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Welcome to Mrs. Gauntt's Webpage! My mission is to support the social, emotional, and academic needs of Wilshire students, families, and staff through guidance lessons, counseling, support services, and community connections.

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I've been working for HEB ISD since 2010. I taught first grade at Wilshire for five years, before moving to the counseling position in 2015. I worked on my master's degree for school counseling at Dallas Baptist University, while I was a classroom teacher. I love Wilshire Elementary! Wilshire students and families hold a special place in my heart and I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and our dogs, practicing yoga, and going on trips in our camper.

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While it is important that a student's conversations with a school counselor be kept confidential, confidentiality does have its limitations. According to the American School Counselor Association's Ethical Standards for School Counselors, counselors must "keep information confidential unless legal requirements demand that confidential information be revealed or a breach is required to prevent serious and foreseeable harm to the student."(American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2010).

The most frequent type of breaches include a student verbalizing the following:

1. Verbal, Physical or Sexual Abuse

2. Neglect

3. A desire to harm him/herself

4. A desire to harm someone else

5. An unreported sexual assault

Reference:

American School Counselor Association. Ethical Standards for School Counselors. American School Counselor Association, n.d.Web. 19 March 2013 <http://www.counselors.k12.sd.us/ethics.html>

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If you would like to contact me, you can do so by emailing me directly at: mollygauntt@hebisd.edu or calling me directly at (817) 399-3969.

If you are a student or a parent needing to request counseling for yourself or your child, please complete the Google Form below and I will contact you.

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Secondary Computer Science School of Choice

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Secondary Computer Science School of Choice

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Kindness is our Character Trait for the Fourth Six Weeks

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Kindness is our Character Trait for the Fourth Six Weeks

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Transition from Virtual Learning Option to                      Traditional School Timeline 2020-2021

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Transition from Virtual Learning Option to                      Traditional School Timeline 2020-2021

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Parents will only be able to request for their child to be moved from Virtual Learning to Traditional Learning at the end of every six weeks.
However, the request needs to be sent to Wilshire (by email) two weeks prior to the end of the current six weeks.
Please see the cut-off dates below for each six weeks.
Please contact any of the following front office staff to make a request to move your child from virtual learning to traditional learning:
mollygauntt@hebisd.edu
damarisrodriguez-lopez@hebisd.edu
susanamendoza@hebisd.edu
kristinemanning@hebisd.edu

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Mrs. Gauntt's 2020-2021 Introductory Video

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Mrs. Gauntt's 2020-2021 Introductory Video

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Loom | Free Screen & Video Recording Software

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HEB ISD has a crisis intervention team who offer many valuable resources.

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Crisis Intervention & Prevention Julia Harris, LSSP, NCSP Heather Andrews, LCSW Irene Cedillo, LCSW **Click names for contact information & school assignments** **Click different items on shelf & frames to learn more** Refer A Student Parent's Corner

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HEB Social and Emotional Learning Videos for Parents and Students YouTube Channel

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HEB Social and Emotional Learning Videos for Parents and Students YouTube Channel

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HEB ISD Counselors and the Crisis Intervention Team have created a YouTube channel with helpful videos for families to access from home.

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Social-emotional Learning for Families and Parents

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Counselors and social workers in HEB ISD share tips for parents, on a variety of topics related to social and emotional health.

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How to Explain COVID-19 to Children
Videos

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How to Talk to Kids About the Coronavirus

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Just for Kids: A Comic Exploring the New Coronavirus from NPR modified for Scarlett Middle School

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Learning Styles

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Teaching To Kids' Learning Styles
There are currently seven "Learning Styles":
Your student will most likely not possess one style exclusively but you may be able to see patterns in their learning preferences. For example, a student who is visual may also be a very social and verbal learner and prefers to learn especially difficult topics using their primary skills.

Understanding how your student learns is perhaps one of the most important tasks a parent can undergo while homeschooling. Another is learning how to provide opportunities for learning through the use of these identified learning preferences.

Teachers often use their preferred learning style as their main mode of teaching and if students do not share those same preferences then learning can be very difficult and frustrating.

As a Special Education teacher it was important for me to understand those differences in order to maximize my students' learning potential. It is just as important for all parents and teachers to do the same. Watch your children and students. Listen to what they want and their interests. Compare the differences between how they learn Aurally and Visually as well as the other styles outlined above. Compare how they interact with others while learning in a group or by themselves. Each observation will bring you closer to understanding their special gifts and will reveal to you more effective ways to teach them using their preferred learning styles.

No student is exclusively one style or another and most utilize a variety of modalities when learning. It is important to expand their abilities to use as many learning styles as possible, helping them to succeed in a world where how one learns often means nothing and only the ability to learn has value.

Time4Learning has developed a comprehensive, multi-modality learning curriculum that allows all students to reach successful levels of understanding by using their preferred learning styles. Time4Learning's lessons are scientifically designed to reach the vast array of learning needs.

Different Learning Styles - Different Ways to Learn

Beyond learning and teaching styles there are other ways to assist students toward educational success.
Each of us processes and distinguishes information differently based on our personality patterns, how we interact socially and a general like or dislike for the subject matter or interest. We all like to learn about subjects we are interested in and often struggle in areas that hold no interest.

How a child thinks and the way they sense and perceive their surroundings often affects the way they learn. The connections to memory are also associated with our senses and perceptions creating a complex and often individualized process of learning and memory.

Personality patterns focus on attention, emotion, and values. Understanding these differences allows you to predict the way your child might react and feel about different situations.

Social interactions look at likely attitudes, habits, and strategies learners might take toward their work and how they engage with others when they learn. Learners can be independent, dependent, collaborative, competitive, participant or avoidant.

Interest plays a critical role in learning. When a student is interested in the topics or subjects they naturally learn and retain information at a higher rate. Helping your child develop a variety of interests will naturally increase their level of learning overall.

You may want to start with understanding your individual patterns of learning and how those mentioned above affect how you learn. From your perspective you can then try to understand the patterns of your child. The differences between you and your child or student are not necessarily wrong or right and you will most likely find their patterns are different, sometimes very different than your own. It's important, however, to capitalize on what works for your child and to help them to utilize those patterns and learning styles toward a greater capacity to learn and remember.
Knowing how your child learns is one way to help them succeed. You should try to:

Teach the most difficult lessons using your child's preferred learning style.

Reinforce lessons using multiple learning styles.

Help your child improve learning skills in the learning styles he or she is less comfortable with.

In some cases, this requires helping your children understand their own abilities. This may include teaching some compensation and coping techniques.

Your Learning Styles & Needs - Time4Learning Might be the Solution

Children like using the computer to learn.
Time4Learning's online interactive curriculum engages and challenges children while letting them work at their own pace.

Time4Learning tracks students' progress and helps children advance through individualized learning paths. This insures complete coverage of the needed skills and concepts to assure success. Parents can use Time4Learning for all their children from preschool through high school. Parents like Time4Learning because it provides a comprehensive educational solution that includes language arts and math, complete lesson plans and activities with assessments and online materials and printable worksheets, making learning fun and homeschooling an effective and successful educational alternative.

Time4Learning has been proven effective, is very affordable, and provides a money-back guarantee so you can make sure that it works for your child.

Sign up for Time4Learning and gain access to an educational system that will engage and challenge your child to succeed. Make Time4Learning an important part of your child's education today!

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There are currently seven "Learning Styles": Your student will most likely not possess one style exclusively but you may be able to see patterns in their learning preferences. For example, a student who is visual may also be a very social and verbal learner and prefers to learn especially difficult topics using their primary skills.

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Welcome to our supplemental Social Emotional Learning Activities page!

As you will see below, many of the supplemental SEL activities and lesson plans include characters from our game-based, social emotional learning interventions. And when you use the online programs with your students, these activities will reinforce the learning that occurs during game play.

These supplemental resources - lessons, activities, and worksheets - are in the following SELskill areas: Communication, Cooperation, Emotion Regulation, Empathy, Impulse Control, and Social Initiation.

These resources are age-appropriate for elementary and middle school students and are typically used in a classroom or a small group setting. And in most cases, if materials are required for the activity, they are items that you already have in your classroom or office.
Note: Please share this page on your school website so other educators may also benefit.
Social Emotional Learning at Home

Additional Resources for Social Emotional Learning

Our classroom management plan is a step-by-step guide and includes proven strategies, tips and printables for elementary school teachers, and it covers four key components for establishing a successful, well-managed classroom.

These free downloadable posters will decorate your classroom and be great teaching resources, reinforcing social and emotional skills in your classroom and reminding students to practice their skills like emotion regulation, impulse control, empathy, and more.

Social Emotional Learning Quotes

For each of the topics below, we have curated a list of quotes. You can incorporate these quotes in your social emotional learning lessons, add them to social media images, create classroom posters, or write one on your whiteboard each day.

Need Something More Engaging And Effective For A Few Students?

Simply request a FREE Centervention educator account and start using our online programs!

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95 Free Social Emotional Learning Activities

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95 free social emotional learning activities, worksheets, and lessons to help students in elementary and middle school. Most are no-prep and ready to go.

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Five Ways to Help Your Child Build Character

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Five Ways to Help Your Child Build Character

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Positive traits like manners and compassion don't magically appear overnight-they take practice, patience and gentle reinforcement. Try these smart strategies to introduce and instill important characteristics that will help your kids succeed.

Provide children with age-appropriate challenges and let them work through frustration to meet them, whether they're attempting the climbing wall at the park or learning how to tie their shoes. Stand by but resist the urge to step in uninvited or voice your own frustrations or fears. Supporting kids while they check off their accomplishments builds their confidence to tackle bigger ones.

Give kids household chores they're expected to complete simply because they're part of the family. Even preschoolers can pick up toys and take their plate to the sink after dinner. Older kids can help younger siblings make an after school peanut butter and jelly snack.

Don't just buy kids whatever they want. Have them pay for all or part of the cost with money earned from their jobs or doing extra chores. Learning the value of a dollar early on can inspire them to keep on working hard so they can achieve their goals and feel rewarded.

Explain all of the elements of a polite introduction: Smile and give eye contact. Introduce yourself and firmly shake hands with the other person. Practice at home and with family members until it feels comfortable. Give praise when you witness introductions unfold smoothly out in public.

Volunteer with your kids at least once a year. Deliver meals to local shelters or help clean up a local park. These activities can foster compassion and show kids that their actions can have a big impact.

Have these activities inspired your child to think BIG? Create a dream jar to keep their excitement going.

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5 Key Ways to Help Your Child Build Character

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Positive traits like manners and compassion don't magically appear overnight-they take practice, patience and gentle reinforcement. Try these smart strategies to introduce and instill important characteristics that will help your kids succeed. Provide children with age-appropriate challenges and let them work through frustration to meet them, whether they're attempting the climbing wall at the park or learning how to tie their shoes.

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Managing Anger

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Inside: Kid-friendly coping skills used to help manage anger, including safe ways to express anger, books to read and videos that can help. This post contains affiliate links. Learn more.
It's starting again, as usual, right after your son gets off the school bus. He is frustrated from things that happened during the day, and now he's yelling and stomping around the house. You're feeling overwhelmed and don't know what to do next.
How do you help an angry child?
Here's a collection of the best tools and tips to teach children how to manage their anger in safe and healthy ways. Let's start with some quick, safe ways to help kids express those feelings.

Looking for more quick ideas to help kids express their anger?
Stop sensory meltdowns by hanging upside down 5 simple ways to help children calm angry feelings 10 more ways to help kids manage anger A Different Way to Respond When Your Child is Aggressive
We need to help our kids understand and expect that they will experience a variety of feelings as they go through life, including anger. It's normal to feel angry at times. It's what you do with those feelings that matter.

Here's a great reminder from Imperfect Families that anger is a feeling too.

When a child is in fight, flight or freeze mode, they can't process information as well as when their body is in rest and digest mode. This is not a teachable moment, and they can't take in a lecture at this point. Your goal is to get them through this rough moment. It's best to keep talking to a minimum. When you do speak, make sure you use a neutral, calm, and quiet tone. Keep it short and repeat the same phrase. Repeating it is helpful because they aren't processing information and words as they usually would. Repetition makes it more likely that they'll hear what you are saying.

Phrases that you can say at that moment:

"I'm here for you."

"I love you."

"I want to help you."

"Let me know when you're ready."

"You are mad; I get it."

"I understand."

Looking for some more inspiration for phrases to say? Check this out:
26 Phrases to Calm and Angry Child
When some kids get big feelings, they destroy items around them - rip books, throw toys, etc. If that's the case for your child, it may be helpful for you to set up a safe spot where kids can go when they are angry. In that space, take everything out that can be destroyed or thrown that might injure someone or damage property. If you have more than one floor, set up a safe spot on each level of your home.

If you aren't in the safe spot when your child is dealing with big feelings, move harmful objects out of the way and try to get them to that safe place.

It may make sense to set up their room as a safe place too. We found this helpful when our son was dealing with a lot of angry feelings. We moved his toys and his bookshelf to a different room in the house so he could still play with them. The items that stayed in his room were those things that wouldn't hurt him or us. We did this to keep everyone, including him, safe. And as time went on, and he had better control of his emotions, we were able to add things back to his room.

How to Make a Calm Down Spot at home
Calm Space in Schools
One of the best things you can do is work on teaching coping skills kids can use before things escalate to epic proportions. The trick is practicing when they are in a calm and relaxed mood, not in the moment when they are angry.

Identify Triggers

Start by talking about what's making them angry. Help them identify those triggers, so you both know for the next time. Is it a particular school subject that makes them frustrated? Perhaps being hungry or thirsty? Are their specific noises or locations that are frustrating?

help kids identify where they feel angry in their body

Sometimes, kids don't know they're angry until after the explosion has happened. Help them identify the signs their body gives them that they are feeling angry. Over time, they'll start to recognize that feeling and ideally use a coping skill before things get too overwhelming.

Explore what other emotions they may be feeling

When kids are angry, there are usually other feelings that they are experiencing too. But anger is easy to see and often hides different feelings that lie below the surface. It's sometimes referred to as the "Anger Iceberg." It takes a bit of time to figure it out, but when your child is in a calm place, talk about what other feelings may be hiding underneath their anger.

Read more about the anger iceberg here.

Identify and practice coping skills

Now that they know what causes those big feelings and how to identify them, help them figure out ways to deal with those feelings in safe and healthy ways. Go through the coping skills checklist and have kids check off the skills that work for them, cross off the ones that don't and circle the ones they want to try.

Identify one coping skill your child would like to try. Take a few minutes during the week and have them practice a coping skill they may be able to use next time. For example, if they are going to try using shapes for deep breathing, have them practice before, so they know how it feels. The idea is to have them practice, so they know what it feels like to do it when they are calm.

Using coping skills to deal with big feelings will not go perfectly every time. Learning to manage anger is a work in progress. Little by little, with practice and time, kids will get better at it. Encourage them when they make safe and healthy choices. When they don't, continue to work with them to figure out better steps they can take the next time.

Use a Feelings Thermometer

Using a feelings thermometer can help kids make the connection between their feelings and their coping skills. Here's how you can make an anger thermometer.

How to Make an Anger Thermometer:

Have the child pick out three colors, one for each section of the thermometer and color it in. Then talk about each section.

Ask what it looks like when they are just a little angry, at the bottom of the thermometer. Do they sigh loudly, growl, etc.?

Then move on to the middle section of the thermometer. If they are medium-sized angry, what does that look like? Does their voice get louder? Do they stomp their feet, etc.?

Finally, talk about what it looks like when they are experiencing big anger at the top of the thermometer. What does that look like? Is it yelling, throwing things, etc.?

It isn't always easy for kids to do this. If they are having a hard time identifying what the behaviors were, I tell them what I noticed the last time I saw them get angry. Or, if I haven't seen them angry, I'll give them a prompt to help them, like "When some kids get angry, they yell, is that something you do?"

Once we go through and identify behaviors on the thermometer, then we work on identifying coping skills they can use to calm down. Some examples include getting a drink of water, taking deep breaths, shredding paper, or taking a break.

Make sure they have coping skills that will help them at each level of anger. It's essential to have a variety of coping skills for each level because not all coping skills will work all the time. For some kids, taking a drink of water can help calm them down when they are just slightly angry. However, when they are furious, getting a drink of water won't help. They need to do something different at that point, like take a break.

When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang Poor Sophie has a hard time managing her anger when she has to share gorilla with her sister. It's a visually appealing book to show how big her feelings get and how it looks when she calms down again.

When I Feel Angry by Cornelia Maude Spelman This is part of "The Way I Feel" series. It explains how different things can make you angry, and that feeling angry is an expected part of life, but it's what you do when you're feeling that way that matters.

Cool Down and Work Through Anger by Cheri J. Meiners M.Ed. Another great book that talks about how anger affects your body and suggesting safe ways to express yourself.

Angry Octopus by Lori Lite and Max Stasuyk A great book that actually is a progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing script for kids. It's wonderful!

Don't Rant and Rave on Wednesdays by Adolph Moser It mentions the consequences of having unchecked anger, and acknowledges that adults struggle with this too. A large part of the book explains different strategies kids can use to express anger in a safe way, which I think is fantastic.

How to Take The Grrrr Out of Anger by Elizabeth Verdick and Marjorie Lisovskis I love using this book for kids who are having a hard time managing being angry. I typically read one chapter at a time with the kids and work on some of the strategies listed in the book.

What to Do When Your Temper Flares by Dawn Huebner This book has lovely illustrations and goes through "anger dousing" methods.

Happiness Doesn't Come from Headstands by Tamara Levitt. This is a beautifully illustrated book all about growth mindset and resilience. Leela wants to do headstands and is getting frustrated, and believes the only way she can be happy is if she does headstands. With the help of a friend, she shifts her focus from what she can't do to what she can and focuses on the journey, not the singular goal is doing a headstand.

The Secret to Clara's Calm by Tamara Levitt. This is another beautifully illustrated book that demonstrates the power of mindfulness in managing big feelings. Clara has a bad temper and has big reactions to small problems, but then that leads to kids not wanting to be around her anymore. She works on learning how to be mindful and manage her big feelings with the help of a bird named Brodhi.

Chillax!: How Ernie Learns to Chill Out, Relax and Take Charge of His Anger by Marcella Marino Craver This is a graphic novel, perfect for the tween set.

It's common for parents to struggle with staying calm when their child is angry. As a mom, I know that's tough, especially when your child is having a difficult time. But it's important to learn to do it. You have to get yourself calm before you can help your child. One of the best ways to help your child is to make sure you stay calm yourself.

Use Self-Talk

Here are some phrases that may help you as you are working with your angry kid:

They're having a hard time, not giving me a hard time.

Share my calm, don't join their chaos.

I am in charge of staying calm, no matter how my child is acting and behaving.

All feelings are OK. My job is to help my kid manage them.

I can remain calm, and be a good example for my child.

Be the thermostat, not the thermometer.

TAKE Deep Breaths

If you're getting upset and about to blow up, try deep breathing. I know, it sounds hokey, but it makes a difference. When you are feeling overwhelmed, your body can go into fight, flight, or freeze mode, but in situations like these, you want to stay in rest and digest mode. By taking deep breaths, you're signaling your body to go back to rest and digest mode. Expand your belly as you inhale, and contract your belly as you exhale. Try taking several deep breaths before you take steps to intervene.

Use a grounding technique

If you're overwhelmed, sometimes it helps to do a grounding exercise to calm yourself down.

FIND your support system

Know that you are not alone. Read what this mom has to say about parenting an angry child. If you don't have a support system, then it's time to find one. Here are some ideas for both in person and online support groups to help you.
In Person Support:
There are lots of places you can get support in person. One resource I love is the National Alliance on Mental Illness. They offer Family Support Groups, which meet regularly. They also offer a 12 week class for parents by parents, called Family to Family Support. Search for your local NAMI chapter here.

Having support for your child outside of your family can be a lifesaver. Talk to the school, teachers and coaches to help support your child during a difficult time. Sharing knowledge about what strategies work, and how you child responds in different environments is invaluable information.

You can also seek help from a licensed therapist to help support you. It's great to have someone to talk through the tough situations you are experiencing. If scheduling an in-person meeting is tough, you can see therapists online at sites like betterhelp.com. Some kids also benefit from seeing their own therapist. Read this to get a little more information about when you should seek outside help for your child.
Facebook Groups:
Did you know you can search for groups on Facebook to find others who are struggling with similar issues to yours? Here are some active Facebook Groups that have been helpful for families.
Note: You may need to apply to some of these groups in order to be added.
Support for Sensory Needs

Raising Poppies

Happy Sensitive Kids Community

Modern Parenting

The Neighborhood, Imperfect Families

The World's Okayest Parents
Coping Skills for Kids Group
As your son continues to stomp and growl, you take a few deep breaths and say to yourself "Be the thermostat, not the thermometer." Then, in a calm voice, you say to your son "I'm here to help. I love you."

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Inside: Kid-friendly coping skills used to help manage anger, including safe ways to express anger, books to read and videos that can help. This post contains affiliate links. Learn more. It's starting again, as usual, right after your son gets off the school bus.