A Bad Case of Stripes!

I have had a great time with first and third grade this week! Our focus this week has been respecting the differences of others and the identifying the students’ uniqueness.  I began the lesson by reading the book, A Bad Case of Stripes, which is written by David Shannon. The main character, Camilla, is afraid to tell others that she likes to eat lima beans in fear that she will get teased for being different. This book engages students and helps them realize that we are all different and have different likes but that’s a GOOD thing! The students were encouraged to brainstorm foods that they like to eat but that others may not. 

I asked the each student to create a class book, which displays all of the different foods they enjoy eating. During this exercise, the students picked a wide array of foods including carrots, fish, celery, peas, tomatoes, green beans, and broccoli.

This is the artwork of a third grade student who likes to eat carrots.

This is the artwork of a first grade student who likes to eat fish.

After each student was finished creating their page of the book, they were invited to color one stripe on the title page to resemble the main character’s stripes. Each class will get their book back so the students can see how many differences exist in one class. This was a really fun activity that we all enjoyed J

This is Mrs. Pullium's third grade class' title page. What great artists!

September 15, 2014:

I have really enjoyed getting to know the kindergarten, first, and third grade classes! We are already off to a fantastic start! Here is an update on what your students have been learning in their guidance lessons. A few themes we have discussed are the importance of identifying and expressing feelings appropriately, listening, teamwork, and friendship.

The kindergarteners have been studying feelings and how to identify what others are feeling. In our first lesson, the kindergarteners identified happy, sad, angry, and scared feelings. They then completed a worksheet where they drew faces of each of those feelings. I saw some great artwork! In the first and third grades, I did an introductory lesson and explained the role of a school counselor. I then got to know the students by having first grade draw a picture about themselves while third grade filled out a ”My School Counselor is…” worksheet (shown below). It was great to get to know each of the students better!

This is the worksheet 3rd graders completed after our introductory lesson!

For our second lesson in kindergarten, we read the book, The Way I Feel by Janan Cain. After reading this book, it was the kindergartners’ turn to act out feelings. I discovered that our kindergarteners are great artists AND actors! In the subsequent lessons for first grade, we learned about being a better listener and a better friend. We read the book, Arthur B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow and played several games of Simon Says to practice our listening skills. We had a lot of fun with this! In third grade, we talked about teamwork. We did a fun teamwork activity where the third graders got in groups of 4. They had to work together to draw a picture with just ONE marker for their entire group. They quickly realized the importance of sharing and working together!

Here is a drawing from the teamwork activity! Great artists!

For the third lesson in kindergarten, we talked about what it means to be a good listener. We read the book, Arthur B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen by Howard Binkow and then colored a worksheet about listening. They are doing a great job improving their listening skills! In the third lesson for first and third grade, we read the book, Enemy Pie by Derek Munson and discussed what it means to be a good friend. The third grade students filled out a recipe (shown below) on how to be a good friend and the first graders made their own paper pies. We discussed that sometimes if we change our attitude, we might find a friend where an enemy once stood. This was a really fun lesson!

3rd grade recipe for a good friendship

1st grade paper pie example

Stay tuned for the next update J

Counselor Connection

September 8, 2014:

Dear Gracemor Parents,

We hope you and your family had a happy and safe summer and are now in the swing of things with school.  This year, Gracemor Elementary will again have two counselors.  Kirsten Muller is one of our Elementary Counselors.  She also serves as an e-Campus instructor. She has grades 2, 4, and 5. I (Jennifer Bagby) am the other counselor at Gracemor. I have grades K, 1, and 3.

• I am from Kansas City and am so happy to be back! (Go Chiefs!)
• I went to the University of Missouri-Columbia (Go Tigers!) for my undergraduate degrees. My majors were Spanish and Psychology.
• After MIZZOU, I completed the school counseling graduate program at Stephens College in Columbia.
• This is my first year as a school counselor!

As the Gracemor Counselors, we will structure our day within the frameworks of the Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program.  The program provides four basic program components:  Guidance Curriculum (K-5 – weekly classroom counseling lessons), Individual Student Planning (assessment, academic assistance, behavior plans, etc.), Responsive Services (small groups, individual counseling, crisis counseling, etc.), and System Support (in-services, program management, program evaluation, parent, faculty and building support).

The curriculum is divided into three content areas: Personal and Social Development, Academic Development and Career Development.  The Missouri Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling Program, the district curriculum, and other materials will be used for classroom and small group presentations with students.   Some of the topics discussed during groups will be: Self Awareness, Decision Making, Feelings, Social Skills, Careers, Study Skills and more.  The Gracemor Counseling Program will also support the school-wide Positive Behavior Support Program.

We are looking forward to having a great year and hope to meet many of you in the near future.  If we can be of assistance to you, please contact my counseling office at 816-413-6433.

Sincerely,        

Jennifer Bagby (M-F)

Kirsten Muller (M -F)                                                             

Gracemor Counselors