Counseling Office Decor - Bright Colors with a Tropical Theme

 

I love my door this year!  I used hot glue to stick kid-sized flip flops on the door.  It says, "Welcome to the US Virgin Islands" because each classroom this year is representing a US State or territory.  I found battery-operated colored lights at At Home to hang around my door. 

 

 

Since our school has a United States theme this year, my door is decorated with a 50 states border.  I love the simple signs on this door. They help educate teachers, parents, and students about my role and my ethical values.

 

This is the student self-referral box.  Students in 2nd-5th grade can complete a referral form and put it in my mailbox.  Students check off one or more of the following reasons why they want to see me: 1) Friends  2) Home  3) My Class  4) Myself  5) Something Secret or Private

Bulletin Board Ideas for the Counseling Office

 

The above Stand Up to Bullying bulletin board is great to reference when working with either a target or a bystander.  A strategy to deal with or avoid bullying is written on each fish.   Help empower students!

 

My students sometimes spontaneously walk over to the above bulletin board to show me how they are feeling.  We can then find the corresponding, "When I feel ____, I can..." chart to discuss coping strategies.

 

 

The Presidential Tweets bulletin board ties in with our Leader in Me school-wide focus.

School-wide College Exploration for the Elementary School

In the main hallway, I created a hallway display with teacher's pictures (visual) and their name listed under where they attended college.

 

In addition to the visual display, every morning, I chose a teacher to give a one-minute overview of their college experience during the morning announcements. Some chose to talk about time management, while others talked about intermural sports. Students were excited to find out about their teachers' college experience.

 

The college exploration project was a success in introducing students to the world of college!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter Bulletin Board

There's "SNOW" many ways to be kind!

 

New Bulletin Boards for the New Year

Loving this bulletin board that promotes positive relaxation strategies for kids!

 

We ALL need a growth mindset! 

 

 

I love my inspirational quotes!

Bulletin Boards for the New Year

"Ways to Make Friends" Bulletin Board

 

 

Hopefully this bulletin board will be a great tool to reference during individual counseling and especially small group counseling! 

"See Our 'Fin'tastic Work" Bulletin Board



 

I am excited to display student work on this bulletin board!

"Surf's Up with the 7 Habits" Bulletin Board

 



This bulletin board displays the 7 Habits based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Happy Kids.  It just happens to be right above my sandbox, which works well!

A few more Bulletin Boards based on the 7 Habits

Our school has adopted the "Leader in Me" program based on Sean Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and 7 Habits of Happy Kids.

Below are a few bulletin boards I created this past year based on the 7 Habits...

The 7 Habits According to the Presidents

 

 

Habit 1: Be Proactive - Student Work Display

 



More Bulletin Board Ideas - Diversity and Leadership

As educators, we may love or despise bulletin boards, but they are often part of our job! 

I love to use them as a way to either display student work or to communicate important messages that align with our school's mission.

Below are some bulletin board ideas that I "re-created" for my office...

The bulletin board below is centered around diversity - in a kid-friendly way.  Although I keep it up year-round, it would be great during Bully Prevention Month or as summer approaches.

 

I love this next bulletin board - partly because I love the beach! 

 

My school is a Leader in Me school, which basically means we teach the 7 Habits (Sean Covey).  This bulletin board combines the best of both worlds - the beach and the 7 Habits.  Some of the ways to make footsteps worth following are:  "Work First, then Play", "Set Goals for Myself", and "Choose My Actions, Attitudes, and Moods." 

 

Below is a link to the "Fadeless Design Roll - Tropical Beach" that I used in the below bulletin board.  It can be bought from Stones Education at the following link.

 

Fadeless Design Paper - Tropical Beach

 



 



Door Decor

One thing I always loved to do at my first school was decorate my office door seasonally.  Below are some of the door décor ideas I used. 
 



 

  

This first decoration appeared on my door before the Holidays.  I simply used holiday bows from the Dollar Store to make a festive smiley face on my door. 

 

 My next theme was a winter theme.  It says, "We are all SNOW unique!"  Although I didn't do this, it would be fun to have a small group or class write ways they are unique and add it to this door display.

Below is my spring décor for my office door.  It would be cute to hot glue the Easter green grass that you can buy from Wal-Mart to the display to give it some texture and dimension. 

 

Lastly, below is my fall door décor - "Fall Into Good Habits."  My current school is doing the Leader in Me program by Sean Covey - and it would be neat to use the 7 Habits on the leaves.

 

School Counseling Office Decor

A school counselor's office makes a big first impression.  When a child or parent walks in, they decide:  Is this a safe place for me to talk about my life or my child's problems?  Or do I feel like I am in the Principal's Office?

I spend a lot of time in my office - so I want it to represent me and who I am as a counselor - fun, exciting, creative, safe, and caring!

On my office door, I include a simple, easy-to-understand, mission statement that I feel addresses the social-emotional, academic, and career components of the ASCA model.

"My mission is to help students with problems, support their strengths and talents, and guide them towards future success."

I have a Counselor word collage posted to help students and parents understand my role. 

My personal mission statement is also posted on my door.  It communicates to others what motivates me to be a school counselor, and is a great reminder for myself everyday when I walk in!  My personal mission statement is:

"I want to inspire people.  I want someone to look at

me and say, 'Because of you, I didn't give up.'"

 

Below is a photo of my office door, with a colorful, fun border.  You can buy the border from Stones Education Superstore:

Character Education Bolder Border®, T-85062

 
Once students enter my office, I have a comfortable, fun area filled with books, toys, stuffed animals, and interesting gadgets.  For seating, I have bean bags (which the kids love), a soft pillow, a chair, and a rug.  I bought my bean bags at Garden Ridge - they have a large assortment.  My soft pillow came from Dollar General and my rug came from Wal-Mart. 

Of course, every school counselor needs a sandbox!  I also have a dry erase board.  I sometimes use this to teach lessons.  I also use a projector to project relevant YouTube video clips onto the white board for small groups.

 

 

 

More décor tips to come in another blog post...