Brooklyn and Boss Take Over My Program

I had the privilege of going to #ASCA16 this week and boy, oh boy, did I meet some amazing people. Not only did I learn from presenters, I learned from those sitting next to me, the brave wonderful souls that came to my session, and my co-workers who kept up with me as I searched New Orleans to find a dog toy for my pups.

I'll post more about the amazing sessions in a bit (and maybe after a needed nap), but for now I want to share a little about what else: DOGS! Ok stop shaking your head. This is really about infusing your passion into your program. So it doesn't have to be dogs, in fact those that know me know cats are first and foremost my love and are often surprised I have a dog theme. So what is your passion? Sports, cars, food? Infuse your passion in your program and I promise it will ignite a fire.



I met some wonderful women this weekend and gained some new sweet Twitter friends and several asked about how I use my dogs in my program. (Shameless plug : you can also follow them on Instagram). So here is goes:

First, a disclaimer. I use the term "brand" loosely. If are you truly wanting to "brand" your program my I suggest visiting The Counseling Geek site and reading more about my ASCA14 trip. I would say my dogs are a predominant theme/presence  in my program. Here's how they influence what I'm doing:

Brooklyn Barks Newsletter/ Brochures- each month I send out a newsletter about my counseling program affectionately titled "Brooklyn Barks News." In it I have "Brooklyn Bytes" - technology tidbits, "Brooklyn's Blue Ribbon Books"- book suggestions for teachers, etc.

I also send out a bi-annual data newsletter. You can see my end of the year newsletter here.
 There is also a newsletter for NSCW.

Read it here!

The also make an appearance in my program brochures!

Program Services

Meet Your Counselor

Stuffed Brooklyn and Boss:

Brooklyn took over my principals office. Ignore the pills she had just had eye surgery.

Brooklyn and Boss make a yearbook appearance. 

A few years ago I won a "crazy dog mom contest" by this wonderful company, Fuzzy Nation, that sadly isn't around anymore.  Our librarian and her kids wrote a list of ten crazy things I did (always bought them gifts, read the bedtime stories, etc.) and I added #11- "I don't think of of these are crazy." Well I won this larger than life stuffed statue of Brooklyn.  So she started coming to school with me. I put her in the hallway, with large butcher paper or poster board speech bubble cut outs. The speech bubble was changed periodically and said anything from "Welcome new K students" to "Be pawsitive today." I loved it. The kids loved it TOO much and Brooklyn ended up getting scratched and hurt.

So I got a smaller one of Boss (well it's not really Boss but don't tell the kids.) This guys goes with me on the morning news, sits in my window sill to greet the kids coming in, sometimes visits a very lucky and well behaved classroom guidance class, and more. 

Classroom Management: I honestly think getting a dog was the best classroom management "class" I ever had. You can read why here .

I have 3 classroom rules, but we call them "Brooklyn's B's for Best Behavior" I have these signs hanging in the room and we often start class with a picture of Brooklyn and Boss not following each of the rules and discuss what they need to be doing differently. It's a fun, quick way to remind students of our rules. This is going to be a lot of fun when we use these same rules as our school wide PBIS rules next year.

Not respectfully giving our friends personal space!

For positive reinforcement I use several things. Remember, I teach two full days a week so I feel like a part time teacher sometimes. I use Class Dojo, but also the "put your name in a cup" system.
Here's how it works. I have 6 books (and Cosmo) displayed at the back of the room. When a student is being respectful, responsible, and remarkable they can put their name in a cup. The books are numbered and so are the dog cups. At the end of the month I pick one name from each cup and that student wins that book to keep forever. I get books from local used book stores, collaborate with our librarian to use scholastic dollars, and even have had parents donate them. I love books so I don't mind spending some money out of pocket, and it's awesome to see kids work for books!

For classroom "corrections" we have a 3- step system. First, they get a laminated yield sign as a non verbal reminder to slow down and make better choices. Second, they get a laminated stop sign and a reminder to take a break at our relaxation center (which I am totally re thinking after ASCA), and third they fill out a behavior reflection sheet and get a write up. Since I have lots to carry around I use this home depot belt to keep my reminders handy.


*Yes, most of my clothing is dog inspired as well!!

Class Decor: I am in the special area rotation 2 days a week and I use a classroom shared by 2 other art teachers. That's right! 3 teachers, 1 room (and two of them are art!). So to help differentiate my stuff I incorporated my dog theme. Also, throughout the building my displays often have a dog theme, so stake holders know - hey this is school counseling related!

 You can see more here and pictures of my office decor here .

Classroom Guidance: Dogs are everywhere here.  First, if i can I will share a pup story related for to our topic. For example, if we are talking about anger management  and conflict resolution I might start out by sharing this picture.

Brooklyn not respectfully sharing.

The kids love it because it humanizes me. You know the "omg you actually exist out of school" looks and talk. By connecting the lesson to the pups, I am not only making myself approachable, but also making a connection to our kids. Did you know that AVMA says that 69,926,000 dogs are owned in the US?


Of course, if possible I use a dog themed book. So for example, instead of reading If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, we read If You Give A Dog A Cupcake. Instead of The Boy That Cried Wolf we read The Dog That Cried Woof! When we do bucketfilling we read Halle and Tiger with Their Bucketfilling Family.  

Or when we are talking about team work I might share these videos:

When we are angry we must "PAWS":

I get a great deal of referrals for students who "can't control" their anger. We spend a lot of time talking about what do to, so I decided to make some fun "paws" with these tips that will go with my dog theme.

I like the idea of having these paws up on the wall, mini paws on the students desk, or making a mini paw for their backpack, etc.

Download some free signs on my TPT store!

Welcome New Friends

Brooklyn and Fidget

Boss making new friends at the "Nuttcracker."

We love making new friends! I also love seeing that people are visiting my blog, which is just a fun way for me to share ideas and of course puppy pictures. Since I have noticed the ticker keeps increasing I wanted to share a few things about Sassy School Counselor with my new readers.

5 Things You Should Know About Me:

Brooklyn hard at work in my office.

1) I have horrific grammar. English was my worst subject from elementary school through college, and it looks like things aren't changing. I started this blog as a fun way to share ideas I have had and the ideas I have begged for, borrowed, and stolen. It's also a fun way for me to write about what I am doing, so in many ways it's like a journal for me. Thus I tend to write my blog entries as if they were my journal entries, which means bad spelling and poor grammar. Worse I have moved away from the amazing E.S. (my former music teacher) who also assisted as a personal editor. So sorry in advance for the spelling and grammar mistakes!

Meeting new friends.

2) Much to the dismay of my friends I often compare working with my students to dog training. The comparison of my baby Brooklyn to our sweet Kindergartners has lead to many a head shake, but I just can't help it. For starters having a dog reminds me of having a toddler- they are always moving, they always need to go to the potty, and they are always learning how to treat others/follow the rules. I have spent hundreds of dollars in dog training and I want to put what I learned to good use. Most of all it connects for me. We are always looking for connections to make with our students and ways to make what we are saying relevant to their lives, and for me looking at a behavior/social problem the way I would look at working with my dog- well it just makes more sense. Please don't take the comparison personal.

Which way are we going?

3) I love finding fun new websites! I remember in the summer of 2010 I was sitting pool side and a friend of a friend said have you heard of this site "Pinterest".  At the time you needed an invitation to join and I thought "huh wonder what that's about." Less than a year later I was addicted. 

I hope will all follow me! (http://www.pinterest.com/sassyscounselor/)

I think you might like....

Dogs. 

What on earth made you think that? Haha.

Well it's true I love having a dog themed program. So I thought I would share some of my other favorite dog themed rooms, ideas, resources, etc. I'll try to update this often so keep checking back.

First, my newest crazy dog idea.

I asked each teacher at my school who is a dog owner to help me choose a character education trait and somehow capture their dog(s) showing off that trait. One of our teachers is an amazing photographer, as you will see below, so I am batting my eyes at her to help us capture each scene. I will then use the images we capture on bulletin boards, in my new classroom, and if we are successful create a calendar for the teachers for each trait of the month.

Here's what Mrs. Jackson came up with for "wisdom" featuring her dog Taylor. The competition for most creative is on don't you think.

Taylor. Image by Kristen Jackson

I know what your thinking, I want to hire her! I did and you won't regret it. If you are in middle TN just ask and I'll send her your contact info.


What do you think of these for endurance?

Gracie girl

Our character education traits from: http://www.coreessentials.org/

More websites, inspiration, and dog themed stuff I love:

For the classroom:
Teaching Pawsitively- this teacher just has adorable written all over her. I am definitely adding her to my Feedly so I can follow her.

A pug themed classroom!- I adore the "attitudes."

School Girl Style- single handily my favorite classroom for dogs ever. Literally ever. I wish I could hire her to recreate this in my room.

Doggie Decor- Schoolgirl Style also has some adorable products on her TPT Store. It makes me want to redo my entire classroom and buy, buy, buy.

DOG- as in the Daily Organization Guide- My friend Mrs. Richardson simply has the best organization guide for her 1st graders. Her classroom is pretty cool too.

Best Behavior Update

My foster Boss went to his first day of doggie school today. The hardest command, "stand up!"
There was even a man with a monkey, yep a monkey. He was still on his best behavior. If he were in my class he would get a 5!

So here is my update on the special area behavior plan.
I also finally put my reflections forms on my Google Drive so you can get them here.

Instead of letting each student earn individual points (we were worried this would be tooooo much work for the entire school) we decided to let the class earn points as a whole. We will still use Class Dojo for individual students and the consequences will still be a three step process.

So here's how the new system works.

Each class starts on out entering the room on a 3. They can clip up by showing respect, responsible behavior, and safety. They can also clip down if the majority is off -task, being rude, etc.
At the end of each class they get a mark on our chart (some of our more competitive classes love to see if they can beat the other grade levels.) If they get 5 five's they get a whole class reward. For example: barefoot day, watch a book trailer, play a game on the smart board, free reading/drawing for 10 mintues, read the book of their choose, etc.

So far it's off to a great start.

Using Loyalty Cards!

Last year I discussed the idea of branding your program. It has been a huge success for me. Not only do I have fun, but it's a great way to subconsciously show just how school wide my program is. One of the cheapest, easiest resources I have used is Vistaprint.  They are fast, cheap, and have lots to choose from.

I especially love their loyalty cards. You can do so much with them. See:

Each individual student I see gets a reminder card. I put them in the teacher's box so they remember too!

In the first blank box I will write the date of the first meeting. Then at the end of each session we write the date for the next time we will meet. Doing it at the end helps them remember the meeting date and helps me if there is a last minute date change. They also use it as a hall pass to see me.  

This is one of my favorite uses. I use it with all ages. My favorite way to use it is through consultation with teachers. It's fantastic for student's whose behavior isn't ideal, my ASD, ADHD students, etc. I use it as a punch card. I encourage the teachers to create by in by punching the card every time they see the students do anything great the first few weeks. Ideally they can complete an entire card in say three days. The early success helps with the buy-in as we make the goal harder and harder. They may get anything as a reward: gum, certificate, note home to parent, whatever. Then we make it harder and harder and the goal more challenging so eventually they are used weekly. You won't spend more than $20 on 250 cards so don't worry about running out. 

I'm going to need to see some documentation!

Documentation is without a doubt one area I always feel like I need to improve upon.

This year I am creating a small group binder, a individual binder, a parent involvement  binder,  behavior binder, etc. So today I set out making some consistant paper work to go in them.  Here's what I came up with and a new behavior plan I helped develop for the special area crew:

Top Dog Books....Collaboration With Your Librarian

First, I have to brag on my good friend, our school librarian, Mrs. Svarda for being school and district teacher of the year. She is simply amazing at everything she does. One of the many things she excels in is collaboration, and I am always taking advantage of it.

Here is this months Top Dog book display. For those of you who are new to my blog, my character education program is called "Top Dogs" and you can read more about it here.

Today one of the most amazing mom's ever helped me amp up my display. First, we had paw prints leading to the book display with a rug I got in the dollar bin at Target. It's a fun way to draw student to my display while reminding them (through my brand) that this probably has something to do with counseling.

We add some fun paw displays and surrounded the books with words that you may find in the definition our character education word of the month- "caring."