Last year we were blessed with a new counselor at Robinson (well, she wasn’t new to Robinson, but she was new to this particular job at Robinson!), and she has in many ways become our friend as much as our counselor.  Mrs. Cohen does so much to help kiddos when they are upset, to teach us what to do to help ourselves when we’re upset, to listen when we need an ear, and to be supports for teachers in LOADS of great ways.

Last year I believe she came to visit the first time with her Mr. Potato Head–this time she brought her toolbox.  It’s big and black and yellow and full of so many amazing tools.  Her goal in coming to visit us each week is to share those amazing tools with us and teaching us how we can put them in our OWN toolboxes for when we need them!

This was really her second visit this past week, but I didn’t get a chance to post about the first one, so today I’ll share two of the things she’s taught us. 🙂

One of the first things we talk about on her visits is what our toolboxes look like, and GOODNESS there are some fancy ones in first grade!  This time she read us a story, as our focus was on kindness and how to treat everyone in a kind a caring way.  We LOVED the story of Nerdy Birdy, and how the characters learned that there are ways to be friends with people who are not just like you.

The tools she’s helped us learn about (and that we are using!) are Take 5 Breathing and Balloon Breathing.  There are times in our day when we get upset (for loads of different reasons) and might need to be able to have a way to feel better so we can get back to learning.  We are also working on a Peace Place for our classroom so that when a friend needs a quiet, still, peaceful place to be for a while, there will be one!  Right now we’re deciding where it should go and are working on what we should add to make it “work” for us.  Can’t wait to share it with you once it’s all finished!

For now, I’ll share two videos so you know what we’ve been learning:

And this one is balloon breathing, which is a new one we’re hoping to put into action soon:

I haven’t done it yet, but I’m thinking that maybe I’ll have kiddos make or draw their toolboxes so we can show them to you.  Ooohh…what a great idea for a post in Seesaw!  Maybe we can share those soon, too.  In the meantime, if you know a Rm. 111 friend, ask them about how Mrs. Cohen is helping them be a better, calmer learner!