I'm Stretched by Julia Cook Book Give-away

I know we've all probably felt just like the character in Julia Cook's new book I'm Stretched!  Often during the school year there are times when we feel stretched and stressed!  There is just too much to do and not enough time to do it.  So from our already full plates, things begin to fall off.  I know when that happen I'm not as prepared, my house and life are a mess, I'm tired,  not eating right, and not taking care of my health.  And I KNOW the ways to handle stress! All I need to do is practice what I teach!  But for our students it's different, they don't have the skills and resources we do.  This book is the perfect way to introduce those skills.

In the story, the main character is a young girl who is feeling "stretched."  She has too many assignments, activities, lessons, try-outs, and concerns about family, friends, and her pet.  These things cause her to lose sleep, be unprepared, unorganized, worry,  and stressed out.  She finally turns to her mother who offers her great advice on how to view and handle stress.  The mother, who in my opinion must be a school counselor,  shares with her daugher all the great things she can do to reduce her stress and feel peaceful and calm.  From venting to belly breathing to preparing the night before, this mom has great advice for her stressed out girl.

So many of our students feel stress, whether it's because they have too much to do in their lives or because they don't know how to manage all the things they want to do.  This book is a great resource for individual, small group, or classroom counseling lessons.  School counselors  will recognize the variety of tips provided at the end of the book as things they regularly suggest to students when talking about self-care and organization.  These tips can be turned into variety of student activities to go along with the reading of the book.

Two Free Books!
Thank you to National Center for Youth Issues for donating 2 free copies of I'm Stretched for this give-away.  Leave a comment in the section below or comment on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page, the School Counselor Store Facebook page, or the Elementary School Counselor Exchange or all of the above.  The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!  Winners will be picked Monday evening at 11:59PM.

Good luck!!!

Julia Cook Book Give-away!

Julia Cook is an elementary school counselor's best friend.  Her books make difficult topics easy to share and discuss with children at all grade levels.  While continuing to write new books, Julia is offering an updated version of an old favorite, Bully B.E.A.N.S.  In this revision of Bully B.E.A.N.S., the 10 year old book  gets a make-over with beautifully updated artwork by  illustrator Tammie Lyons

Inside is the same great story, of how students learn to speak up and handle classroom bully Mean Maxine.  At the end of the book are tips for those who are being bullied, have friends being bullied, and even for those who might think they are a bully.

Join Julia as she tells the story of Mean Maxine and how she bullies her classmates. Learn how one student with the help of her mom, some positive strategies for handling bullies, and a bag of Bully Beans for courage, teach the students in Maxine's class to stand tall and stand together.  The "magic" jelly beans remind kids everywhere they have the power to stop bullies.  "The B.E.A.N.S. in Bully Beans stand for Bullies Everywhere Are Now Stopped."  Using the courage from the "magic" beans the students stand up to Maxine and put an end to her bullying. They even share some bully B.E.A.N.S. with Maxine to try at home on her brother who bullies her.

To purchase the revision of  Bully B.E.A.N.S.  you can find it on Amazon and at the National Center for Youth Issues.

To learn more about author Julia Cook and her many great books click HERE.

Four Books to Share, Four Ways to Win!
Thanks to the National Center for Youth Issues, I have 4 copies of Bully B.E.A.N.S. to share. To enter to win your copy Bully B.E.A.N.S., leave your comments by midnight eastern daylight time Wednesday, September 25.  Winners will be announced on Thursday September 26.

1) Leave a comment below the blog post describing your favorite strategy for helping your students cope with bullies.
2) Leave a comment on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page describing your favorite strategy for helping your students cope with bullies.
3) Leave a comment on the Elementary School Counselor Exchange Facebook page describing your favorite strategy for helping your students cope with bullies.
4) Leave a comment on the School Counselor Store Facebook page describing your favorite strategy for helping your students cope with bullies.

UPDATE!!! Our 4 winners are Liz Brittnacher, Stephanie Kirland Gibson, Ashley Ann and Shirley Topia. Please direct message me with your home address. Thank you all for your wonderful comments!

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The Awfulizer: Learning to Overcome the Shame Game

This great new book The Awfulizer, written by Kristin Maher and illustrated by Robert Dunn, is an Social Emotional Learning (SEL) must have!

The story of James and his encounter with the Awfulizer embodies the the core SEL competenices of self-awareness, self-management, and social awareness. When James begins to feel badly about mistakes he's made, the Awfulizer appears and constantly reminds him of  all the other things he has done wrong and tells him he is a bad kid.

As James begins to lose his self-confidence, the Awfulizer grows and grows. James withdraws worried he will say or do the wrong thing. The Awfulizer has convinced James he is a bad person and that he should feel shame in making mistakes. When James's parents suspect something is wrong, it is the encouragement of his Mom and Dad that helps James talk about his feelings of insecurity and shame. His parents tell about their experiences with the Awfulizer and share an important truth, "I may make a mistake, but that doesn't mean I am a mistake." James learns when you talk with others about how you're feeling, whether friends, family, teacher, or your school counselor, it gives you a superpower; you become an Awesomizer!

This is a great story for students with self-defeating behaviors, perfectionism, and low self-esteem who have convinced themselves they are bad people because of their mistakes.  I love the idea of empowering these students with the superpower to be "Awesomizers" by using positive self-talk and sharing their feelings with trusted adults.  Kristin provides tips for helping children become "Awesomizers" at end of her book.

How to win your FREE copy of The Awfulizer.

I am giving away 2 copies of The Awfulizer.  Many thanks to the National Center for Youth Issues for sponsoring this give-away.

There are 3 easy ways to enter the Rafflecopter contest below.

• Leave a comment in the section below this post about how you help children deal with shame.
• Like this post on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page and leave a comment about how you help children deal with shame.
• Like this post on the School Counselor Store Facebook page and comment on how you help children deal with shame.

Each method gives you one entry in my giveaway. Do all three and receive 3 entries!  Give away begins, Saturday, August 24 at 12:00 am, and closes on Tuesday, August 26 at 12:00 AM EDST.

Winners will be selected using Rafflecopter and announced at the close of the give-away on my Exploring School Counseling Facebook page on Tuesday evening, August 27. Thank you for participating and good luck!


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Seraphina Does Everything! A Review and Give-away

I recently received this great little book called, Seraphina Does Everything! written by Dr. Melissa Gratias and beautifully illustrated  by Sue Cornelison.  The story is about a young girl who wants to do it all!  Her talents and interests are varied and she fills each day with more new things to do and try. Seraphina sees all the interesting things there are to do in the world and she doesn't want to miss a single one! She is involved in music, art, dance, sports, and foreign language. Seraphina is a voracious learner who is engaged and active. As she discovers more about the variety and options of life she is excited to expereince more. Every day of her week is filled with activities as well as her weekends.

For awhile it seems all is going well. Seraphina loves learning so many new things!  However, in a moment of quiet reflection in the car,while returning from one of her many activites, Seraphina begins to feel sad.   It seems Seraphina is not doing as well as she appears and she is feeling the pressue of doing EVERYTHING.  Although Seraphina is experiencing the joys of learning, she is missing out on the joys of just being a kid and the experiences of growing up.  Time to relax, play with friends and pets, spend time with family and focus on school work are part of learning to achieve balance in life.  In trying to do everything, Seraphina realizes she is not doing everything well and is missing out on other important things in her life.  Life with friends, family and school are passing her by.  Seraphina is blessed to have a very wise Dad who advises her there is time to try life's options, but for now to focus on what she loves and make time for the important things like family, friends, and school.  The story ends with a relaxed and happy Seraphina who has found the balance of trying and learning new things with just being a kid.

As School Counselors, Serpahina is someone we might describe as overextended. We often see similar students who present as anxious, depressed, or perfectionists. Sometimes it is the student driving themself to do it all.  Other times, we see parents who seem to think it is important to fill every moment of their child's life with "productive" activities.  Whatever the source, as School Counselors it is important to remind both children and parents that while involving our children in enriching activities from an early age is good, balance is key.  The learning of many essential social emotional  and life skills comes from giving our children the unstructured time and freedom to explore, create, problem solve, and self-soothe.

At the end of her book, Melissa Gratias offers a list of tips for students and parents to help them achieve balance, determine activities of value, communicate expectations, and understand the importance of rest.  I would efinitely recommend adding this book to your School Counselor library.

How to win your FREE copy of Seraphina Does Everything!

I am giving away 2 copies of Seraphina Does Everything! Many thanks to the National Center for Youth Issues for sponsoring this give-away.

There are 3 easy ways to enter the Rafflecopter contest below.

• Leave a comment in the section below this post about how you help children and families find balance.
• Like this post on the Exploring School Counseling Facebook page and leave a comment about how you help children and families find balance.
• Like this post on the School Counselor Store Facebook page and comment on how you help children and families find balance.

Each method gives you one entry in my giveaway. Do all three and receive 3 entries!  Give away begins today, Saturday, April 6, and closes on Monday, April 8 at 11:59 PM EDST.

Winners will be selected using Rafflecopter and announced at the close of the give-away on my Exploring School Counseling Facebook page on Tuesday evening. Thank you for participating and good luck!

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