The first two weeks of guidance was spent getting to know the students - trying to learn and memorize everyone's name is really challenging! This was also a time for the students to learn about what I do as a counselor, how they can request to see me, and what the students and I can work on together.
I started off each lesson with my "counseling toolbox", which was a repurposed shoebox that held my special tools for counseling. :) Inside my box I had a paper heart to show I'm caring, a bandaid to show I help to heal the inside wounds, an eraser to share that I help to prevent the same mistakes from happening again, a funky hat to show I wear many different hats, an astronaut to show I will help each student reach for the stars and achieve their goals, puzzle pieces to show that I'm a problem solver, and a bouncy ball that I used for a listening activity.
Below are the papers I handed out and allowed students to color and keep to remind them about their school counselor. Grades Pre-K through 2nd received the paper on the left, while grades 3rd through 5th received the paper on the right. I got both ideas from The Savvy School Counselor Blog!
I started off each lesson with my "counseling toolbox", which was a repurposed shoebox that held my special tools for counseling. :) Inside my box I had a paper heart to show I'm caring, a bandaid to show I help to heal the inside wounds, an eraser to share that I help to prevent the same mistakes from happening again, a funky hat to show I wear many different hats, an astronaut to show I will help each student reach for the stars and achieve their goals, puzzle pieces to show that I'm a problem solver, and a bouncy ball that I used for a listening activity.
Below are the papers I handed out and allowed students to color and keep to remind them about their school counselor. Grades Pre-K through 2nd received the paper on the left, while grades 3rd through 5th received the paper on the right. I got both ideas from The Savvy School Counselor Blog!
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In first grade, we read the book I'm Absolutely Too Small for School and then talked about some of our worries we had when preparing to come back to school. The students then drew and colored what they were most excited about in 1st grade. There are so many great things to look forward to!