Simply Magnificent

Last school year (2012-2013) was my very first as a school counselor.  In the program I work for, each school in my district, from elementary to high school, is assigned a two person team (a licensed therapist and mental health worker- a.k.a. me).  I can't wait to introduce you all to Kelly in later posts.  She is a truly gifted therapist I have been honored to be paired with.

On my first day of training, my supervisor presented the middle and high school teams with a journal.  He explained that this journal was meant to be an inspirational tool for these teams to create small groups around.  This journal looked awesome.  I couldn't believe that a) creating therapy groups could look this cool and b) there wasn't a cool journal for the elementary teams!  But, have no fear, my ability to "google" is well honed.

I learned that this amazingly colorful space to express feelings was created and published by a non-profit organization called Art with Heart.  I also learned, Art with Heart makes several great books aimed at children dealing with "emotional stuff." The book I (finally) purchased was Magnificent Marvelous Me.

I chose this book based on its description from the website and ages/developmental levels it targeted.  And I'm so glad I did.  This book provided year long inspiration for small groups.  SPOILER ALERT: I'll share how some of these inspirations turned out in future posts!  Here's a somewhat quick (being brief is not my forte) rundown of my favorite parts of this book (although a strong case could be made for every single page being my favorite...):

• The Introduction and Dedication Pages.  Counselors, bust out your art therapy skills.  These pages provided so much insight into these children's relationships, with others and with themselves.
• The Family Pages.  These pages helped me to understand the difficult family dynamics of each of these children.  And it provides insight for their individual therapy sessions.
• The Feelings Pages.  These pages were great for introducing feelings to the younger groups.  And provided interesting discussion for the older groups.  For children, so many feelings are categorized simply as: mad, sad, glad.  But what kids feel is anything but simple.  These pages were great additions to other lessons on emotions.

Since discovering this great tool, Art with Heart has created their own Magnificent Marvelous Me! preschool group.  Check out their Facebook page for more info!  I would love to hear if any of you have found this company/book as helpful as me. Share your ideas below!

Thanks, Art with Heart, for providing this amazing tool,


Kristina

It's official, I am a blogger.

Welcome to A Crafty Counselor blog!

My intention in beginning this new, creative, and technological adventure is to create a sharing space for school counselors near and far, with my own creative spin.  Over the past year, my first as a school counselor, I gained much insight from pouring over countless counseling blogs (like http://schoolcounselorscrapbook.blogspot.com/).  I utilized these blogs to gather small group ideas, and to learn I am not the only school counselor trying to get creative.  Some ideas I utilized just as I found them and others I put my own spin on.  

As I am sure you will soon learn, I like to put "my own spin" on a lot of things.  Sometimes, this works in my favor. Other times, I can certainly say I learned a thing or two...like when I have three first graders melting down or turning into human pretzels in their chairs.  In lieu of the latter, I must warn you, I don't intend to hold back in my blog.  When things go wonderful, I can't wait to share what worked with all of you.  When things don't go according to my plan, I can't wait to share the things I learned with all of you!  One of the most important things I learned over the past school year: there is no experience or interaction you cannot learn and grow from.  I am so very grateful for the opportunity I have been given to influence these emotionally confused children.  Little do they know just how much they end up teaching me.

With that being said, welcome to a new school year and a new blog.  I hope both turn out to be great adventures!

Kristina