Planning Counts: Ending the School Year Strong

counselor lesson plans

Planning Counts One thing that I enjoyed about working in a school was that the year and the job had a definite beginning and end. There was always the excited anticipation at the beginning of the year and of course a different kind of excitement as the year came to a close and students moved…

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Is It Possible to Motivate Kids?

goal setting

Kids and Motivation In today’s educational environment, we are more aware than ever that student motivation and engagement is essential for lasting learning. I can’t tell you how many times as a school counselor, I had discussions with teachers, parents and kids about being motivated. However, I’m afraid we rarely discussed how important intrinsic motivation…

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Use Brain Science to Change Behavior

two girls and ideas

Teach Lessons that Change Behavior Back in the day when I was teaching lessons to children regularly as a school counselor, I was always trying to determine the best way to engage children in the lesson as well as make sure that they could actually learn and remember it later.  Lucky for educators and parents…

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Breathing Your Way to Calm

boy meditating

Breathing Techniques to De-Stress Kids Back when I was in school counseling, using breathing techniques to help kids gain control over emotions, especially anxiety and stress wasn’t as common as it is today. Today mindfulness which can involve centering our attention on our senses and using breathing practices to regulate emotion is not only easy…

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