Posts by Lynne Watts
7 Questions to Measure Success
Here’s a quick survey for you: Being an elementary school counselor can be Exciting Fun Fulfilling Lonely Frustrating Overwhelming All of the above Other: My guess is that on any given day you could answer: All of the Above. As employees of a school system, we of course have yearly evaluations regarding our success at…
Read MoreIs It Possible to Motivate Kids?
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…
Read MoreTeaching Kids Leadership and Problem Solving Skills
Preparing Kids for the Future If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be. ~ Johann Wolfgang Goethe Every child needs to…
Read MoreUse Brain Science to Change Behavior
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…
Read MoreKeeping it positive in a negative world
Breathing Your Way to Calm
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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