20 Fun Activities That Are Perfect For Spring

Anyone who deals with the winter blues is most likely welcoming the warm spring weather, blooming trees, and hum of bees with welcome arms. Springtime weather is a great time to bond with your family in special ways, and also brings fun new projects in the classroom. Let’s take a look at some springtime activities perfect for both the family and classroom.

For the family

Take a nature walk.

Notice all the blooming flowers and trees. You can make it fun by looking out for specific flora, such as daffodils, or look out for butterflies and baby birds.

Start a planter garden.

It’s a fun family activity to watch the process of a plant grow–plus if you plant fruits or veggies you can taste the fruits of your labor!

Make homemade ice cream.

Nothing welcomes warm weather better than ice cream! This is a great way to introduce your children to cooking and how it works.

Go camping.

After the last year of COVID, being in nature for a few days could be a nice way to get away from the house and normal chaos of life.

Collect and paint rocks.

This could be both a science lesson and fun art activity. Collect rocks and try to get your children to guess what kind of rocks they are. Then paint the standard rocks you find for some creative fun!

Head over to the playground.

Playgrounds are the classic “get out of the house” adventure during warm weather.

Put together an outdoor scavenger hunt.

This is a creative way to explore your backyard and see parts you never thought of!

Stargaze and learn about space.

Space is both fascinating and relaxing. This is something you could also do while camping–get away from the light pollution and truly see the stars!

Bake some festive cupcakes.

Play with colors! Use pink, yellow, or lavender frosting and dress it up with colorful sprinkles.

Make your own bird feeder and observe birds in your area.

Believe it or not, birds are entertaining to watch once you notice their routines and habits. Plus you’d be surprised how many different breeds are living in your area!

For the classroom

Learning about stormy spring weather and how it works.

If there’s one thing that spring guarantees is stormy weather. Take advantage of a rainy day to talk about weather cycles.

Studying the butterfly life cycle.

Butterflies are one of the many fun and beautiful parts of spring, and their life cycle is an easy and basic start into science lessons.

Color-changing carnations activity to show how roots work.

This is an exciting and creative way to teach your students about roots and other plant action. Plus it’s fun to watch the carnations change color!

Learn about the rainforest!

Explore all the animals common to rainforest and the different layers that the rain forest has.

Have fun with words with spring-themed word searches.

You could tie any of the other activities into this word search as well. For example, have a Cinco de Mayo or Mother’s Day word search. Poetry could also be a great option for some creative lessons with words.

Craft some fun Cinco de Mayo themed projects.

Cinco de Mayo is the perfect time to make sure your students are educated on other cultures and ethnicities. Take advantage of the colorful themes of the holiday for some engaging crafts.

Don’t forget Mother’s Day projects!

Cute crafts will surely warm the hearts of the mothers of your students. Plus it’s a great opportunity to teach your students about feelings, gratitude, and more.

Learn about worms and what goes on under the soil.

Whether you think worms are gross or cool, it’s fascinating to see the intricate tunnels and systems that worms create under our feet.

Study seed germination to further understand how plants grow!

This is another way to teach your students the process of plant growth and how it works.

Have a lesson specifically about space!

Like we’ve said, space has so much to study that you’re bound to find dozens of fun and interesting lessons.

Final Thoughts

We hope you found some inspiration for some activities to do this spring. Let us know what else you have planned this spring!

April 21, 2021April 21, 2021

How Guidance Counselors Support Students

Guidance counselors are the unsung heroes in schools. They work to provide help to students in many different ways: providing instruction on psychological and social issues, guidance with college and other careers, counseling, intervention, special needs services, and more. This assistance is so important in ensuring that students are prospering in the best ways that they can. Let’s take a look at other ways that guidance counselors can support students.

Academic Support

There’s a lot of stressors during high school years: classes, preparing for higher education or careers, navigating new feelings and friendships, and so much more. This is where the help of guidance counselors comes in. They can help students navigate the scary and stressful processes of scheduling, transcripts, and college applications. Plus counselors can encourage those students who aren’t quite sure what to do with themselves to explore passions and talents.

If a student is struggling with a particular class or lesson, they can approach their counselor so they can perform better. Counselors can work with teachers to ensure this as well.

Social and Emotional Support

When most people think of school counselors, they think of the emotional and social support they can provide to students. This one-on-one support is helpful when a student needs to discuss bullying or seek crisis counseling. Since mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are becoming more normalized in society now, counselors may be seeing an increase in students approaching them about these feelings.

Despite this, it’s important to remember that school counselors are not therapists. However, they can provide resources and make referrals to students if they feel that their issues are something that a different professional should handle.

Resources For Parents

One thing that guidance counselors can help with that many people don’t consider is helping parents. School counselors can offer families strategies for parenting and helpful advice on how to connect with their children.

School counseling has shifted a lot over the years; before it was seen as a more reactive career, where they waited for students to show up for help. Nowadays it is more proactive, where counselors want both parents and students to know they are a resource who want to help.

Final Thoughts

As we’ve said, guidance counselors are an important part of the school system. They want to help students so they can thrive emotionally, academically, and socially. Counselors can work with teachers to ensure this as well. Many of our programs can help schools achieve this success for their students, including Onspire, aSAP, and HIBster. You can contact us on our website and check our social media to learn more about us.

March 17, 2021March 17, 2021

6 Ways to Teach Inclusivity in the Classroom

Teaching inclusivity is an important way to combat bullying. When students know that others are different and valid the way they are, it leads to them becoming more accepting of others. We made a blog post last year about other ways that teaching inclusivity can benefit children. Now let’s take a look at some ways to teach inclusivity in the classroom.

Change around the seating plan

Though it may still be a while before we fully go back to in-school classes, it is a good thing to consider to change around the seating plan. It allows your students to get to know each other more and get a different perspective.

Ensure all your students can effectively communicate

This includes ensuring that any assistive devices are working properly and can allow your students to communicate easily with their peers.

Learn how to say your students’ names

It may seem silly, but double checking the pronunciation of various names. If it seems like it may have an unconventional pronunciation or spelling, it may make their day to know that someone put in the effort to pronounce their name correctly.

Teach material in different ways

Not every student learns the exact same way, and teachers know this. Try to teach your material in different ways to discover everyone’s strengths.

Education children on how their words matter

It’s important that students understand how powerful their words can be–this is why it’s important to ensure you aren’t ignoring your students’ harmful languages or actions. Encourage them to consider if their words could be negatively affecting someone.

Incorporate marginalized voices into the curriculum

Using materials from a variety of perspectives will help students understand that world views vary differently depending on the background of the person.

Final Thoughts

There are a variety of different ways to develop a more inclusive background. Working with the principal in the school to encourage more classrooms to try inclusive activities is also extremely effective. How do you teach inclusivity in your school? We’d love to know.

February 25, 2021February 25, 2021

2021 COVID Relief For Schools

Despite news on the COVID-19 vaccine, there’s still a lot of things that are uncertain. One glimmer of hope in a world of uncertainty, though, is a new COVID relief package signed into law in December.

The COVID relief package in December dedicated $54.3 billion for K-12 schools, and another $130 billion was proposed in January by the Biden administration. You can learn more about the proposal here.

Uses for these funds include but are not limited to:

Providing resources principals need to address COVID at their school
Addressing the specific needs of disadvantaged students, including those living in poverty, learning English, experiencing homelessness, dealing with disabilities or living in foster care
Purchasing PPE and supplies needed to disinfect schools
Purchasing the hardware and software needed to conduct remote and hybrid learning
Providing services to support student mental health

More details about the state-by-state breakdown of the funds along with the full list of uses for the funds can be found here.

Additional Funding in Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania alone, the Tribune Review reports that Gov. Tom Wolf will be dedicating $2.2 billion to K-12 districts and charter schools. Although schools will still need to apply through the state Department of Education’s website before receiving monthly payments.

According to the January 15 article by the Tribune Review,

“School districts and charter schools may use [Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER)] funding for a wide range of activities, including food service; professional training; technology purchases; sanitization and cleaning supplies; summer and after-school programs; and mental health supports.

A list of ESSER II fund allocations is available on PDE’s website. Funds must be used by September 2023. School districts and charter schools must apply to PDE to obtain their allocated funds. The application process will be posted on the PDE website.”

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If you need more efficient and user-friendly software for your remote and hybrid learning environments, our Onspire and aSAP! platforms can help make your lives easier, especially during this time. You can schedule a free demo today to see if our programs are the right fit for you.

January 14, 2021January 14, 2021

Ways to Collaborate With Students For Student Advocacy

Students are most successful when they have the proper support to ensure their needs are being met so that they can perform their best. As a worker in the educational field, you are in the position to acknowledge what needs to be done to ensure students’ success. This is why advocating for your students is so important. Here are ways to collaborate with students for student advocacy.

Be an active listener

This is the most important thing to remember above all. You can’t actively help students with what they need if you aren’t fully listening to these desires. It goes above listening to needs though; take note of what students are interested in. Notice what they’re good at. Observe what they struggle with and consider alternative ways to teach these subjects. Let your students know that you care about them.

Be vocal

As an educator, your voice will most likely be the thing that pushes for change on a larger scale. We are lucky to live in a time of technology, where it’s simple to connect with others whether it’s lawmakers or peers. The National Association of School Psychologists has a guide for how to educate lawmakers on your advocacy.

Know laws and policies

It would be difficult to advocate for students’ rights without knowing what these rights are. Educate yourself on accommodations on your students’ plans. Familiarize yourself with your school’s anti-bullying and harassment policies so you can learn how to properly approach these situations if they occur.

Get support from others

As we’ve discussed in other blog posts, it’s impossible to do everything on your own. It’s important to recognize that you may need to reach out and get support from principals, parents, your special education staff, and any community members. An example of this would be if a student is struggling with their mental health. You would need to collaborate with the school counselor/psychologist to ensure this student gets proper support.

Final thoughts

Student advocacy is extremely important in ensuring success in your school. The most important thing to takeaway from this article is to always be open and willing to listen. You can’t help a student if you don’t know what’s wrong. If you’re unsure where to turn in your student advocacy, any of our programs can help you on your journey to helping your students succeed. Contact us today to learn more.

December 31, 2020December 31, 2020

Why Post-Holiday Gratitude Still Matters

The holiday season encourages many people to reconsider how they practice gratitude in their lives. However, we think it’s important to be grateful beyond the holidays. Practicing gratitude can help in both your personal life and professional life–especially when you are working with and influencing children and teens. Let’s take a look at how gratitude can help you both inside and outside of the classroom.

Benefits of practicing and teaching gratitude

Gratitude can have a larger or smaller impact on our daily lives. Generally though, it makes us feel more optimistic, positive, and enthusiastic about our lives. It encourages us to be passionate, kind, and forgiving.

This extends to students, too. Gratitude lessons can help students become kinder in situations where they may have typically lashed out before. For example, if students are in a group activity gratitude may remind them to be kinder to their group members.

Gratitude can also lead to becoming closer with your students. Showing them kindness can lead your students to appreciate you more.

However, gratitude is something that should be practiced without an expectation of something in return. True signs of gratitude happen because they are genuinely thankful. It’s important to remind your students of this.

Practicing gratitude in your personal life

Here are some ideas of things to remind yourself to be thankful for:

“I have a job.”
“I helped ___ (student’s name, or even coworker) today.”
“I have a home.”
“I had a lovely dinner.”
“I have colleagues I get along with and can laugh with.”
“My friends are there for me in my times of need.”
“The weather was nice today.”
“Today was better than yesterday.”

Gratitude can be as basic as enjoying a cup of your favorite brand of coffee, or as significant as good news after hearing about something tragic. Anything significant to you is something you can be grateful for.

Teaching gratitude in the classroom

There are many projects you can ask your students to do to encourage gratitude:

Ask your students to share something they’re thankful for. This can be in either a journal entry or round robin session.
Model gratitude for your students. Examples: thank them for being kind to one another, for persevering when they struggled with a project, etc.
Implement gratitude into your lesson plans. This can be in a way where you ask your students whether a character was showing gratitude or not.

You can encourage your students to practice gratitude in any way that you feel fits best for your students. We’d love to hear if there are any ways you practice gratitude with your students.

Final thoughts

It’s important to remind students that gratitude and kindness matter all year long, not just around the holiday season. Programs like our Onspire C3 can help you implement more lessons about compassion, civility, and cultural awareness. If you’d like to learn more about us and our programs, contact us today.

December 19, 2020December 18, 2020

How Teachers Can Help With Holiday Mental Health

Some students rely heavily on school to take a break from their home life, and during the year of remote learning, these students may be struggling. Even students who don’t have rough home lives may also be struggling this holiday season. This season is unlike any other. Children may be unable to see their grandparents, and their parents may not have had the budget for Christmas shopping.

As a teacher, you have the chance to help them emotionally as best as you can. It may be a bit trickier to help your students’ mental health over Zoom or Google Meet, but you can still help. It’s important to remember to take care of yourself, too, though!

Know the signs of a distressed student

Sometimes, a student will hide their internal crises really well, making it almost impossible to detect. Other times, it will be plain as day that they are going through a rough time. Regardless, it’s important to watch for even the most subtle of signs. We have a blog post about student referrals that also includes signs to look out for, but we will include a list here as well:

Frequently thinking/talking about problems
Change in personality/actions (a quiet student becoming loud, or a louder student becoming quiet)
Emotional outbursts
Speaking as if no one cares for them, nobody will notice if they were gone, etc.
Threats of suicidal and other self-harming behaviors
Sudden change in social life (not being with friends, for example)

Your gut reaction to these behaviors may be to reach out to family members, but it may be better to reach out to the student themselves. It is possible that you’ll get some pushback, but in many scenarios the student will be happy that someone noticed their struggle. Reaching out to a student first may also build some trust, which is crucial in scenarios like these.

How to help their mental health

When this trust is built with your student, they are more likely to come to you for help. You will want to help them as best as you can, but it’s important to remember that you’re not a counselor; there’s only so much you can do. Here are some tips for how to help your student without burdening yourself too much.

Show that you care and are willing to give them time and attention
- In many situations where a student is struggling, all they want is to simply be heard and cared for.
Be non judgmental, calm, and accepting
- It’s important to listen when they come to you with their problems. They will likely be reluctant and scared to reach out because they don’t want an overreaction. Show them that you just want what’s best for them without any judgement.
Identify how and when to reach out for more help
- You can do this by encouraging the student to reach out to a guidance counselor, welfare advisor, or even a friend if the situation is less severe. Remember that you don’t have to deal with the situation alone; if you feel like your student is in danger, report it to the principal so the school can intervene.

It can be easy to feel guilty after referring a student, but remember that you are referring them for not only their wellbeing, but yours too.

Other ways to encourage wellness in your students

You can help prevent extra stress with some of these ideas:

Take pressure off your students if possible
- This means refraining from big assignments close to the holidays.
Reward your students for reaching milestones, or finally figuring out an assignment they struggled with
Encourage breathing exercises, especially during stressful situations
Give time for your students to talk (and remind them to ask for help)
Emphasize helping others
- It’s amazing how much an act of kindness can help your mood!

Final thoughts

Your students’ mental health is important. Flourishing in school is difficult if your mental health is suffering. As their teacher, you have the ability to help, but you should acknowledge your own limits. It can be overwhelming to take care of your students’ assignments, help them when possible, keep up with your own deadlines, and of course, manage your own life. That’s why we have a post detailing some self-care tips for teachers.

If you are looking for a way to easily and efficiently refer any struggling students, you should take a look at our Student Assistance Program, aSAP! This program allows you to streamline the entire student assistance process from start to finish. It’s completely electronic, and allows you to easily collaborate with your team.

December 10, 2020December 9, 2020

How To Teach Good Social Media Habits

Whether we want to admit it or not, social media is a huge part of all of our lives–and that includes our children’s, too. While there are supposed to be age limits on some social media sites, such as Instagram, children below this age can work their way around it by using fake birthdays or a parent’s email. So, as a parent, how can you ensure that your child is being safe online? Let’s explore how we can teach good social media habits.

Educate Yourself First

The first step in teaching good social media habits is knowing which social media accounts your kids may be using and what platforms are out there. There is a large variety of different social media sites out there now, so it’s important to know how they are used, how they work, and the like.

Here’s a list of the different sites and apps your children may use:

Twitter
Tumblr
Snapchat
Instagram
Reddit
WhatsApp
Kik
TikTok

It’s important to note that WhatsApp and Kik are apps specifically for messaging. While other apps have the risk of predators pretending to be minors online to prey on your children, messaging apps can be dangerous because they have more one-on-one private access with children’s messages.

Establish a Plan

If your child is asking to use social media, it’s imperative to start a dialogue and ask them questions (and let them ask you questions back!). Let’s say that your child wants to join Instagram. Ask them why they would like to join Instagram, what they plan to do if something goes wrong, and teach them of the risks of joining Instagram, such as being targeted by predators. Develop a plan together involving different scenarios, let them know what to look out for, and keep an open line of communication.

If your child is unsure about how to approach a situation that makes them feel uncomfortable or upset, remind them to practice good etiquette, and if all else fails: tell someone.

Instagram (and many other apps) can negatively impact someone’s self esteem, so it’s recommended to start the conversation about how people will post things on social media specifically to make themselves look perfect. By doing this, you can help teach your child early on to remember how selective people are with their posts before feeling as if they are not adequate enough. It can be hard to be on social media without having your self esteem affected, but these reminders may help in the long run.

Limit Screen Time

It’s always important to practice taking a break from social media. Many of the social media apps have options to limit screen time within the app, and there are also settings on some phones. Talk with your children to determine a time limit that works best for both of you.

Encourage Privacy

Privacy is important for children on social media. Like screen time, apps like Instagram and Twitter have the ability to make your account private. The classic “don’t befriend strangers” also applies online. Tell your children to never share information publicly or with someone they don’t know.

Teach Accountability

Lastly, it’s important to let your children know that what they say online matters. Many platforms can allow anonymity that makes people feel like their words aren’t connected to them. But practicing good manners and etiquette is especially important online.

Have a conversation with your children about the worst outcomes of what could happen if they engage in cyberbullying. It can be hard to hear, but it’s important that they know that their words have consequences. Teaching your children about the severity of cyberbullying can help encourage kinder behavior as well.

Our Onspire PD3 program can help any parents who want to encourage their children to learn the importance of taking accountability for their actions. The course “Cyber Safety for Parents” is perfect for teaching your children about their behavior online.

Each course is divided into micro-chapters that can be completed over multiple sessions, allowing flexibility to complete lessons over time. Some course chapters are as low as five minutes in length.

Conclusion

Social media has its pros and cons, but having the conversation with your children as early as possible can ensure that they will be safe online. It’s also important to exhibit good social media habits yourself since children tend to follow the behaviors they know.

If you are interested in using additional resources for teaching your children about social media, a documentary on Netflix called “The Social Dilemma” has been a popular resource on the topic. It explores the dangers of social networking and how it has impacted us. If you take the time to watch it, especially with your children, we’d love to hear your thoughts and how you handled the discussion with your teens in the comments below.

November 6, 2020November 5, 2020

Signs It’s Time For a Student Referral

Most school faculty and staff members enter the career not only to educate children and shape the future, but also to provide them with support. Since staff members at schools interact with their students so often, these daily interactions can be very important to identify when students need assistance.

It’s important to listen to students when they say upfront that they would like counseling services or other help. It’s a very brave step for students to come out and specify when they need help. But sometimes, it’s not that simple. Let’s discuss the signs you’ll see when it’s time for a student referral.

Identifying when it’s time for a student referral

Some signs may be more subtle than others, and if you are noticing that the behavior in a student is off, it’s important to keep monitoring them to see if their behaviors improve or worsen.

These signs include:

Decreased quality in schoolwork, tests, and participation
Increased absence from class
Appearance changes such as: depressed appearance, weight gain/loss, visible exhaustion, changes in personal hygiene
Nervousness, agitation, aggressiveness, non-stop talking
Strange behavior or speech
Violent outbursts
Dependency on faculty or staff (ie: spending significant amounts of time visiting during office hours)
Signs of excessive alcohol/drug use
Evidence of self-injury
Binging/purging of food
Changes in social circles (withdrawal from friends; isolation)
Physical or sexual assault
Indirect or direct mentions of suicide
Uncharacteristic and concerning comments in a student’s papers or schoolwork

It may be difficult to monitor these things during remote learning, but if you still notice something concerning, it may be best to reach out to the student.

Student referral process

When approaching a student about counseling, it’s important to remember that not every student will be receptive to the idea. The best way to combat this is to encourage them that counseling has helped other students in a similar situation, and that counseling is a safe and confidential place to explore their feelings.

At the end of the day, you want the student to decide themselves that counseling is a good decision for themselves. Forcing a student into counseling will not have positive results in the long run.

If you and your school are concerned about how student referrals will work during remote learning, our Student Assistance Program aSAP! will be helpful for you. This program allows teachers and staff members to electronically refer students to your Student Assistance team when concerning behaviors arise. aSAP! also provides team planning, intervention, and support, so it is beneficial during the whole referral process. To learn more about this program, visit our website.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, you want to observe any student with concerning issues as closely as possible. Not only that, but you want to ensure that they feel safe and comfortable. This allows them to be more willing to consider the student referral and counseling process.

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020

How Teachers Can Prevent Cyberbullying

cyberbullying prevention blog post image

In today’s world of social media and frequent Internet usage, cyberbullying is more than just a myth. And of course, with the enforcement of remote learning, the risk of students being cyberbullied is even more prevalent. It may feel difficult to monitor and educate your students about digital citizenship, so here are some tips we have on how you can prevent cyberbullying in your school district.

Cyberbullying Statistics

Unfortunately, cyberbullying is often taken less seriously compared to physical harassment or teasing. However, cyberbullying is a real issue that is plaguing our children and teens. A study from Pew Research Center conducted in 2018 found that 59% of teens in the United States have been cyberbullied. Their study also found that a majority of teens are online almost constantly, and those teens are the most likely to get cyberbullied. It’s also important to note that teens from lower-income families, girls, and LGBT teens are considered to be more likely to experience cyberbullying.

Identifying What Cyberbullying Looks Like

What does cyberbullying look like nowadays? Here are some ways that cyberbullying occurs:

Harassment and/or cyberstalking: “lurking” on someone’s profile and constantly harassing them
Account hacking/creating fake profiles to spread misinformation
Doxing: spreading personal information without consent)
Swatting: calling emergency responders such as the police to someone’s house)

Signs that these types of bullying could be occurring:

Seeming anxious when using their phone or computer
Sudden change in friend groups with little explanation
Hiding tabs on computer/phone
A general shift in emotions (seeming depressed, withdrawn, anxious, etc)

It’s important to monitor your students as closely as possible to notice signs like this. If you feel something is off about a student, consider reaching out to them or their parents/guardians to see what’s going on.

So now that we know a little more about cyberbullying, what can teachers do to prevent it?

Educating on Digital Citizenship

When students learn about digital citizenship, they will learn to appropriately and responsibly use the Internet and other technology. Educating your students on what impact their actions can have online is extremely important.

While teaching digital citizenship is helpful for cyberbullying prevention, it has other uses too. Students can understand hacking, piracy, viruses, information literacy, and also how to take care of their physical and emotional health in a digital world. You can learn more about digital citizenship here.

Encouraging Victims to Reach Out

Many students don’t report cyberbullying to parents or teachers out of fear of losing access to technology, or the possibility of not being taken seriously. There are programs out there (including our own program HIBster) that allows students to report any incidents anonymously. If students know there is an anonymous way to report any bullying, they may feel more encouraged to report.

Establishing Anti-Cyberbullying Policies

There is no exact method to fully stop all forms of bullying, so it’s important to establish a proper policy in the instance that cyberbullying does occur. To do this, you need to have a clear definition of bullying, a clear and defined way the school should respond to any reports, and proper and appropriate response to said claims.

When bullying occurs, it is important to get to the source of the problem, rather than deal with the problem and move on. Many of the programs we have created work together to manage incidents and also educate and remediate students. For example, HIBster allows you to manage reports, and programs like HIBstervention, aSAP, Onspire can help you deal with the emotional aftermath of bullying.

Final Thoughts

Overall, spreading a positive environment is one way to deal with cyberbullying. Remote learning due to the pandemic can be extremely isolating for many students; try to encourage your students to positively interact with each other online. Weaving digital citizenship into regular lessons and chapters can also be an effective way to teach the importance and impact of kindness online.

Any of the programs we have mentioned in this article are also ways to manage cyberbullying incidents this school year. Contact us today to learn more.