On a limited budget, need to know the absolute must haves for an elementary school counselor? Here's the list of my favorite tools and resources.
Use this list of free resources to use as social emotional learning activities to help you work with kids and young adults. As a special educator for 10 years, I can say without a doubt that we need more social emotional learning supports for kids and young adults. Some of my best days in the classr
The ultimate school counselor supply list to stock your office with school counseling supplies for a packed school year. Books, crafts, prizes.
If you're looking for some advice as you go into your first year, here are my words of wisdom for a new school counselor.
A few years ago, a 4th-grade student I had worked with regularly since kindergarten sulked into my office. Her head was down and her arms were crossed. I could tell she had been crying. She had just created a memory book with her classroom teacher when it suddenly hit her: elementary school was really over.…
As a school counseling department, we decided to try an every-other-year approach with two major events because they require a lot of manpower to organize, facilitate, and successfully pull off. One was an in-person career fair ("How to Host a Career Fair Without Losing Your Mind"), and the second was a Mindfulness Day.
So you finally landed the job out of grad school and are ready to start as a School Counselor. Congrats! It's a difficult profession but you will make a difference in the lives of children, hooray for you! Here is a list of things I wish I knew as a first-year Counselor to hopefully help you.
15 Must-Have Books for Elementary School Counselors. Books on feelings, personal safety, incarceration, growth mindset, friendship, self-esteem.
Great for back to school or any occasion to let everyone know that you are a school counselor and proud of it! Note: ♡ Our shirts are made to order specially for you. We have included size charts and a quick memo on finding the perfect size! ♡ We don't accept returns or exchanges. Please check our color and size charts before you place your order :) ♡ Please make sure all shipping information is correct before placing the order. We are not responsible for incorrect addresses. ♡ Mock ups are used for demonstration purposes only, and the final product may vary slightly in color and placement due to printing and computer monitors. ♡ Cropped Mock up is for demonstration purposes only, T-Shirt is class fit & standard length. Note: ♡ Classic fit ♡ Runs true to size ♡ No side seams ♡ Shoulders have tape for improved durability. ♡ 100% cotton ♡ Medium fabric ♡ Made in the USA Tags: Zones of regulation, zones, school therapist office decor, bilingual therapist, therapists, mental health counselor wall art, Tags, ADHD Iceberg,anger meter poster,anxiety cards,anxiety digital art,Anxiety prints,anxiety relief,Be Kind To Your Mind,be kind to yourself,biopsychosocial,Brain Anatomy Poster,brain chemicals art,brain trauma,Breathing exercises,calm down corner,CBT poster,classroom decor,cognitive bias,cognitive distortion,coping skills print,Counseling Wall Art,defense mechanisms,depression print,diversity,EMDR,emotions wheel,Everyone is,feelings are welcome,feelings chairs,feelings chart,feelings poster,feelings print,grounding exercise,growth mindset,healing isnt linear,healing print,hierarchy of needs,Homeschool,how are you feeling,imposter syndrome,lower cortisol level,mental health,mental health matter,mental health poster,Mental health print,Mood Meter Poster,note to self,ocd cycle,Office decor,overwhelmed tips,positive affirmation,positive thinking,Psychologist,psychology,Psychology tools,Psychotherapy Prints,salud mental,school psychologist,self care poster,self care wheel,serotonin poster,signs of burnout,stages of grief,superpower print,therapist office,therapy office art,therapy office decor,therapy print,Things I can control,This is a safe space,trauma posters,trauma response,What I Can Control,what if,words of support,safe place,Counselor Poster,therapy classroom,breathing technique,CBT print,coping skills,School Counselor,Psychology Office,play therapy room,play therapy decor,Grounding Poster,counseling posters,mental health kids,therapy bundle sign,affirmations for kid,safe space poster,emotions omega,confidentiality,confidentiality sign,therapist,therapy office,counsellor,counselling office,therapy decor,school counsellor,pscyhology,mental health prints,counselor gift,negative thoughts,psychotherapy print,therapy prints,counselor office,wellbeing poster,circle of control,Mindful poster,self help print,digital art,digital prints,therapist office art,self care,control circle print,healing saying,psychologist poster,social worker office,self care printable,counselling wall art,counselor office art,emotional regulation,psychologist art,empty chairs print,therapy journal,counsellor office,anxious art,counsellor prints,talking helps prints,therapy session,mental therapist,psychologist prints,Emotions poster,anxiety disorder,change is quote,self love art,maslow hierarchy,mental clarity,Psychotherapy,office wall decor,needs,thoughts,Feelings meter,anxiety wall art,portrait prints,cbt prints,brain print,positive self-talk,kids digital print,Feelings wheel,cbt therapy art,therapist poster, bilingual therapist
POPSUGAR delivers the biggest moments, the hottest trends, and the best tips in entertainment, fashion, beauty, fitness, and food and the ability to shop for it all in one place.
QuaverReady is an engaging, standards-aligned PreK-5 curriculum that ensures students are ready to face the challenges and opportunities ahead.
These items will help you keep an organized counseling office. They are must-haves for your school counseling office, check them out and starting making your counseling office epic.
Coffee with the Counselors was born out of a need to nuture the partnership with parents. Whether it's working with a supportive administrator, partnering with your librarian, reaching out to community members, or getting teacher buy-in, each aspect of the community that surrounds school counselors is important and valuable. The partnership with parents is no exception.
Three check-in sheet options: two versions with 4 questions and one version with 6 questions. Each question has 5 emoji answer choices for students to log how they are feeling about school, home, friendships, self, etc! There is also an explanation page for turning the smiley faces into data points and a spreadsheet for keeping track of scores over time! This resource is great for tracking student improvement in individual and group counseling sessions. The pages are in color but can easily be printed in black and white.
This poster bundle set of 4 posters can be a great addition to any space such as a home office, therapy office, school counseling office and more. This set shows posters: what you say in here stays in here, grounding breathing technique, maslow hierarchy of needs and 5,4,3,2,1 grounding poster. NEED THESE PRINTED AND SHIPPED TO YOU? Please purchase this instant download file, and then purchase this as an add-on: https://www.etsy.com/listing/900955625/custom-print-custom-sign-wall-art This way, you'll have access to both the instant download files AND you'll receive a physical print in the size you request in the above link. **IMPORTANT: Make sure you choose to add 4 prints, since it's 4 different ones.** -------- THIS LISTING IS FOR AN INSTANT DOWNLOAD, PRINT YOURSELF POSTER. NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED. You will find 4 .ZIP folders that include all of the prints shown in the sizes below. Printable sizes include (High resolution, 300dpi ready to print JPG files): - 5x7'' - 8x10'' - 11x14'' - 12x16'' - 16x20'' -------- Check the official Light&SaltDesignCo: lightandsaltdesignco.com For other payment methods (credit card, apple pay, etc.) as well as Freebies, offers and more! -------- NOTES * Colors may vary depending on your screen * No materials nor frame are included for this * THIS PRINT IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. COMMERCIAL USE IS NOT ALLOWED. COPYRIGHTS ARE RESERVED. * If you needed any additional change, please send me a message beforehand and we can create a custom listing for you with a small fee. ----- © ALL DESIGNS are property of LightandSaltDesignco. This design is copyrighted.
For the Spanish version: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1529766416/spanish-school-counseling-office-sign What does our counselor do? These posters are perfect to decorate a wall, as a sign or as a hand-out about what a school counselor does. This poster comes in two versions: for female or male pronoun. -------- NEED THIS PRINTED AND SHIPPED TO YOU? Please purchase this instant download file, and then purchase this as an add-on: https://www.etsy.com/listing/900955625/custom-print-custom-sign-wall-art This way, you'll have access to both the instant download files AND you'll receive a physical print in the size you request in the above link. -------- THIS LISTING IS FOR AN INSTANT DOWNLOAD, PRINT YOURSELF POSTER. NO PHYSICAL PRODUCT WILL BE SHIPPED. Printable sizes include (High resolution, 300dpi ready to print JPG files): - 5x7'' - 8x10'' - 11x14'' - 12x16'' - 16x20'' Once downloaded, you can print at your own home or take it to your preferred print shop or have it printed online. **After your payment is confirmed, you can download your files directly from Etsy. To do so, go to: https://www.etsy.com/your/purchases to find your printable files.** -------- Check the official Light&SaltDesignCo: lightandsaltdesignco.com For other payment methods (credit card, apple pay, etc.) as well as Freebies, offers and more! -------- NOTES * Colors may vary depending on your screen * No materials nor frame are included for this * THIS PRINT IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. COMMERCIAL USE IS NOT ALLOWED. COPYRIGHTS ARE RESERVED. * If you needed any additional change, please send me a message beforehand and we can create a custom listing for you with a small fee. ----- © ALL DESIGNS are property of LightandSaltDesignco. This design is copyrighted.
Google Docs for School Counselor Organization As a school counselor, I love using Google Docs to help organize my work life. Last year, as a new school counselor, I began creating docs to organize my schedule, small groups, goals, and more! I referred to the docs often throughout the school year and am thrilled to be able to use them again this year. The best thing about Google Docs is that you can easily make a copy and then tweak them for the following school year. In this post, I will share 6 Google Docs that you can tweak for your own use. How to Use Shared Docs All of the docs below are Shared Docs. Customize them to meet your needs by following these steps: 1) Open the doc by clicking on the image below 2) Click on "Make a Copy" 3) Rename your doc 4) Customize! Classroom Counseling Sign-Up Form Do you schedule monthly lessons with your teachers? The doc below will help you gather quick info to make scheduling a breeze. Before sending this doc to teachers, I type their names on the left side of the doc and color code them by grade level. Then, I share the doc with my staff and ask them to type in their two preferred days and times for me to do my classroom counseling lessons. This form helps SO much with scheduling because I can almost always choose a preferred time for each teacher. Classroom Counseling Schedule Once teachers have chosen their preferred days/times, I schedule classroom lessons for the first semester. On average, I see each classroom once a month. Scheduling lessons for an entire semester allows me to get everything written down in my planner well in advance. Then, I can plan individual check-ins, small groups, and meetings around the classroom lessons. This form is organized the same way as the sign-up form. If you want to create a page for the second semester, simply copy and paste the chart onto the next page. Character Traits Plan Last year, I based my monthly classroom lessons on character traits. This next doc was a lifesaver! On the first page of the doc, I made a chart for all of the traits I planned on teaching about in my classroom lessons. Throughout the school year, when I thought of a great idea, I added them to the chart as a way to collect my ideas. The second page of the doc is where the magic happened. For each character trait, I made a chart of how I planned on teaching the topic in every grade level. This was very helpful because I was able to see how my lessons built upon each other and got more complex in each grade level! Small Group Schedule and Lesson Plans Up next is a doc that I made for scheduling and planning my small groups. The first page of the doc shows you how I organized my small groups. I made a page like this for every grade level. Whenever I went to pick up students for a small group, I took this page with me so I would not forget anyone! I also made a copy of this page for each classroom teacher to give them easy access to the dates, times, and students in their grade level's small groups. I used the second page of the doc to create lesson plans for each small group. At the top of the doc, I wrote measurable goals for the group. On the right side, I typed in each student's name and used an "X" to keep track of their attendance at each group session. The rest of the doc was used for lesson planning. Since I used this as a digital doc, I could easily move items around in my lesson plan if I did not get to them each week. Yearly Counseling Tasks Do you have trouble remember what tasks you need to complete each month? Me too. I made the next doc to help me remember my reoccurring monthly tasks. For example, every August, I will need to prepare my new student folders. In September, I will need to organize my bullying awareness lessons. In October, I will need to plan for Red Ribbon Week. And so on :) Last school year, I used this doc to list each monthly task and then used the strikethrough feature when the task was complete. At the end of the school year, I turned all of the text back to normal and will re-use this form again this school year! Counseling Goals The last doc I am sharing today is my counseling goals doc. At the beginning of the school year, I came up with several long term and short term goals. The long term goals are my "bucket list" items (ex: getting a therapy dog)!! The short term goals are items I planned on accomplishing during the school year. I shared this doc with my administrator so he could see what goals I was working on. Follow the directions on the doc to learn how to turn checkboxes into checkmarks to keep track of your goals! I hope you found all of these docs helpful! Leave a comment with your favorite docs or tell me about what kind of docs you would love me to create. I would be happy to share more docs in the future! Stay Organized this School Year Looking for more ways to stay organized this school year? I love helping other counselors with organization! Check out some of my favorite resources below. Everything you need to document your sessions and stay organized! -Intake & Progress Notes Forms -Check In Form -Student Schedule Form -Small Group Lesson Template -Counseling Referral Forms -Phone Call Log -Meeting Notes & Notes Page -Weekly To Do List -And more! My School Counselor Planner is a practical, ink-saving weekly planner for documenting sessions, lessons, meetings, and more! Each two-page spread contains a weekly view for you to document your daily events. The day is divided into 15 minute intervals (7:00-4:00) with additional space to record events before and after school. My planner has free yearly updates! Interested in the documentation pack AND the planner? Check out my BUNDLE to save $$$. If you love using Google Drive to keep you organized, check out the resource above. It contains 70 Google Slides files to help you organize your school year! If you are new to my blog, please take a moment to follow me for more school counselor organization tips and creative lesson ideas!
Promote wellness with middle school students with this Middle School Counselor Poster Package. This set of 10 posters is an affordable and engaging way to get your message across. This poster package is perfect for any middle school. These posters will look great in any office, classroom, or hallway. Printed on high-quality, heavy cardstock with a protective UV coating or on high-quality, peel and stick, non-permanent vinyl.
The ultimate school counselor supply list to stock your office with school counseling supplies for a packed school year. Books, crafts, prizes.
Heading into my 19th year as an urban elementary school counselor, I was thinking the other day about what it would be like to be a novice school counselor again. Back then, when I began, I remember feeling on my own - we didn't have a written K-12 curriculum, we didn't have suicide or threat risk assessment documents and we didn't have many guidelines. I was forced to use what I learned in graduate school and from ASCA to do what I thought was best for the students and staff. I remember feeling overwhelmed because of the lack of direction. Yet, at the same time, I could create a program that I could call my own. I was able to use my creativity, my professional judgment, and excitement to be in a job that I was thrilled about, to develop a K-5 school counseling program that would affect systemic change. A program which made sense for my students, the staff and the parents. At the time there wasn't the plethora of school counseling and other educational blogs, Twitter and Tweet Chats, Facebook, or Pinterest to turn to for ideas and help/support. Where was Google when I needed it back then? These tech tools have really changed the game in finding tried and true ideas, but also exponentially changed professional development and networking. 19 years ago, I relied heavily on conferences, speaking to my colleagues, school counseling resource books and the catalogs I bought them from to explore the materials to create my program. As an urban educator, I didn't have a budget most years - sometimes only a few bucks. So, I had to purchase and make most of my own materials over the years. I purchased a lot of superb resources, but also, especially early on, I purchased a lot of duds because of the lack avenues where fellow school counseling folks talked about what they do in their school counseling office and in their schools. I am particular in what I want from my materials and it is frustrating when they fall short (especially when you are spending your own money). If you are a new school counselor or if you are someone who finds yourself in a situation with little guidance or direction in your school district, here are some learnings I want to share with you. Must Haves Materials A Great School Bag - I love the Thirty One Zip Top Large Organizing Tote (which they don't seem sell in the 18" length any longer). So I found this one on Amazon that seems to compare - will fit all your "stuff" in it!! N.Gil All Purpose Organizer 18 inch Large Utility Tote Zojirushi Stainless Steel Mug - Busy school counselors never get to drink their coffee when they want to. I LOVE this mug - it will keep your coffee or tea HOT all day. No kidding! Hydro Flask Water Bottle - School counselors are in demand all day long. You need to stay hydrated. Nothing worse than going for a drink of water that you packed that morning and it's warms. This is the best water bottle....ice is still in this bottle at night before I go to bed. Keeps your water or cold drink ice cold all day!!! Plenty of Post-It Notes in various sizes - I go through sticky notes like crazy - should have stock in this company SCUTA - School Counselor Use of Time Analysis (SCUTA) - super program to collect data on how you are affecting students. Calendar, generates handy reports and graphs, etc. AWESOME!!! Stress Toys - I can't tell you how often these materials are used by students AND staff when they come to visit me. Check out my blog post on "Sensory Needs and Calming Doodads" for a bunch of my favorites! Other You-Time - Being a school counselor (or any educator for that matter) can suck the energy right out of you. No doubt it is a stressful and challenging job. Schedule time for yourself - whether it be a specific time that you will leave the office, going for a walk or a hike, doing fun things with friends and family, taking yoga classes, swimming, walking the dog, working in your garden - whatever you find fun and relaxing. I can't express to you how important this is -- you MUST take care of yourself so you can take care of others!!! An Open Door - Folks need to know they are welcome in your space. One great way to do this is keep your door open whenever you are not doing something confidential in nature. An Inviting Office - Consciously think of your furniture and decor. Organize the furniture in a way that makes sense for easy maneuverability and access. Decorate. Don't go over the top with your decor, but make your space go from blah to colorful, interesting and inviting. Professional but not sterile; these are kids you are working with! Patience and Flexibility - You will need a lot of both!! Must Do's Create a professional Twitter account - this is where I have received THE BEST, most relevant, and current professional development! Follow me and all those I follow to get started (@EElementarySC). Become familiar with these SC (school counselor) hashtags: #asca16 (current hashtag for the conference), #scchat, #sccrowd, #escchat, #hscchat, Participate SC and education related Tweet Chats - scheduled all year long. Start HERE! Follow the plethora of amazing school counseling blogs and websites! This list is by no means exhaustive and I don't meant to slight anyone. Yet, here are some of my favorite go-to's: Scope School Counseling Blog School Counseling by Heart The Counseling Geek Corner on Character JYJoyner Counselor Savvy School Counselor Elementary School Counseling The Middle School Counselor School Counselor Space Baltimore County School Counselors Become a Part of Your Staff - get involved in social activities Be Visible - get out of your office and be seen Ask for Help When You are Unsure - know who your go-to colleagues are to go to for help when needed; a great professional knows when to consult with others Communicate with Others (parents, staff, administration) - tell them what you do - newsletters, Toilet Paper and Potty Posters, Remind, brochures, Smore, etc. Must Accomplish Be the kind of school counselor you would want your own kids (or nieces/nephews, etc.) to have The Art of Self-Reflecting - this is what will make you are great school counselor/educator; always trying to figure out what went well, what didn't go so well and how YOU can improve to make it better next time. The trick is to not let self-reflection consume you.... Make Your Own Schedule - if not, someone else will fill your day for you Organize Yourself - this career is fast paced and requires a whole bunch of multi-tasking; come up with a system of how you will do it all and how you will keep track of all you do Become a Leader - the person others trust, respect, see as having a valued opinion and can count on With Students - Be firm, but kind and caring; give them your undivided attention, give them you; relate to them and look each and every one of them in the eyes; smile and refer to them by name With Staff - Listen; support; advocate for students; be real; work hard and show your worth; get involved; speak-up even if you are the one standing alone; determine your allies and those natural born leaders With Parents - Be kind, but honest; get to the point and don't beat around the bush even if it is a difficult situation; watch body language - ask follow-up questions and explain educational jargon A Final Thought This is your new career - you have amazing ideas, lofty goals, crazy amounts of energy to get started, and I'm guessing, some nerves. Know that there is much to accomplish, but you don't have to do it ALL at once. I don't recommend sitting back and admiring the fact that you just landed a job in this super career field (from among a host of top-notch candidates), instead, get out there and show them WHY they hired you!! It is, however, important to know that you have to pace yourself. At year 19, I still have amazing ideas, lofty goals, some nerves, much to accomplish, but not as much energy as I used to! It's your time to shine!
The Six School Counselor Technology Protocols Infographic provides six protocols that may help maximize your technology effectiveness.
From the office walls to your desktop, these school counseling office must-haves set the tone for your relationship with your students.
I have added and changed some of the following forms. Please visit my TpT store to see the new and revised forms. There are days/weeks that I feel like I am juggling a million things as a school counselor. I have been looking for a system that will help me balance all of the facets of the job. Below are some things I am currently using to help with this task. I am constantly tweaking the organizational things that I use, but these things have helped me tremendously. I just started using a Counseling Notebook to help me keep everything handy and organized. Inside: Lesson Plans: I wanted to have a place where I could see my whole week's worth of lessons for Group Counseling, Individual Counseling, and Classroom Guidance. This is what I have come up with. This has been one of the best things I have done! I type on mine and print it after I have planned for the week. Scroll to the bottom of this post for the documents. This is an ongoing list of students I see throughout the day. I jot them down because I get very busy but then can go back and make more detailed notes if needed. This is the log that I currently use. I keep track of any communication I have with Parents/Guardians. I have ABC tabs that I keep these sheets in for quick and easy access. This is the form from my district that I am currently using but will probably tweak it. I am also planning on adding a more detailed notes page for students who I see more frequently or need more notes on. I am working on this and will post it when I am finished with it. If you are interested in copies of any or all of my forms (some have been updated), please visit my TpT store. Do you have a Counseling Notebook? If so, how do you organize it?
Spread the word: 199 Shares Facebook Twitter Email More Do you remember growing up in a world without smart phones and tablets? Our students today will most likely never know what it’s like to be more than one touch away from family, friends, and new ideas. Technology geared towards children sometimes gets a bad rap, but these 7 apps are winners in my book! They help students name feelings, practice deep breathing exercises, and more. These 7 apps are wonderful […]
15 clubs for school counselors to lead: get your students engaged, involved, and growing with these fun, meaningful activities!
5 Tips, commonly asked questions, and an editable school counselor portfolio for your next school counselor position interview.
Lets face it as School Counselors we are super busy! These five school counseling tips will help you set up your counseling program to be more efficient and effective through building relationships, tracking data, scheduling, organizing, and preparing.
A crisis can happen at any time and counselors need to be prepared because they are often the ones on the front line when a crisis occurs. See how here...
So you finally landed the job out of grad school and are ready to start as a School Counselor. Congrats! It's a difficult profession but you will make a difference in the lives of children, hooray for you! Here is a list of things I wish I knew as a first-year Counselor to hopefully help you.
Are you a first-year school counselor? Looking for where to begin or what to do first? I've got the hook up... start reading now!
SMART goals for school counselors: What are they? What kinds are there? Where is the data from? How do you write them?
A school counseling needs assessment helps quantify our impact and plan for future changes. Kate from EduKate and Inspire makes it easy with Google docs.
5 great school counselor organization strategies to help you conquer this year! The more organized you are, the more efficient you can be!
Experienced Counselors put their brains together to come up with 10 tips for new and veteran counselors.
On a limited budget, need to know the absolute must haves for an elementary school counselor? Here's the list of my favorite tools and resources.
Create a culture of empathy at your school by showing empathy to students. Modeling empathy in this way is a great way to build relationships with students and show them the importance of this social skill. Read more about why showing empathy to your students matters and how you can do it.
A comprehensive list of school counseling videos that can be found on YouTube. Use these videos in guidance lessons, small group discussions or to start conversations with individual students.
Focus & PrioritizeNeeds AssessmentUpdate Your CalendarPromote Your ProgramOrganize, Organize, Organize!Loading...
This article houses my complete School Counseling Lessons with yearly outline and examples along the way! Believe me.... you don't want to miss out!
