I'm a big fan of Dr. Dan Siegel and his teachings on the neurobiological understandings of mindfulness. Here is a doctor with vast knowledge of the intricacies of the human brain, yet can break this down into easily understood writings and models for the average parent, teacher, or child. He certainly made my graduate classes about neurobiology easier to understand!

So I was excited when I found his brain hand model written into the current Second Step curriculum, within the third grade unit on emotions! 
​Scroll down to read more!

Can I start by saying that I really, really love this book? It is called Building Everyday Leadership in All Kids: An Elementary Curriculum to Promote Attitudes and Actions for Respect and Success by Mariam G. MacGregor M.S. (click the link to see it on Amazon.com). I originally bought it for a small group about- surprise!- leadership, but soon found myself adapting for all kinds of lessons and small group topics!

The book is divided into many subtopics that could be small groups in themselves: communication, team building, problem solving, making a difference, and my personal favorite: "understanding power, value, and relationships." Ms. MacGregor provides hands-on activities that may involve some preparation on the part of the group leader, but the pay off was worth it every time! Students loved every lesson or activity we tried- really!

Here are a few favorites:

• Choosing Sides: Students had the chance to decide what was most important to them by physically walking from one end of the room or the other during a long list of polarized (or slightly gray) opposites. Afterward, we talked about whether the similarities or differences surprised us, and if it is okay if we have different tastes, styles, and values.
• Leadership Talk Show: Students sat in partners. One was given the role of asking a question picked from a list, then listening to the partner silently for a set period of time (for fifth graders, two minutes was more than enough). Then we did some other steps (but you'll have to buy the book!) Such great discussions came out of this activity. Students seemed to truly understand how important it can be to be an active, but not overwhelming listener!
• Values for Sale: This activity turned out to be several students' absolute favorite. It is a "values auction" that includes EDL (EveryDay Leadership) funny money and a long list of values. I gave group members the chance to look over the values list for about five minutes and gave each member EDL cash. We set ground rules. After the auction, each member had a definitive list of personal values. There were personal revelations and some great discussion! And it was a great lead in to our values world activity, which I will blog about soon.

I can't say enough about the activities I have tried thus far, and I cannot wait to try even more in the coming year! Added bonuses: 

•  state standards for lessons! 
• a link to print activities online!
• suggestions on setting the tone (great for new counselors)!

Clearly, I highly recommend this book to school counselors at the elementary level, and also suggest that counselors working with older grades check out the other books by the same author:
Building Everyday Leadership in All Teens
Teambuilding with Teens

(And, no, I am not getting paid to say this. I'm just that enthusiastic! :)

This school year, I have had the opportunity to provide six week cycles of classroom lessons and small groups (see my blog post advocating for (a schedule) change for further details). This means I am scheduled into every classroom like music or P.E., but rotate every six weeks. I teach in grades K-2 while I run small groups for grades 3-5, and after 6 weeks I start small groups for Kinder through 2nd grade students and teach in grades 3-5. I really enjoy this schedule, because it allows me to run more small groups than I could if I taught all 24 classes weekly. For the past six weeks, I had the opportunity to run eleven groups with five different topics. Here are the topics, along with the accompanying curricula, and a sample lesson that went over well with group members: 

Topic: social thinking 
Curriculum: Superflex
Popular Lesson: Using the Superflex Distractor Shield against the Unthinkable the Brain Eater

Topic: friendship 
Curriculum: G.I.R.L.S.: Friendship
Popular Lesson: Creating artwork from random scraps to discuss perspective taking
Lesson Details: Group members selected 4-6 items from a random collection of scraps, then arranged the items into a work of art. They were then asked to think of a theme for their art. The group went around the circle guessing what each person's artwork was themed. Members were excited to guess the theme, or to "see" it once it was revealed by the artist. We then discussed as a group how gratifying it can be when someone sees our perspective from the start, or can learn to see it after talking for awhile. We then extended this to our experiences at recess and other common social interactions.

Topic: self esteem & social skills for boys 
Curriculum: Operation Breaking the Boy Code (see below)
Popular Lesson: Creating superhero characters
Lesson details: The book provides worksheets with prompts to help each group member to create their own superhero, with powers, costumes, sidekicks, vehicles and more. Group members were asked to think of heroes who could help our school, and were excited to draw pictures of their created heroes.

Topic: self esteem & social skills for girls 
Curriculum: Operation Breaking the Girl Code
Popular Lesson: Creating symbolic badges 
Lesson details: After discussing Juliette Gordon Low's life and the use of badges in Girl Scouts, group members chose three symbols and colors. They created a unified badge that represented their unique traits and individuality.

Topic: leadership 
Curriculum: Building Everyday Leadership in All Kids
Popular Lesson: Leadership Talk Show 
Lesson Details: Members split up into pairs and chose A and B. "A" was instructed to play talk show host and choose one question from a long list (i.e., what kind of furniture would you be and why? If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose and why?). "B" then played talk show guest and spoke for 1 minute while "A" listened without speaking. Then the two switched. "A"s then found new "B" partners and repeated the activity, but for 3 minutes. Afterward, the group discussed how it felt to talk and listen for a shorter and extended time. Group members reflected on how difficult it can be to be a good listener, but that when you stop and really listen you learn more about the speaker. They also discovered that body language impacts how much the "guest" could talk, especially during the three minute stretch. This activity was a favorite of the entire group, and they requested to play it again with their class.

* This group also created a video about solving problems with Kelso's Wheel. When it is completed, we will attempt to get permission to share it here!