Hi folks!
Ah yes, February. You long, slow, cold month, you. I will not miss you, but still I learned so much.
Just a couple quick things for you this time around.
First, a review of a curriculum I like so much!
Purposeful self disclosure time: this is my first year working with students that are this young. Prior to Giles, I worked almost exclusively with the high school set. Interestingly, I have learned that many counselors, if they had their druthers, would also be working with one age group or another but have had to become flexible in their preferences as their careers progress. But in any case, I walked into this job very, very new to the lower elementary kids, and even newer to the pre-school students with whom I work.
Enter Matt and Molly.
Matt and Molly are puppets who are also characters in a series of social narratives. They play with each other, their families and their friends. They also learn very simple lessons that translate very well to the pre-school environment. Their stories can be manipulated in several ways to provide students with an enriched learning experience, and to practice those key social skills that can be hard to pick up for our students on the Autism spectrum. Personally, I like the puppets a lot and use them as characters to tell stories, role play and review good behavior choices with students. If you are not a puppet person, however, the curriculum can still do a lot for you.
Matt and Molly are most useful for me with the much younger students, but they can be adapted for older grades quite easily. I have also used them in all of our general education kindergarten rooms mostly as puppets that role play, tell stories and teach important skills (eg. belly breathing and making up with friends). Check them out!
Second, a blog I have found useful!
Marissa Rex is someone whose blog I now have bookmarked because I really enjoy the resources and samples she posts. And they're FREE! She is an elementary school counselor who has some nice creative tips for those who work with the younger set. I did a Me-card activity with Kindergarten and 1st graders recently, as a means of learning more about them and them getting to share about themselves as a tool for friendship-making. I then played a simplified version of the game she discusses in that activity. The kids loved it, truly.
That's the update for now. Happy spring!
-Ms.OJ
Ah yes, February. You long, slow, cold month, you. I will not miss you, but still I learned so much.
Just a couple quick things for you this time around.
First, a review of a curriculum I like so much!
Purposeful self disclosure time: this is my first year working with students that are this young. Prior to Giles, I worked almost exclusively with the high school set. Interestingly, I have learned that many counselors, if they had their druthers, would also be working with one age group or another but have had to become flexible in their preferences as their careers progress. But in any case, I walked into this job very, very new to the lower elementary kids, and even newer to the pre-school students with whom I work.
Enter Matt and Molly.
Matt and Molly are puppets who are also characters in a series of social narratives. They play with each other, their families and their friends. They also learn very simple lessons that translate very well to the pre-school environment. Their stories can be manipulated in several ways to provide students with an enriched learning experience, and to practice those key social skills that can be hard to pick up for our students on the Autism spectrum. Personally, I like the puppets a lot and use them as characters to tell stories, role play and review good behavior choices with students. If you are not a puppet person, however, the curriculum can still do a lot for you.
Matt and Molly are most useful for me with the much younger students, but they can be adapted for older grades quite easily. I have also used them in all of our general education kindergarten rooms mostly as puppets that role play, tell stories and teach important skills (eg. belly breathing and making up with friends). Check them out!
Second, a blog I have found useful!
Marissa Rex is someone whose blog I now have bookmarked because I really enjoy the resources and samples she posts. And they're FREE! She is an elementary school counselor who has some nice creative tips for those who work with the younger set. I did a Me-card activity with Kindergarten and 1st graders recently, as a means of learning more about them and them getting to share about themselves as a tool for friendship-making. I then played a simplified version of the game she discusses in that activity. The kids loved it, truly.
That's the update for now. Happy spring!
-Ms.OJ
