I was at King Soopers the Other Day & a Giveaway

It's amazing how you find the most wonderful gems suddenly and randomly, when you really shouldn't be spending any extra money. This is what happened to me at King Soopers the other day when I was grabbing groceries for dinner. 

I guess it is typical of a School Counselor (or just typical of me!) to wander into the toy/arts sections of all stores always keeping an eye out for potential objects for counseling strategies. 

This is an item that I am sure that many of you have heard about, but it wasn't until this fateful day that I decided to actually buy it. They are called Rory's Story Cubes.   

Basically, each side of each cube has an image on it. The challenge is to tell a story connecting all nine Story Cubes once tossed. There are a variety of ways that these can be used in a counselor's office, from having a small group work together to tell a story or for one student during an individual session. 

This could be used as an icebreaker, energizer, or a get to know you activity. 

You can also find tons of other things to do with these cube at their website. 

I had my husband try these cubes out after he decided the first story I told wasn't creative enough. Ha! It was quite entertaining to hear him create an adventure with the nine Story Cubes. I almost wanted to keep these at home just so that we could play with them! Clearly, these Story Cubes are engaging and great for the creative mind. 

I haven't done a giveaway in awhile so I have decided that one lucky reader will get their very own set of Rory's Story Cubes! Woot! To enter, check below. Giveaway will end on Monday. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Sunshine Committee: Encouraging the Staff in your School

This year, I became part of our Lead Team at my school- lead teachers, admin, and others come together once a month to discuss essential information that pertains to the future development of the school.

One meeting, our principal asked around to see if anyone was interested in leading a "climate" committee- and I ended up volunteering for it. Fortunately, I have four co-workers who immediately signed up to be a part of it all and the SUNSHINE COMMITTEE was born! I am so grateful to these peeps who willingly stepped up to be positive influences in thier workplace. They are such a creative and energetic bunch. You should see our emails....

Throughout this year, we have planned and coordinated several functions to lift the spirits of the staff. Below, you will see pictures from our most recent events: Pi Day and "Mock"tail Day. "Mock"tail day was such a blast! We asked the staff to wear their beach wear and to come prepared to be relaxed! This particular day was planned the last day of State Assessments and in celebration of Spring Break to come. You could even do this on the last day of school!

I went ahead a linked several boards with recipes for you to click on here at Pinterest.

                                               



The other event we held, Pi Day, was simple but full of sugar and sunshine highs. We were able to bring in several pies, brew coffee, and have ice cream available for the staff throughout the day.

It really is amazing how simple planned events can make the climate around school feel lighter and more bearable. I don't know about you, but I have realized that my job doesn't just pertain to the students. I have plenty of opportunities to be a reasonable, but ethical sounding board for the people I work with too and a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day.

If you don't have your own Sunshine Committee- I would definitely recommend starting one.

April #scchat: Leadership Groups

I am so excited to let you all know that I will be moderating the next #scchat on Twitter! 

Come ready to chat about leadership groups in your schools, how you facilitate them, and get brand new ideas to use in the new year. 

The #scchat will begin at 8pm EST and 6pm MST. 

If you haven't ever participated in a Twitter Chat, it is well worth the time. 

It is serious Professional Development that can be done in your pajamas and with no make-up on. 

These chats are coordinated by the wonderful Danielle Schultz and Erin Mason who strive to offer relevant resources for other school counselors on the web. 

For directions on how to participate, click HERE.

To see more of the ongoing conversation between School Counselors on Twitter, check out the feed HERE.

And don't forget to tune in on April 2, 2013 to tweet all about Leadership Groups.