It could have been a hot mess.....

Today was the first day of my 12th year as a counselor, and I have to say, it was one of my best!  I hate to jinx myself for the rest of the week, but I didn't have one Kindergarten crier. What?! I'm pretty sure that's never happened to me before.  It was also great being in the second year at my school; I could actually help people find things, I knew students' and parents' names, and I was able to pop into teachers' rooms without feeling like I was interrupting them because I have relationships with them now. It was amazing!

I'm hitting the ground running with my FIRST 30 DAYS CHECKLIST, which I wrote about here and here last year. Download it for free at Life on the Fly TPT, especially if you are a brand new counselor. I am also loving some of the changes I have made in my office this year.  I had a stroke of inspiration about a month ago and decided I would paint my cinder block wall with chalkboard paint.  First, because the white was really boring and ugly.  Second, because I thought the kids would think it was awesome to be able to express themselves through chalk drawing. Third, because I wanted to incorporate some of my regular group and individual counseling activities into wall activities. So, it could have been a hot mess when I started.......(and I was worried it would be).

Here's what I started with.......GROSS!

I bought 2 cans of tintable chalkboard paint from Home Depot and decided on the royal blue color because it would be dark enough to show different colors of chalk, and it's also one of our school colors.  I painted a huge rectangle on the bare wall. and added some 3-D butterflies I happened to have to extend the blue color out into the rest of the room.

Next, I added a fun pennant banner. I knew the kids wouldn't be able to reach that high anyway, and it made it feel more festive.  You know I love festive!!! I bought different cardstock papers at Michaels and used my handy dandy Cameo Silhouette machine to cut out the triangles. It is definitely one of the best investments I have ever made for my crafty projects.

Then came the fun part! I bought liquid chalk markers on Amazon to make more permanent designs that I wanted to stay up for awhile or would use all year with kids! Check out my miracle scale, positive thought mirror, and "Be Groovy" inspirational quote.

So, it could have been a hot mess, but when those first kids came in and saw this wall, their reactions said it all.....it is awesome!  I am so glad I took the risk and that it paid off.  It is going to be a great year!

If you have any questions about this project, feel free to comment or email me! I'd be happy to give you more tips on how I made it work.

Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

Fixer Upper: School Counselor Style

I'm happy to report that my new office space is the best and biggest I have had in my school counseling career.  It's a huge positive of my new job as I think about how I will work with students.  I wanted to show you the progression of my BEFORE and AFTER shots for fun, and I hope it will give you some inspiration for your space.  There is still work to do, but I am excited with the start! Watch for my next post of  "must-have" resources that I have ordered for this new job if you have PTA/PTO or other school funds available for start-up materials.

Enjoy and Happy Counseling! ~ Angela

DAY 1: These photos were taken after moving the furniture to the general places I wanted and adding my IKEA polka-dot carpet.

DAY 2:

I pushed two tables together in the open space for individual and group counseling. There are 8 chairs surrounding the table.  The room used to be a conference room so I have a projector screen that can be used to pull up websites, songs, or Smartboard lessons, if needed. The bulletin board paper covering the table is a big hit with students who like to draw and all students love to write their names there.

Day 3: Now I really started making some progress ! I assembled my "Giving Tree" complete with hanging lanterns (Target), hung my "Aloha" banner purchased on my Hawaiian vacation this summer (behind my desk), and made my "What Will You BEEE?" bulletin board that goes along with our new PBIS matrix to Be Safe, Be Respectful, Be Responsible. I especially loved how I could add texture to the bees with black pom-poms so they were more 3-dimensional.  The huge black square pictured next to my desk below is actually a really great fold-out whiteboard that I can use with groups, if needed. I still have my hanging pocket charts for quick access to my "go-to resources" that I use most often. I also hung my scaling arrow, feelings poster, and picture frame art holders on the walls for use with students and to add color.

Day 4: Finally, the finishing touches.  I put up the four mirror decals I mentioned in my  previous post.  They are perfect, and I can really see my reflection....#selfie! :)  I am still going to make a cool picture frame to go around it that has positive self- statements written in it, but that will be a later project.

I hope you enjoyed the tour.  Please leave a comment or a picture of your office so I can get some inspiration for any further decorating. 

Organizing Quick Tips

A teacher at school gave me the nicest compliment today.   She said, "When I grow up, I want to be organized like you."  Obviously, this teacher's compliment was a little tongue-in-cheek, and most of the time I just brush comments like these to the side, but today I thought, "YES! I am making progress!"

I have really been trying to step up my game with staying organized during this busy time of the year.  I have continued some of my time-tested organization strategies:

• Google calendar- I use it to keep track of EVERYTHING:  My classroom guidance schedule, school/parent meetings, small group times, etc. I especially like inputting my individual counseling appointments for specific time slots during the current week and then creating future meeting times for students so I don't forget follow up appointments in the weeks to come.
• A ready made individual counseling sheet that jogs my memory to have students scale or give feedback about their feelings so I can chart growth.  The photo below shows the front side of the sheet where I document if a student made a happy, straight, or sad face for "School", "Home", or "Friends" on the playdoh sheet I use.  See my post about that here.
• Bins that hold all my lesson materials so everything is together when I need to go to a specific grade level for classroom guidance.

 







And, I have implemented some new ideas:

• A Google form for individual counseling so I can track my sessions with students by date, whether I need to follow up with them in the future, and by topic.  I still use the paper sheet for jotting down quick notes and documenting feeling faces during my student meetings, but I also fill out the form on my Google drive at the end of the day so I can track the information more easily.  It literally takes 2 minutes with the way I have it set up.  

When I go to "Summary of Responses" under the "Responses" menu, I can sort whatever field I choose.  I love sorting by the field - Follow Up "Yes" or Grade Level so I can quickly remind myself who I need to check in with.

• Small Group folders- Perhaps it is because I am running so many groups right now or because I am getting busier in my life overall, but I have had a tough time keeping all my groups separate in my mind this year. I decided I needed a system and started organizing everything with folders.  I put the student booklets (or folders) that I create for each small group and keep them in a manila file folder.  On the interior left side, I put the students who are in each group, the time we meet, and the homeroom teacher. On the interior right side, I put a quick guide of topics we are covering throughout the group and the date we get to each one so I always know which group session we are on. It has helped me TREMENDOUSLY. Also, I keep all of these handy file folders in a hanging pocket organizer next to my filing cabinet so they are easy to access.  Photos are below, BUT I blurred out the names of the students on the folders so pardon the way they look. :o)  
  
  
  
  Happy Counseling! ~  Angela

Design On A Dime: Part 2

I wanted to give a quick update on my office project.  I had SO MANY of you pin my decorating post so I thought you might like to see how my wall frames turned out. I'm pretty excited! I even did a "mock up" frame so I could see how it would look with the clips and examples of student work.  I can decide once I get in my office if a portrait or landscape orientation will work best.  Check it out..................

Also, I picked up a great office decor item from the Target $1 SPOT the other day - a chalkboard wall decal in the shape of a thought/speech bubble.  Not only is it going to be a great tool for individual counseling, it will also look fantastic in my space. I plan on using it to practice starting conversations, SELF-TALK, and reframing cognitions with students.  I can just picture a student crossing out the negative thoughts they may be having about academics, friends, etc., and rewriting a positive thought on another bubble....love it!  AND love the price!   

With only a week before my work days start, these are the ideas that get me REALLY excited about returning to school and my students. 

Happy Counseling!  ~ Angela

 

Design on a Dime

I have been tackling my "Top 5" summer list and am having a great time with #1....working on ideas for decorating my office. I'm not going to lie, I have some obstacles:  a small space, strict fire marshall rules, and cinder block walls. However, I am determined to add some warmth and style to my daily work space.

At the end of the school year, I decided I wanted to surround myself and my students with words that would inspire and motivate us to be our best selves. I added the pictured quote, "do something amazing", above my door after I saw something similar on Pinterest.  It is just subtle enough that people will catch it out of the corner of their eye as they are leaving, and I feel like it's such a powerful message.  I also added the quote below, "You are defined by the choices you make.  Choose wisely each day." to my main wall.  I am going to have to change the word "wisely" from yellow to green because it is too light against the cinder block wall, but overall it is a nice addition to my office space.  You can get the "Amazing" quote here.

 

On each side of this quote, I am going to make turquoise open picture frames like these examples I pinned on Pinterest (shocked?!).  I want to proudly display all the cute cards and pictures that students make for me, and I think this idea will look MUCH better than my current practice of taping them on my testing cabinet.

 

I am going to use leftover baseboard and molding that is in my garage right now to construct the frames because I want to get rid of it, but clearly an old or cheap picture frame would be ideal.  After I spray paint it turquoise, I will staple wire in rows across the middle or use the chicken wire.  I'm not sure which way I am leaning yet!  I am also going to use these adorable bird clips that I bought from World Market for attaching the artwork. So cute!! I wanted to show you the front and the back of the clips so you could gauge the size, colors, etc.

I also found this AWESOME feelings wheel on Pinterest that I would LOVE to make, but I'm not positive I have a good space for it.  I'm going to keep thinking about possibilities.  If YOU already have the perfect space, visit the Lil Blu Boo website for their tutorial.

So, that's my HGTV post for now. I'll share my finished frame pictures when I am done! As always, I would love to hear ideas about how you make your offices cozy or see actual pics of your work spaces.   
Happy Counseling! ~Angela