Coping Skills 101

This year in our county, we chose to focus more on coping skills at the elementary level.  The county required that all counselors teach 2-3 lessons (that they provided) on coping skills in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade classes.  I loved the lessons and felt like they were very valuable life skills that could help students be more resilient and successful in the future.  I also felt like these lessons could help to prevent a lot of the social/emotional issues that we see come up at our school. 
I decided to also implement a modified version of these lessons at all grade levels k-5.  In k-1 I taught a few less coping skills, and then in the higher grades, I taught all of the coping skills.  We also practiced all of the skills in the classroom, including doing some mindfulness activities and some breathing exercises from Go Noodle. 
I have found these lessons to be SO beneficial.  It seems like we reference our Coping Skills poster so often in classroom lessons and in individual and group counseling.  I even gave my Assistant Principal a poster that she could use with students when they are in the office for discipline issues. 
My wonderful intern needed to complete a project for her internship.  Her task was to design a program or project that would benefit the school and enhance the school counseling program.  I knew exactly what I wanted her to do!  She tirelessly created over 40 posters for all my classrooms.  So next year, I will again review these coping strategies with all of my students, but now, every classroom in the school will have a copy of the poster to reference. 
Do you teach coping skills in your classroom lessons?  I would love to hear your ideas!

Liven up your program with new resources!

I don't know about you, but I always feel like new resources energize my program.  I get excited about the new resources, and my excitement is contagious with the kids! You know what makes a new resource even better?  When it is CHEAP!  The invention of Teachers Pay Teachers has made resources so affordable and easy to access.  And of course, the best ideas come from fellow school counselors. 

Here are a few items that I highly recommend from TPT:

1.  Christmas Reindeer Games:
 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Reindeer-Games-Teasing-Meanness-Conflicts-and-Bullying-1589191

Around the holidays, I love to do something fun and seasonal, and this lesson definitely fits the bill.  It is so cute!  But more importantly, it teaches a very important concept that I have been trying to teach to students and adults for YEARS. At my school, we seem to struggle with overusing the bullying term.   In this lesson, students learn the difference between Teasing, Being Mean, Having a Conflict, and Bullying.  Students then use their critical thinking skills to analyze scenarios and decide which category each falls under.  The kids loved it--I had several students make comments to me in the hall about how great the lesson was, and my daughter said her class LOVED my lesson.  And I loved that they thoroughly grasped such an important concept by the end of the lesson.  This resource costs $4 and is worth every penny!

2.  The Friendship Book:



https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Friendship-Book-Friend-or-Frenemy-Healthy-Friendships-Girls-Group-3069620

I always struggle with teaching this topic.  It can be hard to help some students understand the difference between a true friend and a "fake" friend.  I originally bought this resource to use with a couple individual students who were having some "mean girl" issues, but I really fell in love with the resource.  I ended up using this resource for part of my friendship group, and also adapted the materials and used them for a 5th grade lesson on Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships.  This one costs a little more at $12.50 but totally worth it!

3.  Calming Strategies Classroom Guidance:


https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Calming-Strategies-Classroom-Guidance-Lesson-for-Teaching-Coping-Skills-2901297

This year I have focused on teaching coping skills at all grade levels, k-5.  I feel like this is a very important life skill, but can be a little dry if not taught the right way.  This lesson does a great job of making it fun.  First I talked about the movie Finding Dory and how great Crush was about "going with the flow."  I introduced the idea of coping skills and how they help us feel better if we are having a "yucky" feeling that doesn't feel good.  I then read the included booklet and write the strategies on the board as we discuss.  Finally the kids make their own turtle with the coping skills on the back.  The kids had so much fun making their turtles.  It made my realize that I can really "hook" students in by using more arts and crafts in my program.  This resource is a total bargain at $2!!!!



Hope this post helps you to make some great purchases that will liven up your program, both for you and your students  :)