My New Fave Book: My Mouth is a Volcano!

What: My Mouth is a Volcano! (Book and Activity Book)

By: Julia Cook

Ages: 4-8

Year: 2006

Pages: 32

Description: (from Amazon) All of Louis' thoughts are very important to him. In fact, his thoughts are so important to him that when he has something to say, his words begin to wiggle, and then they do the jiggle, then his tongue pushes all of his important words up against his teeth and he erupts, or interrupts others. His mouth is a volcano! My Mouth Is A Volcano takes an empathetic approach to the habit of interrupting and teaches children a witty technique to capture their rambunctious thoughts and words for expression at an appropriate time. Told from Louis' perspective, this story provides parents, teachers, and counselors with an entertaining way to teach children the value of respecting others by listening and waiting for their turn to speak.

My thoughts: This is a fantastic book! So fantastic that I sat the other intern at my elementary school down today so that I could read it to her! Together we are in charge of leading a social skills group for five, third grade boys with ADHD/attention difficulties. While last week we did introductions, tomorrow is our first official lesson day with the group. We are going to use this book with them! One, it's super funny. Two, it gets the lesson across in a clear, but not preachy manner. And three, it's told from a boy's perspective which is something we really wanted to find so that it would reach these particular boys in our group. And four, you can purchase the activity book to go along with it! Your work is already done for your fellow school counselors!

GO BUY IT NOW!

I'm sorry!

I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry!

It's just so difficult to keep up a blog when you're trying to do your internship!

So- just as an fyi on what I'm up to, have I read the girls yet- No. Why not? Because I went to go buy it at Barnes and Nobles two weekends ago and then didn't have it. Did I order it from Amazon and it's on it's way? Yes. Will I be using it in a girls group at my elementary school in the coming weeks and be updating you with the questions we use in our girls group? Yes. So don't worry your pretty little heads too much.

What I'll Be Reading this Weekend: The Girls

The Girls, by Amy Goldman Koss, appropriate for grades 5 through 8. After seeing the bibliotherapy seminar a few weeks ago, the other intern and I at our elementary school though it would be interesting to follow in the speaker's footsteps and develop a group curriculum for fifth grade girls based on this novel. The speaker at the seminar could not recommend this book enough and said that her fifth grade girls could NOT put it down! Let's see if I feel the same way :)

Here's a description from Amazon.com:

When the other members of Maya's clique decide to ostracize her, the girl is shocked and devastated. She has no clue what she could have done wrong, and neither do Brianna, Renee, or Darcy. However, Candace is their leader, the self-assured one, the one who decides who's in and who's not, and, suddenly, Maya's not. In brief chapters that jump from one girl's perspective to another, a picture emerges of social status and peer pressure among middle schoolers who are struggling to figure out who they are, where they belong, and maybe even what is right.

Middle school cliques, relational aggression, queen bees, what more could a girl ask for, right?

Study Skills Resource

Need a great resource for a study skills group? Or just working one-on-one with a student who just can't seem to get the hang of that math problem? Education.com has a great "Study Skills and Practice Problems" webpage that might be able to help you out. Head on over!

Do you know about...Counselor's Room?

Counselor's Room is a great resource for lesson plans. Find classroom lesson plans for K-12 focused on the career, academic, and personal/social domains, as well as group curriculums and games. Check out their enhancing social skills group or their coping with family changes group.