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The end of the school year is basically one big emotional Disney finale. Everyone is tired. Someone is crying. Someone is pretending not to cry. There are snacks involved. And somehow, a room you were ready to escape from in March suddenly feels sentimental in May. As school counselors, teachers, and educators, we spend all year helping students grow, problem-solve, make friends, manage big feelings, and find their way. Then suddenly it is time to say goodbye. Goodbye is hard

I love the big Disney moments as much as anyone. The fireworks. The first walk down Main Street. The music that somehow makes you emotional before you even realize what is happening. But sometimes the Disney moments that stick with me the most are the quiet ones. These are the ones you can miss if you are rushing to the next ride, checking wait times, or trying to make it to your dining reservation on time. One of those moments is the Flag Retreat Ceremony at Magic Kingdom. I

Middle schoolers have a gift. They can walk past a beautiful castle, a perfectly themed land, a breathtaking attraction, and a carefully designed magical moment… …and then become completely obsessed with the fact that there is a brown path in Liberty Square that might represent colonial poop. Honestly? Fair. For this Fun Friday, we are looking at 6-7 (I had to go there!) Disney details only a middle schooler would truly appreciate, the gross, weird, dramatic, oddly specific l

The school year is in its final scenes. Testing season may be winding down, field trips and celebrations are taking over the calendar, and everyone is running on a very specific combination of caffeine, countdowns, and “please just make it to dismissal.” Students are tired. You’re tired. The copier is tired. And yet, somewhere in the middle of all the end-of-year chaos, there are still moments worth noticing. The student who finally asked for help. The class that learned how

Have you ever noticed that packing for a Disney vacation is one of the most intentional things we do all year? You do not just throw things in a bag and hope for the best. You think about it. You make decisions on purpose. You choose what to bring, what to leave behind, and what you absolutely cannot get on the plane without. What if we gave our students that same experience before they walked out the door for the summer? That is exactly what this lesson does. The End of the

Happy Mother's Day! Today's Top 10 is a little different. No SEL standards. No lesson plans. No reflection prompts. Just ten Disney moms who absolutely deserved more credit than they got, and a few who got exactly the credit they earned and still managed to make us cry about it. Grab your coffee. This one's for the moms. 10. Sarabi — The Lion King Sarabi lost her husband, watched her kingdom fall apart, and raised her son under the roof of the lion who took everything from he

May the 4th be with you, and so will this lesson! If you're a school counselor or teacher looking for a fun, meaningful way to talk about friendship, teamwork, and belonging, this one is going to be your new favorite. Whether you use it for Star Wars Day or pull it out any time of year, this lesson brings the magic of a galaxy far, far away right into your counseling space. Why Star Wars? Here's the thing about Star Wars that I absolutely love: it isn't really about lightsabe

Subscribe to the Counselor Clubhouse for a FREE printable Self-Care park day planning guide to use with your fellow staff members. Coming to your inbox this weekend!! There is a certain kind of tired that only educators understand in May. It is not regular tired. It is “field day is on the calendar, testing is still happening, someone needs a permission slip, the copier is jammed, and three students just asked if they can help you organize your office” tired. It is the kind

There is a very specific look students get when something feels too hard. Sometimes it looks like shutting down. Sometimes it sounds like, “I don’t care.” Sometimes it shows up as perfectionism, avoidance, tears, frustration, or suddenly needing to sharpen a pencil for the fourth time in ten minutes. As school counselors, we know what is often sitting underneath those behaviors: fear. Fear of failing. Fear of looking silly. Fear of disappointing someone. Fear of not being

If Disney characters ran your school, who would you draft? Every great team needs the right players in the right roles. And just like in sports, one bad pick can throw off the whole system. One great pick can change everything. You’ve got one job: Draft your ultimate school dream team using Disney characters. But choose carefully… ONE character per role. No duplicates. Yes, we will judge your Principal choice! The School Draft Board The Principal (aka The Quarterback) Lead

Sometimes learning looks like a classroom. Sometimes it looks like a sideline. And today it looked like my daughter making her debut as an ESPN sideline reporter for the JMU Sport Network. Yes, this is a proud mom moment. I won’t even pretend otherwise. But it’s also something bigger. Because what I saw today wasn’t just a “sports dream”, it was a reimagined one. The Disney/ESPN Connection (Because You Know I Had to Go There) If you didn’t know, ESPN is owned by The Wal

**Disney Edition complete with a little pixie dust (aka COUPON! ) at the end. Somewhere between dismissal duty and your third cup of coffee, a new kind of math appears. Not the kind we teach. Not the kind that shows up on standardized tests. Nope! This is Friday Math . And frankly? It feels a lot like a full day at Disney. Let’s Walk Through the Formula Here’s what we’re working with: 1 week of early mornings 27 “Can you come grab this student real quick?” moments 14 sched

Let’s be honest, school counseling days are not calm, predictable, or neatly scheduled. Kind of reminds me of a day at Disney! They are: Unexpected walk-ins Last-minute parent calls Emotional check-ins “Can you just come grab this student real quick?” moments And somewhere in between all of that, you’re trying to stay organized, present, and effective. That’s where systems matter. But not just any systems, systems that feel good to use. Introducing: Little Moments, Big Magi

The other day, I was visiting a friend, and we ended up having one of those conversations that sticks with you. Her daughter, an elementary school student, was telling me about school and casually mentioned something that made me pause. She said, “My classmates know I’m smart, but they’re surprised I’m also artistic.” That stopped me. Because right there, in one sentence, she captured something so many of our students experience :the idea that they have to fit into one bo

Testing season is here and if you’re anything like me, you’re looking for ways to support students that go beyond “just try your best.” Students don’t just need strategies. They need confidence. They need routine. They need a little bit of magic. So instead of adding more stress, what if we created a simple, engaging daily ritual that helps students feel prepared, calm, and capable? Enter: 10 Days of Disney Testing Magic This low-prep activity gives students one small focu

Milk, food coloring, and dish soap? Stay with me. What if I told you that one of the most powerful ways to teach friendship, inclusion, and belonging involves SCIENCE!! As school counselors, we are always looking for ways to make Social Emotional Learning feel r eal, engaging, and memorable. And sometimes, the best way to do that is by stepping outside of what we think SEL “should” look like. SEL doesn’t have to stay in the counseling lane. It can (and should) connect to oth

I am so excited to officially share that Storybook SEL Volume 1 and Volume 2 are now available! These lessons were created with one goal in mind: to make social-emotional learning meaningful, engaging, and a little more magical using the stories we already know and love. Each Storybook SEL lesson is thoughtfully designed to be ready-to-use and flexible for real classrooms. Every lesson includes: 2–3 clear objectives A guiding question to anchor learning Key vocabulary Aligned

March Madness isn’t just for basketball; it’s time for a different kind of bracket. Welcome to the Storybook SEL Final Four, where four incredible Disney movies go head-to-head, not for a trophy, but for their impact on social-emotional learning. Each of these stories teaches powerful life skills our students need every day, such as understanding emotions, building confidence, setting goals, and embracing differences. But the real question is which one deserves the champion

If your lesson were a Disney ride would students wait in line for it? It’s a question I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. At Disney, people, myself included, will willingly wait 60, 90, even 120 minutes, for an experience they’re excited about. Kids, adults, entire families standing in line, anticipating what’s coming next. But in school? We sometimes struggle to keep students engaged for 10 minutes. So what’s the difference? It’s no t magic. It’s d esign. And more

If you have ever taken children to Disney, you already know something important: Even the most magical place on earth can turn into the most dramatic place on earth in about 2.5 seconds. One minute, everyone is smiling in matching shirts and posing in front of the castle. The next, someone is crying because they are hot, someone else is mad about a snack, you are mentally calculating how much money is left in your wallet in the last three hours, and everyone is one minor inco