30-Minute Groups: Grief - by Makenzie Perkins (Paperback)

About the Book

Teach ASCA-aligned skills in thirty-minute lessons for small group or classroom instruction. Everything you need, with minimal prep time and no extra materials required! Topics include understanding grief and loss, expressing emotions in healthy ways, coping with difficult feelings, building resilience, honoring memories, finding hope and healing, and more.

Book Synopsis

Loss is a universal experience that can profoundly impact a child's development and life experiences. The 30-Minute Groups: Grief curriculum offers a compassionate and structured approach to help young learners process their grief and build resilience.

A Safe Space for Healing Through Loss

This comprehensive curriculum provides a safe and supportive environment for students to explore their emotions, share their stories, and connect with others who understand. Through engaging activities and thoughtful discussions, children will learn valuable coping strategies and better understand their grief journey.

Key Features and Benefits:

• Engaging Activities: Various interactive activities make working through grief roadblocks impactful and meaningful.
• Practical Tools: Students will learn practical coping strategies, such as mindfulness and self-care practices.
• Emotional Support: The curriculum fosters a supportive group environment where children feel safe to express their feelings and receive validation.
• Flexible Design: The curriculum is adaptable to different group sizes and settings, making it easy to implement in various educational contexts.
• ASCA(R)-Aligned: The lessons align with the American School Counselor Association (ASCA(R)) standards, ensuring that the curriculum addresses important social-emotional learning goals.

What's Inside:

• 10 Comprehensive Lessons: Each lesson includes clear objectives, engaging activities, discussion prompts, and reflection questions.
• Permission and Completion Letters to send to caregivers
• Attendance Logs
• Pre- and Post-Surveys to measure the success of the programming
• Results Template to share with interested parties

Topics Include:

• Understanding Loss and Grief
• Expressing Emotions Healthily
• Coping with Difficult Feelings
• Building Resilience
• Honoring Memories
• Finding Hope and Healing

The 30-Minute Groups: Grief curriculum empowers students to navigate their loss with greater understanding, resilience, and hope by providing a structured and supportive approach to grief.

Review Quotes

This book would be great to use for small groups and/or individual sessions. With lots of ready-made materials, this book provides a jumping off point for great conversations around grief!

Josey Ely
School Counselor

This may be my favorite of the 30-Minute Groups series, and here's why:
- Developmentally Appropriate: The stories are concise and engaging, perfectly suited for younger elementary students with shorter attention spans (typically 2-3 minutes during read-alouds).
- Enhanced Discussion: The connection cards at the end of each session offer insightful sentence starters, facilitating quick and meaningful sharing among children.
- Powerful Check-in: Each of the 10 sessions begins with a "rose, thorn, bud" reflection and a scaling question. This consistent check-in has proven to be incredibly valuable in fostering a supportive and reflective small group environment.

Laura Filtness
School Counselor

15-Minute Focus: Executive Function is a great resource for counselors, social workers, and therapists! These small group lessons require minimal prep time and still provide engaging ways to help your students/clients process these difficult times. Included are ten sessions plus an introductory and closure session. The stories included in each session are a great way to let students reflect on their own lives and invite discussion around these topics. The activities are personable and provide pathways to process feelings of grief and loss. There's also a pre/post to gather any data you might need along with a code for digital resources!

Thomas Stafford
School Counselor

About the Author

Makenzie Perkins, M.S., currently serves as the Counseling and Threat Assessment Supervisor for Collierville Schools in Tennessee, where she coordinates school counseling, threat assessment, and crisis response. Previously, she was the Prevention Counselor at Collierville High School, supporting students and staff through complex mental health challenges and crises at Tennessee's largest high school. No stranger to loss and grief, Makenzie personally navigated the death of her sister while in high school, an experience that both shaped her and fuels her passion for this work. A National Certified Counselor, she holds both a Master of Science and Clinical Mental Health Specialist degree from the University of Memphis. Additionally, she is a Certified Master Trainer in Behavioral Threat Assessment through the Department of Homeland Security. Makenzie is dedicated to equipping professionals with essential skills in grief support, threat assessment, crisis management, and addressing the ever-changing mental health needs of today's youth.