education, anti-bullying units, and social/emotional curricula
  • Contains short sessions convenient for transition periods and longer sessions for deeper instruction
  •  All 34 reproducible handouts in the book are also available as downloadable, customizable PDFs at freespirit.com
**Aligned with curriculum standards including the Common Core State Standards

Why It's On My Bookshelf: This curriculum is such a score for my students and my lessons. Leadership has been on my mind lately and frankly - some of the activities I've been using have really fallen flat or were swiped from the internet in desperation. In fact, I'm trying to remember the last time I did a solid lesson on leadership - hmmm....been awhile. Unacceptable. Can my students even define it? I want to change that for next year. The activities are fun, engaging, and students will be inspired while gaining important leadership skills. Thank goodness I have this new curriculum. Cannot wait to put it to GREAT use. I'm going to start using it on Day 1 with 3-5 graders.

PS. This curriculum is not just for counselors. It's essential for teachers too!



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Book Review: The Unwritten Rules of Friendship: Simple Strategies to Help Your Child Make Friends


Authors: Natalie Madorsky Elman and Eileen Kennedy-Moore

From the Book Jacket: "Nobody likes me" is a complaint that parents hear all too often, and few utterances make them feel more helpless. What can a parent do for a child who feels isolated, rejected, or out of sync with his or her peers?

This practical and compassionate handbook draws on the authors' experience working with thousands of children to offer you as a parent (or teacher or caregiver) tools you can use - including practical activities, games, and exercises - to identify a child's social strengths and to sharpen any child's social skills. 

Nearly every child has trouble with social relationships in some way, at some time. Some children feel awkward in groups. Some have trouble resolving arguments. Some stick out in such a way that they become natural targets for bullies. And some seem virtually incapable of making friends. No matter what your child's situation - whether he or she is  a born leader or a constant complainer, a wallflower or an unwitting aggressor, a poor sport or a perfectionist - you'll recognize your child's struggles in the case studies in this book. You'll discover why certain children don't "get" particular social conventions, and you'll learn simple strategies for increasing your child's awareness of the unspoken underpinnings of social interactions - knowledge that is essential to building, sustaining, and repairing relationships.

Why It's On My Bookshelf: INVALUABLE. I might just leave it at that and call this review done. Okay, but seriously The Unwritten Rules of Friendship is a wonderful resource. I've been using it for years and it is so HELPFUL to my work and how I view children. I read all kinds of parenting, counseling, and self-help literature aimed at kids so I know when I've got a good one when I just can't put it down and all I want to do is learn more and more about children. Sigh. It's a beautiful thing. I work with kids everyday on friendship. It's not something we talk about in the first week of school and then let it go. It's an ever evolving process. Relationships are tricky business and kids need all the help we can give them. HOWEVER, there is a way to do it so we don't become "helicopter" educators and parents. That's the number one reason I like this book. The strategies don't require me to "fix" all the problems. But I can at least help students navigate their way through the elementary years with an extremely good understanding of all the issues that accompany friendship. I've developed solid strategies and It's helped me develop language to use around friendship struggles. 

Quote on the cover says, "This book is saturated with really good advice for parents and, at least indirectly, for children themselves."  Really good advice is probably an understatement. Try awesome advice. Also, it's advice that makes sense. They don't throw a bunch of psycho babble at you. The authors have dedicated chapters to different types of children based on personality traits which is genius: The Vulnerable Child; The Intimidating Child; The Different Drummer; The Shy Child; The Short-Fused Child; The Little Adult; The Sensitive Soul; The Born Leader; and The Pessimistic Child. Each of those kids exists in some shape or form in my school. Over the years, I've received phone calls from frustrated parents or heard comments from teachers about how so and so can't make friends....this book offers hope. I will continue to recommend The Unwritten Rules of Friendship and look forward to re-reading it again this year as a refresher. Another thought - this might also be a great book club read for educators.

A Link to This Book:
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Book Review: Teaching Kids With Mental Health and Learning Disorders in the Regular Classroom - How to Recognize, Understand, and Help Challenged (and Challenging) Students Succeed

Author: Myles L. Cooley, Ph.D.

About This Book: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD).  Dysthymia. Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD). Asperger's Syndrome. Do you know what they are? Would you recognize them if you saw them? Would you know how to respond?

Mainstreaming was implemented with good intentions, but it left many teachers with the daunting task of helping students with mental health and learning disorders and related behavioral problems. Formerly taught in special education classes, these students are now in your classroom. If you don't always feel prepared or you sometimes feel overwhelmed, you're not alone. 

This accessible, ready-to-use guide describes mental health and learning disorders often observed in school children, explains how each might be exhibited in the classroom, and offers suggestions for what to do (and what not to do). -from the book jacket

Why It's On My Bookshelf: I'm starting to think maybe the greatest threat to education in the United States is teacher burnout. I don't think it's the children causing "teacher exodus."  Yes, it's true more and more classrooms each year are full of needy and challenging students. There are a lot of factors that go into burnout but blaming the children is not one of them. From my own personal experience as a school counselor, there seems to be a lack of strong preparation, training, and resources for educators in the area of mental health and learning disorders. Teaching Kids with Mental Health and Learning Disorders in the Regular Classroom is definitely part of the remedy to this problem.  When I discovered this resource, I immediately started putting it to good use.

Have you ever been in a student meeting where it feels like the "team" is not really on the same page? The intention to help the student is there, but the meeting gets off course or doesn't take a course. It can sometimes feel like there is a hush hushness about the disorder, confusion about the diagnosis, the "experts" are using different jargon that you don't understand, or there is too much time being spent on formalities like paperwork. It can feel very compartmentalized. I would highly recommend educators use this resource to relieve these problems so you can get to work on helping the student! It's an empowering tool that I absolutely love.

Each mental health and learning disorder is described concretely (about 3 paragraphs), provides behavior and symptoms to look for, and suggests easy classroom strategies and interventions to try. Educators work in busy and demanding jobs so tools that don't waste time are a must.  When the words "Receptive and Expressive Language Disorder" get thrown around - people can get lost.  It's great for giving a refresher about a disorder or disability. You don't need an intimidating 700 page psychiatric manual. But a practical resource like this guide can be a life saver. How many times have you been required to implement a plan for a student? It can be a frustrating process if you are under prepared. Use Teaching Kids with Mental Health and Learning Disorders in the Regular Classroom as part of your foundation for building the plan. A comment from a teacher after we read through the information on Tic Disorders, "That was great insight for the team." This is a solid resource and I've notice it helps my team feel more optimistic and supported.

If you have a professional learning library in your school, encourage your administrator to purchase a copy for your staff. It's definitely nice to have my own copy but it's not something to covet, make sure to share it with your colleagues when you see a need arise.

A final thought, this guide needs to be part of educator curriculums in graduate schools. I just can't stress this enough. If we want to set kids up for success, well lets set the teachers up first!

Find this title at Free Spirit Publishing. (this is one of my fave websites for educators)
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