Wow!  So inspired by this blog to create a light table.


http://timelessadventures.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/diy-light-table/


The pictures of the children's play are incredible.  I will be going to put ours together for home this evening.  But, the uses for counseling and therapy will also be immense.  So thank you, Timeless Adventures!!!

I've been busy preparing interview materials for a hopeful position in a school.  God may have that in store for me again!  Anyway, if so, this light table will lend itself to free expression and some beginning house, person, tree drawings.  Use the idea with the salt and straws to draw with, and your directives to begin drawing should be so easily accepted!

Happy light box drawing!  Three wishes that my favorite school position occurs for me again soon!

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom: ♥ Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop #27 ♥

Another helpful resource as you look at how to get your homeschooler or school aged child ready!  Life is interesting.  I am looking for a position with a school system as the position I was employed in while beginning this journey is over. 
I am excited as to where my life is headed, and will keep you bloggers updated.  This may give me more time to homeschool my toddler:) and scrapbook.  The journey is heading in a different direction.  Keep you posted:

Enchanted Homeschooling Mom: ♥ Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop #27 ♥: Welcome to my Enchanted Thursdays Blog Hop. A big THANK YOU to everyone who linked up or "clicked" the last week. I feel like the kids ...

Here is another idea for our resource collection.  You can do it simply...or more complicated.  Let me explain.  The tissue paper craft allows you to discuss feelings as well as you do with spin art (previous post).  In the blog that follows, you will see how to make it more complicated with the use of contact paper.  I should think you could try it both ways.  Here is the link:

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/spring/tissuepaper-rainbow.asp

In a more simple way, use a shape such as a heart, rainbow, or even just a star or oval to contain the craft.  Either draw it freehand on a piece of construction paper or cut the shape from construction paper.  Then, either cut tissue paper into squares or tear into any shape.  Using glue sticks or liquid glue (a preferred method), cover the shape with the glue.  Place the tissue paper into the glue.  With use of liquid glue, the paper colors will meld together.  This helps in the discussion of how feelings sometimes blend together. 

Anyone have other ideas on how to explain how feelings sometimes blend together making them difficult to explain?  I would love for us to share these and gain a great toolkit for use in our treatment!

Well blog readers,
I am wondering how to work out summer organizing of your resources.  Checking in with God every day is the key to making this treatment thing work.  God uses resources to guide us.  So, the best we can do is to organize these so that God can bring them to the forefront just when needed. 
When you look at your calendar for the day, you should be able to recognize the student's primary needs following your intake of course.  The needs might include a long list:  self esteem, poor impulse control, lying, hyperactivity, etc.  But you have to focus on the most important for the time or the child's circumstances.  If the child is facing problems due to their lying at school or at home, then the activity of the day should focus on this problem.
If the child has had problems with impulsivity, such as touching others in line at school or invading other's space, then that would be the treatment concern.
Forgive me for being elemental in this discussion.  I know there are others out there new to the field or unclear of how to begin in this position in a school setting.  
Blessings on how the Lord uses you and your resources to make the student more aware of the appropriateness of their behavior.  Success will come!

Here is a great resource for you:
www.lianalowenstein.com/e-booklet.pdf

The link provides a collaborative effort from many clinicians to a booklet designed for interventions at each step in the therapeutic process.
How about you?  Do you have any magical resources?  Share them here in the comment section.  We can start a revolution of counseling tried and true techniques.

Hope you are enjoying what  summer has to offer.  It is a wonderful time to reflect and acknowledge the power of God in our lives and the leading that he has in our ministries!

I have taken some time to reorganize this blog.  I am wondering how many of you might need to know more about art or play therapy.  I am considering making this a place in which I try out techniques on my own children....of course, they are fun, so it won't be torturous.  The techniques are out there, but it takes some time searching.
As an employee on a school calendar year, I have more time now then ever to work out the kinks, and even create some scripts.  My objective is to create a toolbag.  I have some go to ideas for kids with many problems, but could stand to expand my horizons also.
If any of you would like to post a link, do so.  I will comment on those as I have time.  So good to regroup once in a while.
Happy Summer!

Today, we finished a new family group that operated once a week for three weeks.  We had two separate groups running with first graders in one and fifth graders in the other.  The group utilized the Lowenstein's book Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce.  Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Interventions-Children-Divorce-Lowenstein/dp/0968519938

It was an active group, but each of the activities were very helpful to keep this bunch busy and enjoying the discussion.  The first graders got different things from it then the fifth graders, I am sure.
In the last session, we used the activity called "Heads and Tails" for the first graders.  The activity had the group members flip a coin and use the head or tail to determine which activity they did, either an answer to a question or complete more active request.  Then the children completed an activity which answered 'How do my parents show their love'?  The children in the first grade group reminded each other with more standard concrete representations of their love.  They wrote 'buy me toys,' 'buy me food,' and 'buy me clothes.'  The group then discussed how they could show their love to their family.  This is a very useful book to address problems for children of separated families even if their parents were not 'divorced.'  There were many more activities than I could use in the six weeks of the group.  So many resources are available now then when I began to counsel young children.  So fun.