Jessie finds joy~#counseling,#journalwriting,#Jessie,#tweenblogs,#anger

Jessie was a rude girl.She never spoke to the boys and girls at school.She would talk in class and gave a frown to the teachers when they asked her to be quiet."Thank You" and "please" was not in her vocabulary. When someone bumped into her in the hallway,Jessie would say'"Watch where you're going!"She was in a bad mood every day of the week.Her parents asked what was wrong.She did not tell them because she wanted to solve her own problems. She wore her long brown hair in a pony tail.Her family was poor and she had two younger brothers in elementary school.It was Jesssie's job to care for her brother until her parents got home from work. Seventh grade was very stressful for Jessica.It was a new school.Her family had moved to Kansas City at the end of the summer.The middle school had 1,200 studenst.Jessie hated walking down the hallway...it was so many kids and made her dizzy just looking at them. Jessie talked to some girls and boys in class,but she did not have any close friends.There were girls who tried to be friends with Jessie,but she never hung out with any of them.The teachers were nice and tried to help Jessie. One of her teachers asked if Jessie could join the counselor's group.Jessie's parents agreed to this.Ms.Marsha was the school counselor.The told Jessie that counselors were there to help her with her feelings and thoughts. Jessie agreed to join the counselor group.Eight kids were in this group. The counselor took Jessie and a group of other kids to the library every Tuesday. Tuesday came.Jessie was a little nervous and played with her pony tail as she and the others waited outside of Ms. Marsha's office. Jessie sat down on the bench and looked at the other kids in the group.They looked 'pretty regular',Jessie thought.She sat by a girl whose name was Shelly.They smiled at each other.No one was screaming or fighting. Then Ms.Marsha came out and they all went to sit at a large table in the library.Jessie was surprised to see that the kids in the group had problems just like her.One boy said that his dad left the family.The boy started to cry and put his head down into his hands.Ms.Marsha listened to the boy and told him that he would be ok.Ms. Marsha told Jessie to bring a writing journal to the next group meeting. Jessie brought her writing tablet to the meeting.Ms.Marshs told the group to write about something that made them feel angry.Jessie took out her pen and began to think about what to write. She wrote: "I don't like being away from my grandmother.We moved her during the summer and it was so hard.My father got another job and we had to leave my other city.My grandmother made me feel so special and I miss her smile.She taught me how to decorate Christmas stockings.I used to help her make chocolate chip cookies too.We would sit outside and talk while we ate the cookies with some almond milk.Grand ma would always tell me stories of what she did when she was younger.I don't want to be at this school.I am not happy here." Jessie had not figured out why she was so upset.She like the counseling class and began to talk about the things that were bothering her.If she did not want to talk,she could write it down on paper. Wow! What a relief! Jessie is doing better now and has made new friends.She was sorry for treating other so badly because she did not want to leave her grandma.The family is now visiting grandma more often which is really cool with Jessie!

Shannon's fight ~ #friends,#tweengirls,#tweens,#friendship

Shannon put a little alcohol on her cotton ball and dabbed it on the cut on her elbow.She got a bandage out of the bathroom medicine cabinet and had a flashback of what had happened yesterday. Terra was Shannon's friend and told her to come with her to a birthday party. The birthday party was for Mindy's on Saturday.She was turning twelve.The party was at a lake near Mindy's house in the country.About twenty girls and boys showed up along with a few parents.The food,drinks and cupcakes were set up on a large table outdoors.A volleyball net was nearby and the kid played a game before the party started.Everyone talked,listened to music,and played board games. After eating,a group of kids wanted to play another game of volleyball.Mindy was next to Shannon on the ground.They began to volley the ball back and forth. Shannon noticed that Mindy was stepping over in her space to hit the balls that were coming to her.Shannon did not say anything at first.The game went on and the score was tied.The other team served the ball into Shannon's direction.Shannon jumped high to hit the ball back when Mindy's left hand flew in front of her face!Shannon thought: "This is enough!" Shannon pushed Mindy down onto the ground and told her to stop interfering with her game! Mindy got up and charged at Shannon.The girls began to fight and Terra yelled at them to stop.Some parents came over and separated the girls. Shannon and Terra decided to leave at that moment.They picked up their cell phones snd Shannon noticed that blood was running down her right elbow.She felt Mindy's ring scrape her elbow when they were on the ground. Shannon told Terra that she was ready to leave.On the way out,Shannon took a cupcake off of the table and ate it.Terra and Shannon left the party and walked back home.Shannon apologized to Terra for getting into trouble with her friend.Terra told her that it was okay.(Inside Terra was embarrassed that Shannon had a fight with her friend at the birthday party.) Do you think Terra should remain friends with Shannon? Should Terra still be friends with Mindy?

What's wrong with Emily? #tweens,#tweengirls,

Cara is in seventh grade and lives in a small town in the country.She was quiet and only had a couple of friends at her school.She sat in the back of the room in Language Arts class and talked to Nicole during class.Cara could read well and finished all of her assignments.Emily was a girl who lived in the same town and is a year older than Cara. The school cafeteria was small and the seven and eighth graders ate at the same lunchtime.Cara and Nicole would sit together in the lunchroom every day and talk it up.Cara would take out her small mirror and comb her hair after she ate.While looking into the mirror,she saw Emily sitting on the row of tables behind her.Emily was staring at Cara with a mean look on her face and her teeth tightened."WOW!",Cara thought.Cara wondered what was going on.She barely knew Emily.Cara stood up to take her tray to the school kitchen and glanced over at Emily.Their eyes connected and Emily rolled her eyes at Cara.Cara did not know what her problem was and it made her uncomfortable. The school year went by quickly and Cara just ignored Emily.Cara knew that Emily had no reason to act ugly towards her. Field day was coming up and Cara was happy about the day of activities.There was going to be food,games,and activities.Field day came and Cara and Nicole went outside.They did the sack race,parachute game,and appple bobbing game.Cara wanted a snack and went over to get some fruit.She got some oranges and bananas and then turned the corner to go back.She took two steps and ran smack into Emily.They gazed at each other for the longest moment.Finally,Cara took a breath and said,"Do you want some fruit?" Emily gave Cara a smile and said,"Yeah,thanks."Cara gave her an orange slice and skipped back to the activities. Cara told Nicole what had happened and they both laughed.Cara laughed so hard that her last piece of banana fell onto the grass. Emily always said hello with a smile after the incident. Cara thought: OMG!It is great to be kind to others.If they are angry and grumpy,it is their issue.I will always keep my happy,no one else will steal it! sweet thoughts,Marie