Getting to Know the Counselor!

The start of a new school year is always a little hectic...but most of the time in a good way! We are always challenged with finding new ways to introduce ourselves and come up with creative ways to   tell students about who we are and what we do! One cool way I've found to introduce myself is to create a Counselor's Kit to the first lesson! The kit is really simple and includes simple items that we have in our office on a regular basis!

Tissue-To remind students that we are here to help dry their tears when they are sad and overwhelmed...and to remind students that it's also okay to cry...its good for you!

Band-Aid: A band-aid heals students on the outside...we help to heal students on the inside...

Eraser: We help you fix your mistakes so you can learn from them!!

Ear: Because we are GREAT listeners!

Shh!: We are secret keepers!  What goes on n my office stays in my office!  However, my job is to keep you safe so if someone is hurting you, or if you know of someone being hurt, then I have to get help in order to help you!

Candy- This could be a miniature size candy bar or my favorite (Now-N-Laters) to remind students that seeing the School Counselor is a sweet treat!  You are never in trouble when you come to see me!!  We talk through your feelings and even play games sometimes to help you feel better!  We work together to come up with a plan to fix whatever is broken!

Heart: To remind students that School Counselor's love and care about them!  We typically have very big hearts and want what's best for you!!

Life Saver: Counselors can help "Save" you from scary, overwhelming or sad feelings!  We help you stay afloat throughout the school year by offering love and support! 

You can put these items in any type of container...A bucket, a bag, a cart...whatever makes you happy!! Have the students come up and pull an item out of the bag and talk about each one and how it relates you and your job!! I've also seen this activity done on the SmartBoard if you are wanting to include technology.  Simply create a lesson when student can drag the items out of a box and discuss them that way!  For Kindergarten and 1st grade I created a coloring sheet for the students to use!  You can get it off of my TPT site at TeachersPayTeachers.   It's a word document so you can change my name and put your own for the students to color!!

With my 2nd graders, I add the book, Alexander and Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst! 

After we read the book we discuss some of the terrible things that happened to Alexander! I ask the following questions:

Why was Alexander having such a bad day?

What are some of the things that happened to him?

What could Alexander have done to make his day better?

How could the School Counselor have helped Alexander?

I've also used the book: Ms. Joyce Gives the Best High Fives by Erianna Winnet

Then we discuss how they can get in touch with me if they need to see me!  I talk about where my office is and how they can "schedule" appointments!  I have a clip board with slips outside my door that my students can use and place in my box!  I place some of these in the classroom as well! This form can be found on TeachersPayTeachers site. I got the neat idea of adding the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day from  musiccityschoolcounselor.wordpress.com

I created a worksheet with a Crossword on one side and a Word Search on the other of the words above if time permits or them to complete...Whoever finishes first typically gets a prize!! You can find any site that will make word searches for Free and input your words!! I used the words I introduced myself with!!