A School Counselor Lunch Bunch Linky Party

I am participating in the Scrapbook of a School Counselor Lunch Bunch Linky Party! Counselors have so many different ideas when it comes to lunch bunches. This is how we Lunch Bunch!

I use lunch bunches in several different ways. I have the students for about 25-30 minutes, so we go full speed the minute that we start. Since my office is a ways away from the cafeteria, I keep a stock of spoons, forks, knives, napkins, straws, and snacks in my office. I always meet my groups in the back of the cafeteria and before we leave I ask them at least five times if they have everything they need. Our students can often get "seconds" if they buy hot lunch, so I always advise those students to get another helping if they think they will need it. 

For Kindergarten students, I use it as a "getting to know you" tool. Every Monday, I take six Kindergarten students (three from each class) and invite them to lunch in my office. I simply take a roster into the classrooms each Monday and call off the names of the students next on the list. I run through the entire roster and then start over again. I can usually get in at least four rounds before the end of the year, so that's usually my goal. Since I teach Social Skills classes each month at the Kindergarten level, I don't feel pressure to run a small group. I see the lunch bunches with my Kindergarten students as a way to get them excited about small groups. They really look forward to coming and are always asking when it is going to be their turn. So even though we are not focusing on a specific topic or skill, I feel like I am creating an "insurance policy" - get them excited about lunch bunches now so that they will carry that excitement with them when it's time to meet and work on specific skills. 

For grades 1 through 5, I use a traditional small group format. I meet with approximately six students on a weekly basis for five weeks. I was meeting for six weeks, but found that my last session of the year would have to be cut short, so I decided to condense them all so that I could fit in about four sessions during the year. I work with teachers to determine the topic or focus of the group. I usually focus on Friendship & Social Skills with 1st and 2nd graders. For 3rd through 5th, I focus on Self-Esteem, Girl Relationships, or Impulse Control and Boy Relationships. 

For my middle school students, I usually meet with a slightly larger group (up to 8 students) in a classroom. We meet weekly and tend to focus on more academic topics such as decision making, organization, test taking strategies, and study skills. 

For my Kindergarten groups, we usually play a "getting to know you" game, read a story, or just talk. 

For my 1st through 5th grade groups, I break the time up into two sections. For the first 10-15 minutes, the students focus on eating their lunches while I either read a story or tell them about the day's topic. I use that as my "teaching" time so that the students are able to eat and then are ready for the activity during the second section. After every is (mostly) finished with their lunch and we have read/heard about the topic, we move on to the activity. This may be a group discussion, art activity, role play, game, or skit. This section lasts 10-15 minutes and we save the last 5 minutes or so to review, debrief, and clean up. 

For my middle school groups, I try to combine lecture and discussion. While the students start eating, I will outline the day's topic and give them any background information they may need. Then I open it up for discussion. The students share their ideas and are able to ask questions. 

I meet with the K-5 teachers at the beginning of the year and provide them with a handout that outlines what groups I will be offering during the first round. On the back the teachers can list their chosen topic and the students they have selected as well as two alternates in case someone doesn't want to or cannot participate. I give the teachers a list of students that I have worked with in the past. I work with the teachers to help select students that have not participated in a small group or who have and may need additional support. 

 

For the middle school students, I give them a survey at the beginning of the year to gauge interest in small groups. The students are able to circle potential group topics such as friendship, stress management, grief, divorce, etc. I take the information from the surveys and either create a Lunch & Learn series if there are enough students or follow up with students individually if there aren't enough for a group. 

We have three lunch shifts so I divide the groups so that I am meeting with one or two groups each day and still allowing myself time to eat lunch. I DO NOT eat lunch with the students. I am too busy opening milks, reading a story, passing out supplies and keeping the group on schedule to eat my own lunch with them. 

Mondays - Kindergarten and 3rd grade

Tuesdays - 1st and 4th grades

Wednesdays - 2nd and 5th grades

Thursdays - Middle School

I know that there is some discussion about how much you can actually cover during lunch and if having a small group during lunch time is possible or effective. This technique has worked well for me and the students really enjoy it. I get to spend time with them, we get to cover the topics that they need help with, and I am not taking them away from their core subjects (which the teachers don't like) or their specials (which the kids don't like). 

I made "Lunch Bunch Passes" for the 1st through 5th grade students. I give them to the teachers the day before and then the students wear them to lunch on their day. It makes them feel "official", adds to the fun, and helps the cafeteria teachers and parents know what is going on. It is especially helpful when students ask for "seconds" at the lunch counter.

I have these passes laminated and hanging on lanyards so that I can write their names with dry erase markers and continue to reuse them. 

I send paper notes home after each session. I like to keep the parents informed about what we are covering in the group. Often the students will have some sort of writing or drawing activity associated with the day's topic. I print the activity on one side and the parent note on the other so that parents can see what their child did that day.

That's the basics of my lunch bunches. I really enjoy the time I get to spend with my small groups and they seem to enjoy it as well!

How to do you Lunch Bunch?

Vista Print

VistaPrint is such a great resource for counselor. Pretty much all of the school counselor blogs that I check regularly have talked about it. The great thing about VistaPrint is that they are constantly having sales or discounts. If you sign up for their emails, not a week goes by without getting some kind of discount or coupon. I don't think I have every paid full price for any of the items I have created. In fact, I came across a great deal a few weeks ago and only had to pay shipping and handling. I spent a lot of time creating some great posters and tools to use in my counseling office. Here are a few. 

Confidentiality Banner. I ordered a small (3' x 1.6') indoor vinyl banner to explain confidentiality and its limitations. I got the idea from Danielle at School Counselor Blog. She sells posters that she created on her blog if you don't want to make your own. 

 Small group Expectations. Again, I ordered a small indoor vinyl banner, this one going through the expectations I created for my small groups. When I begin meeting with a new group, we go through the expectations and talk about what each one means. We review it regularly to help keep everyone on track. 

 Counselors are... I created this small poster to express the different aspects of a counselor. If I could do it over again, I would change the second "O". Right now it states "offers suggestions", which if you read it as a whole sentence ("Counselors are... offers suggestions") it doesn't really make sense. I got the idea from a tote bag I've had for a few years. If I come across another good sale, I might reprint it, but for right now it will work just fine. 


Classroom Guidance Expectations. I wanted to have a poster to bring along with me when I visit the classroom as a reminder of what I expect from the students and hopefully what they will expect from each other. Visiting each classroom once a month is one of my favorite things, but it can often be a classroom management issue. I wanted to have a visual reminder for the students about how we should be conducting ourselves during classroom guidance lessons. I plan to take this with me to each classroom lesson. 

My school counselor says... stickers. I ordered these cute stickers, which are actually return address labels, to give out to students with little recognitions of their good deeds, hard work, and friendly behaviors. I've seen a lot of idea of using buttons that say things like "Ask me about the good choice I made today!" I couldn't find any inexpensive buttons, so I'm hoping to use these stickers to say "My school counselor says... I made a good choice/ I helped another student/ I showed the virtue of responsibility/ etc". 

To the Parents stamp. I find myself writing over and over again "To the Parents of John Smith" on envelopes or permission slips. I got tired of writing the same thing, so I ordered a return address stamp to do the job for me. I have been using it a lot the past few days as I am sending out small group permission slips. 

To Do's for Spring Break

I am off from school next week for Spring Break and have a long list of things that I want to accomplish. I am going to give myself one day to be a bum and then after that it's full speed ahead!

Here is what I want to accomplish, in no particular order:

• paint kitchen (we're thinking a light cornflower blue)
• plant a vegetable/herb garden
• buy and fill planters of varying sizes to "hide" ugly heatpump on the patio
• go to the dentist (I'm currently on a wait list because I waited too long to make the appointment - bummer!)
• take Sadie to the vet for Rx refills and checkup
• start on Christmas and birthday presents for nieces and sisters (I'm thinking bead and ribbon necklaces and flower headbands)
• create and stock up on birthday and holiday cards
• find a small table/chairs for the patio
• trim the unruly boxwood in front of the house
• take Sadie to the dog park a couple times
  
• come up with Cooperation lessons for grades PreK-8 for April
• make school-themed goody bags for grades 1-5 lunch bunches (ideas: smarties, erasers, pencils, stickers, small toy for each group's theme: train engine for 1st grade "I think I can", race car for 3rd grade "study skills expressway")