School Counseling Simplified Podcast

Latest Episodes:

103: How I Went from Stressed to Obsessed with Classroom Counseling Lessons Aug 02, 2022

Show notes

Are you feeling stressed with planning class lessons and want to feel competent and prepared? I am sharing how I went from being overwhelmed with planning lessons to feeling confident in my lessons and how you can get there too!

Today, I am diving into a few things that always come up when I talk to other counselors about planning class lessons. We are looking at two ways you can feel more competent and prepared, how and why we should stop last minute lesson planning, how we can tell that what we are doing is working and making a difference, and some tips to help you feel valued by your colleagues. We all have a lot on our plates and we know our work is so important. Let's take the stress out of lesson planning so we can focus on providing quality lessons to our students and collaborating with our colleagues.

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/classroom-counseling-lessons

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

Never Stress About Class Lessons Again! Jul 28, 2022

Show notes

I have exciting news! The doors to my Stress Free Class Lessons Course are now open!

Inside this bonus episode, you'll hear more details about what this course is, who it's for, and a breakdown of all five modules.

The doors to this course are open for a limited time. Enrollment ends on August 2, 2022 at midnight. When you join you'll gain lifetime access to all of the lessons! Check out the course here: https://www.stressfreeschoolcounseling.com/classlessons

102: 4 Mistakes I Made Teaching Classroom Counseling Lessons Jul 26, 2022

Show notes

We've all made mistakes, right? Well, let me tell you, a lot of mistakes were made when I started teaching classroom lessons as a new school counselor. I want to share these mistakes with you and what I learned from each one so you don't have to make these same mistakes!

Today, I'm being a little vulnerable and sharing some mistakes and learning experiences I had when teaching classroom counseling lessons. I am sharing what happened when I didn't prioritize classroom lessons, why I was stressed every month trying to schedule lessons, how I would lose control of my class, and how I was scrambling to plan lessons. The good news is that I learned from these mistakes and I am sharing my solutions with you, too!

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/mistakes-made-teaching-counseling-lessons

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

101: 3 Tools for Keeping Students Engaged During Classroom Lessons Jul 21, 2022

Show notes

Keeping students engaged is a great preventative classroom management strategy. But maybe you're asking yourself, "How could I possibly keep an entire class engaged for the whole lesson?" Today, I am sharing some of my favorite engaging activities for you to do with your students!

In this episode, I am breaking down how to use 3 tools that are fun and engaging for your students. I am explaining how to effectively implement scoot games, escape rooms, and game shows into your lessons to keep your students engaged, learning, and on task. These lesson ideas take a little more prep but are so worth it to see your students interact and enjoy your lessons!

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/keeping-students-engaged

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

100: How to Teach When You're Not a Teacher! Jul 19, 2022

Show notes

Does the thought of teaching class lessons overwhelm you? Maybe you don't have classroom teaching experience or you aren't comfortable managing an entire classroom while trying to teach a lesson. I know how you feel! Today, I am sharing a few tips I have learned that will help you in the classroom.

In this episode, we are diving into four things you can do to feel more prepared to teach classroom counseling lessons. We are talking about classroom management tips, how to get some insight on a class before you step into a classroom to teach your lessons, and how to feel more confident when teaching. I am giving you examples of how to use these tips and sharing why they are useful.

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/teach-when-not-a-teacher

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

99: Sourcing Classroom Lesson Topics Jul 12, 2022

Show notes

Are you unsure what to teach during classroom lessons? Is coming up with ideas for meaningful and impactful lessons overwhelming? This episode is for you! As counselors, we have A LOT on our plates and coming up with lesson ideas for each grade for the entire year can seem daunting and stressful.

Today, we are diving into ways to come up with lesson ideas stress free and simple! Gone are the days of wondering how you will think of topics for all of your classroom lessons! I am giving you seven places you can get ideas for lessons from, tips to implement lessons from these sources, and my favorite ways to utilize these lesson idea sources.

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/classroom-lesson-topics

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

98: How to Teach Counseling Lessons When You Have a Huge Caseload Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

How am I supposed to find time to plan and teach classroom lessons on top of individual and small group lessons? Have you asked yourself this question before? Doing it ALL can be overwhelming! But the good news is that there are ways to make it all less stressful.

In today's episode, we are doing a deep dive on classroom counseling lessons. We are looking at small, actionable steps that you can take to meet your goal of seeing all the students on your caseload with as little stress as possible. I am giving you 3 simple steps to help with scheduling and teaching lessons, tips on how to easily complete these tasks, and a way to outsource some of your workload! We all want things to be less complicated and more efficient, especially when we have a huge caseload, and this episode is loaded with tips to help!

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/lessons-with-huge-caseload

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

97: Summer Self-Care Tips for School Counselors Jun 28, 2022

Show notes

We all want to use the summer to spend time with our family and friends, rest, and prepare for the upcoming school year. I know that preparing for the school year is so important and I love giving you tips to help make the school year easier, but today, we are focusing on taking time for self-care this summer.

So many people talk about the importance of self care but what does self care even look like? Today, I am giving you my 3 favorite summer self care tips to help you relax, rejuvenate, and refresh so you are ready to take on the school year come fall. I'd love to hear about some of your favorite self care practices and activities! Send me a message on Instagram and share your self care go-tos.

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/summer-self-care

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

96: How to Collect School Counseling Data Throughout the School Year Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

Have you ever gotten to the end of the school year and panicked because you don't have enough data for your reports? Today we are doing a deep dive into data collection sources! Don't worry, these are likely things you are already doing in some way that you can adjust to use for data collection!

In this episode, I am giving you an inside look at one of the quarterly training sessions we had inside the IMPACT program. We are looking at ways to collect data starting at the beginning of the year so you aren't stressing when summer is near! We dive into 9 ways to collect a variety of data in a less intimidating and overwhelming way. I give you tips on how to easily record data using Google Calendar, spreadsheets, counseling logs, observations, and more in a way that is easy to refer back to at the end of the year.

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/collect-school-counseling-data

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!

95: How to Incorporate Journaling into Your Counseling Sessions with Literacy Specialist Megan Polk Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

Are you looking for a way to incorporate journaling into your classroom and group activities or give your current journaling practices a revamp but aren't sure what that could look like? We are diving into all things journaling today! I have a special guest who is here to share some of her great tips and insight on journaling.

Megan Polk of The Literacy Dive is here to share with us how she has used journals in her classroom. She gives us tips for journaling and talks about the benefits that come along with journaling for students. She explains how to use journaling for both academics and as a safe space to get personal things out for students so they are better able to focus. Megan also spills how she gets students who don't want to write, excited about journal time. Good news - It's easy to implement! You don't want to miss her insight on the best time to journal, illustrating during journal time, different prompts, honoring student privacy, and how to improve journaling with your students!

Show Notes: https://brightfutures-counseling.com/podcast-episodes/journaling-into-counseling-sessions

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If you are enjoying School Counseling Simplified please follow and leave us a review on Apple Podcasts!