Testing Monsters!

While my younger ones are getting a lesson on being responsible and doing their best at school, 3-6 is getting a lesson on testing. Our state testing is just over a month away. I'm trying to tell my students that they have really good teachers and they will be ready for this test. They aren't expected to get every question right. They just need to do their best and they will be fine! 
A fellow school counselor has a great lesson for this, which I have taken and adapted for my students. You can find a copy of her lesson here! And it's FREE! There are also really awesome book marks that can be printed and given the students. 

She uses Monsters University to talk about what scares us about taking a test, which is quite popular with at least my students right now. I do this lesson along with some basic study skills and test prep techniques. My kids REALLY love the monsters and I often hear them talking about their monster as I leave. I tell them we all have one and even share which monster is mine with them. Some of my teachers also volunteer this information too! 

 There is also a memory challenge in this lesson, which I use to show them how important it is to not wait until the last minute to study. If they take the time to look over material more than once, they'll know more for the test. She used objects, but I just used images in the Powerpoint for this. I give them 20 seconds to memorize as many of the 12 pictures as they can. Then they write down what they remember. We talk about boosting our memory, but also about this is how it is when you study. You only remember some of what you study most of the time, so you need to study a little at a time and not wait until the last minute!

I also try to make sure they know how much their attitude about how they will do really matters for their score. They can't think they will fail, or they might! We talk about giving ourselves a pep talk if we need one on the way to class!

One last thing I share with them is the power of writing down their worries to help them let go of those and focus on the task at hand. I have a slide with the following picture and I tell each class about my worry box. 

Responsibility!

This month I'm talking about responsibility with my K-2 kids! 
I read them the fable "The Ant and the Grasshoppper" and we talk about working before we play, like the Ant did. We talk about what responsibility means and some ways we can be responsible. I tell them that school is their job and that it is the most important job in the world. It is more important than my job, their teacher's job, and the principal's job. That's why it is so important that they come every day unless they are sick and do their best because they are growing up to graduate. I love how my school system pushes graduation all the way from kindergarten!

Then we do a really fun activity. I give them a picture of a pig to color, who I call Wilburt. 
After they finish coloring, we go over some choices Wilburt has made and whether he was responsible or not. When he isn't responsible, we talk about what he could have done different. These examples of his choices are included in the pack in my TPT store!
This is a super fun lesson that the kids love and the teachers appreciate!

Click here to get the Wilburt activity!