Pawsitive School Counselor

Finch is a self-care pet app where students nurture a virtual pet by completing wellness activities like journaling, setting goals, and practicing mindfulness. It’s like a modern, much cooler version of a Tamagotchi (anyone else feeling nostalgic?). What sets it apart is how it builds emotional awareness through daily reflection and small acts of self-kindness. Students can also connect with trusted adults or peers in a safe way through the app’s “Quest” feature. At one school, a trusted teacher and I (with caregiver permission) used to check in and encourage our student on the app together. It became a fun, low-pressure way to build connection and track progress.

Whether it’s yoga, meditation, barre, or HIIT, DownDog offers customizable wellness routines perfect for student or staff self-care breaks. Great for promoting relaxation and movement. I use this one at home, when we did teacher yoga time during lunch, and I and love using it when I travel.

Add a layer of magic to read-alouds with this app that responds with sound effects and music as you read children’s books aloud in real time. Perfect for engaging younger students during storytime, it helps bring books to life and hold students’ attention. While there is a free version with access to select titles, a paid subscription unlocks the full library. Many books also come with companion activities and printable resources, making it easy to extend the learning and tie in literacy or SEL themes.

Mood Meter is an emotional intelligence tool developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence as part of the RULER approach. It helps students (and adults!) build self-awareness by identifying and labeling their emotions along two dimensions: energy and pleasantness. Users plot their feelings on a colorful quadrant and are guided to reflect on the causes behind their emotions, as well as strategies to maintain or shift their mood if needed. This app promotes emotional literacy, regulation, and empathy—skills essential for both academic and social success. Counselors can use it for daily check-ins, group sessions, or to help students track emotional patterns over time. It’s a simple but powerful way to start conversations and build a common language around feelings.

A simple way to catalog your counseling office library. Helps track books, lending history, and organize by topic, it’s a great tool for managing resources!

Design everything from flyers and presentations to goal-setting worksheets. This is how I create my newsletters! Easy drag-and-drop tools make it perfect for creating engaging visuals for students and parents. Plus it’s free for educators!

A powerful database of conversation starters and reflection questions to build student connection and trust. Great for opening small groups or one-on-one sessions. I recommend this for my classroom teachers, because it’s a great class meeting tool.

Kid-friendly yoga videos that combine mindfulness and movement with storytelling. A go-to for calming brain breaks and SEL lessons. I let my yoga club pick a video each morning and they loved it. I also love partnering a video with a picture book.

Storyline Online is a free literacy resource where celebrated actors—like Viola Davis, Kevin Costner, and Oprah Winfrey—read popular children’s books aloud.

Each video includes dynamic illustrations and narration that bring the story to life, making it a fantastic tool for engaging students.

In addition, each book comes with a free teacher guide that includes discussion questions, writing prompts, and activity ideas aligned with Common Core standards.

Classroom Screen is a versatile digital management tool that helps create smooth, structured learning environments. It features customizable widgets like timers, noise level monitors, traffic lights, random name pickers. They are all displayed on one easy-to-use screen. It’s perfect for whole-class lessons.

One standout feature is the visual noise level monitor, which gives students a clear, real-time cue when things get too loud. This is also perfect for my high-energy groups. I also love the ability to run multiple timers at once.

Offers tiered intervention strategies and tools for behavior management. Easy to navigate and aligned with MTSS frameworks.

Get kids moving and active with this play on Netflex.

Netflex Kids is a dynamic online platform offering a wide array of health and fitness videos tailored specifically for children. The site features engaging content from renowned creators like Joe Wicks, Cosmic Kids Yoga, and GoNoodle, providing a diverse selection of workouts, yoga sessions, dance routines, and brain breaks suitable for various age groups and fitness levels.

Generates customizable question sets based on academic standards or SEL themes. Great for classroom guidance or discussion prompts.

This educator-focused AI tool includes:

Letter of Recommendation Generator: Write effective rec letters quickly with personalized student input.

504 Plan Generator: Save time with custom, editable 504 plans.

SMART Goal Creator: Helps students define realistic and measurable goals.

A parent-teacher communication tool that supports real-time updates in multiple languages. Great for increasing family engagement.

Snap&Read is a powerful accessibility tool designed to support diverse learners by reading text aloud, defining unfamiliar words, and simplifying complex language into more accessible formats.

One of its most helpful features is the Google Chrome extension, which allows low and non-readers to access and explore websites.

Offers free SEL and wellness resources like lesson plans, printables, and videos. Aligned with CASEL competencies.

I used FREE posters to create a sensory walk and movement room.

Designed for neurodivergent users, this suite includes a task breaker, tone analyzer, and goal tracker. Excellent for executive functioning support.

Percent Change is a simple, interactive tool that helps calculate percent increase or decrease with ease. It’s especially handy for counselors and educators who may not feel confident crunching numbers on the fly. I often use it when reviewing end-of-year data or preparing reports—because let’s be honest, my math skills aren’t quite what they used to be!

Free tools for editing, converting, and annotating PDFs. Perfect for organizing forms, as well as, creating and sharing resources with families.

CloseGap is a digital tool designed to help students reflect on their emotions and well-being through daily check-ins. It provides a simple, engaging interface where students can log their feelings, track mood patterns, and set personal goals. This tool is particularly useful for counselors aiming to monitor social-emotional development and identify trends over time. While CloseGap offers a free version, it also provides a paid subscription that unlocks additional features.

Designed for ALL grades K-12, this website is full of career exploration resources, including a career town exploration map. Your kids will love exploring it.