Mrs. Crabtree's Counseling Corner

This is my 6th year as Counselor here, so I figured it was time for an office makeover. I am super excited about it because it was so cheap! I made the wall art out of foam board and scrapbook paper, along with some leftover fabric I had. I have a secret obsession with decopauge so I went a little crazy I guess!  Lol! I had a lamp that was red so I just recovered with my fabric to match the wall art. Yes--decopauge!!! I told you I'm obsessed!  I took the liberty of recovering my pencil holder as well, and will post that pic later. This is another piece of foam board I just recovered with scrapbook paper. I put it on a picture stand to place some important pamphlets I use regularly. It's cool to use the foam board as a cork board.  I can't take credit for this. I found it on Pinterest but it has made the job of finding me so much easier!  Oh I have to say that my sweet hubby did the stem and grass of the flower!   So my ne...

The first week of school is behind me and I have to say, it was such a smooth start!!!  I am now looking toward next week, and where I begin with my Guidance Lessons.  It only seems natural to me to begin with how to be a good listener, and Habit 1:  Be Proactive. Click on the picture above, and you will see that I have attached this lesson, along with a link to supplements I found on Teachers Pay Teachers.  To locate this link, just go to the bottom of the lesson plan where it says 'worksheets.' Points of Discussion:  I always want my little ones to know that I love seeing them in the hallways, and I know how excited they get.  It never fails, one student always jumps out of line to give me a hug, and then sure enough, gets in trouble.  I always feel so bad!  I created what I call 'The microwave' with students.  When they see me in the hallway and want to say hi, they can just raise their index finger and wave it at me.  This ...

When teaching First Things First to little ones, it can be very difficult to get that point across, because after all, everything is important tot them!  Therefore, I use a common everyday task that I am certain at least most kids are asked to do.  We discuss how to manage the cleaning process and make sure we "Put First Things First" while cleaning.  I use this fun acronym to help them remember that cleaning your room can be 'EASY.'  I allow them time to color it nicely so they can go home and hang it on their fridge, or in their bedroom, to help remind them what to do when cleaning their rooms.  

It's easy to know what the music and art teachers do, but for School Counselors, that's a little tricky. I have been doing this lesson since I started 6 years ago and I have found that it really sticks with the kids. I use objects and place them in a bag. Each object represents something that I do as their School Counselor. 🔸Trophy:  because I believe they are all winners and I want them to see that in themselves.  🔸Heart shape cut out with a band aid: I fix broken hearts and will help make it feel better when it hurts.  🔸Sunglasses:  I think your future is bright and I will help you see that. 🔸Eraser:  I will help you fix your mistakes.  🔸Compass:  I teach them how to lead.  🔸Puppy stuffed animal with long ears:  I am a good listener.  🔸Calculator:  I can help solve the most complicated life problem.  🔸Lock from a locker:  I'm a secret keeper. I lock all the secrets students tell me inside m...

I think all of us would agree that RTI is quite a bear to tackle! The paperwork alone is enough to make anyone crazy. I am lucky in that I have an RTI coordinator; however, I have parents and teachers calling all the time needing to know information about their child's progress.  In addition, it never fails that we get into RTI meetings to discuss a student, and we forget the student work samples. Well, this year, we have come up with a great plan and I am super excited about it!  We are using Dropbox to help streamline the process of tracking, and documenting student work, etc.  So far, I think it's gonna work beautifully!  Now, teachers can use their smartphone to snap a picture of the child's work and automatically upload it into that child's folder.  Any correspondence, progress report, and basically anything having to do with that child's progress can be imported digitally, so anyone who needs to can access it from anywhere provided they have been given th...

Begin with the End in Mind We use data notebooks in our school and it's my job to teach appropriate goal setting. I use SMART goals as a way to help kids remember the correct way to write goals. Here is the worksheet I use to guide this process. At the bottom, you will notice a simple template for helping the students fill in their goals.  This way, all the goals look the same, and ensures they are 'SMART.'

Be Proactive Lesson: This lesson helps illustrate that we choose the type of weather we have in our day.  While weather is nothing we can control, I teach the students that it's how we respond to the type of weather (or day) that is within our control.  This is used primarily for K-2 students to help them see the correlation between emotions and weather.  I have attached a PowerPoint and worksheet to help illustrate this lesson. I Choose My Weather Powerpoint : I Choose My Weather Worksheet