You Don't Need to Have it All Together to Make Things Better for Your Kids [caption id="attachment_953" align="aligncenter" width="750"] Sometimes Kids are Like Cacti- Can't Touch This![/caption] Praise Praise them, they said. It will be easy, they said. Our kids hear a lot of things during the day that are not exactly uplifting. If you are ahead of the...[ read more ]
Often when I initially meet with a child, I explore their emotional vocabulary. I may refer to my chart of emotions (do you have one in your classroom/home? ) or my flip book with emotions. I will ask them to share social stories related to each emotion. Ex: what kind of things make you feel sad… happy… angry… frustrated… In these...[ read more ]
Here are some of the go-to's and hottest trends in relaxation techniques for kids 1-99. Latest research in secular world is acupuncture, yoga, mindfulness + self compassion. There are also tremendous benefits from your faith and belonging to a faith community. A place to get away and compose themselves. Katie, from Tips from a Teacher, mentions Chillville. Here are some...[ read more ]
Tools: Plastic bin play sand figurines- bad, good, lovely, animal, object, person, fictional, and purposeful. *This is an adaptation of sandplay therapy- which I have been exposed to in several trainings, but am not certified in! I LOVE the creative, open ended element and utilize the play as a language for the client. I depend on their interpretation of the play...[ read more ]
Some moms need help tapping into their nurturing side. They have experienced hurt in their own lives and/or are drowning in the responsibility of caring for someone else, let alone nurturing them. I engage these mothers in making cards for their children. I recommend they write 3 to 5 reasons why they love their child, draw a picture of them...[ read more ]
Play is the language of children. Utilize toys in assessments. I will ask my client to choose, from my over flowing bin of stuffed animals and puppets, one toy to represent each member of his family. Then we will arrange the toys in proximity to how close they feel emotionally. This works wonderful with kids of all ages (9-99). It...[ read more ]
Warm up to therapy. Engage the unconscience. Bring to light things that the Cl may not have insight into. Start conversation. You can use all kinds of art materials in the exercise, or limit your client to just paper and an ink pen. You can use a 2x2 square or a very large canvas. Use whatever is accessible and poses...[ read more ]
Just as a caveat to the last few posts about behavior modification, I want to remind you to always engage the creativity of the client. You can engage them in creating a chart (with markers, construction paper, magazines, stickers, scissors and glue). You can engage them in the problem solving process, deciding on the prize and choosing the goal for...[ read more ]
Positive parenting skills utilize the reward for acceptable behavior instead of the "I'll getcha!" game of catching your child doing wrong. To give the positive parenting double power, make a visual aid! As a clinician's secret, this visual aid helps the parents more than the child. It reminds everyone to do their part (the child of the behavior expectation and...[ read more ]
I use a simple game to assess for a client's ability to follow instructions, their desire to please, and the parents' ability to follow instructions from me. (Also, the child's ability to make consistent eye contact, their motivation by rewards, their defiance against authority...) The steps are as follows: 1. I Say, "Look at me." 2. I Say, "Do X."...[ read more ]