Elementary School Counseling Office Tour – Find out how to maximize and organize your school counseling office.

1: Have your School Counseling Office Organized

Have you ever walked into someone else’s classroom or office and felt completely overwhelmed? Just think about how you felt and the thoughts you had at that moment. Do you want parents, teachers or your students thinking those thoughts about you?

I know it’s hard to keep up sometimes. You might be running in and out of your office so much that you don’t have time to clean. I get it! I do the same thing! Even though I get busy, I still create a space for everything. Everything has a “home”! This way when I do get busy, I can throw it where it belongs. I also like to keep bins and containers in my cabinets so that I can easily put things back when I’m done.

Do you want to know another little secret?

Labels can be your best friend! If you designate a space… you are more likely to use it.

One of my most favorite things is a big shelf that divides my office. I love this shelf so much because it keeps most of my play therapy toys. I don’t require kids to clean up after themselves. So, it’s really important for me to know where things go… for a speedy pick-up!

I also have another shelf that has book bins. Most of my books are divided into these bins based on the subject. The other books are ones I use less often, for very specific situations and they are on the top shelf. This makes it easy for me to find books when I need them for a lesson or very quickly when I need one for an upset student.

These are my organization bins for my books… they make it very handy!

2: Make Room for Play

One key to keeping my play space tidy is to have station areas. In these spaces, I like to have out a variety of toys that are available for them to use anytime during our play therapy sessions. These toys are a mixture of the various play therapy themes they may need.

If you haven’t noticed… I love to play!

I truly believe that play is their language and that’s where kids do most of their “work”. So, I need to have a space that is reflective of that. Like I said before, I do have stations. More for my sanity than anything else! I have a kitchen space with food and cooking utensils, a constructive/deconstruction space with blocks and building toys, a dollhouse with babies and clothes, and a chill-out space with teddy bears.

I have a ton more toys… these are just the main sections that the toys are in.

Another important aspect of my school counseling office is my sandtray space! This is new for me this year and I can’t wait to start using it! Over the last year, I’ve been building up my sandtray collection of miniatures and I think I have enough to get started!

I know we are talking about keeping a tidy office, however, with my sandtray comes limits. I am a firm believer in setting SOME limits and sandtray is one of them! The rule will be that the sand stays in the tub! Ha Ha! I know the rule will get broken and that’s okay, because what could be a better counseling time than that.

3: Have a Designated “Adult” Space

I have adults come into my office all the time. For me, it works best to have an adult space. I have small elementary chairs around my group area and that doesn’t work for a lot of grown adults… especially dads!

So, making a space for them to feel comfortable is important to me. I am here for my families just as much as I am my kiddos! Teachers, community members, and law enforcement also come to see me and I feel it’s important to switch gears and show a more professional side.

I have my desk situated where I can spin my chair around to meet with them. I also have two adult chairs on the side of my desk. Behind my desk is a tall bookshelf, where I keep my professional development books and DVDs. Another great resource I have is a small, but growing, parent library! These books and DVDs sit on my counter for the parents to look at.

I love to refer parents to Daniel J. Siegel books and Dr. Covey books because we do the 7 Habits. I have tons more in my parent library, but these are two great resources!

4: Create a Space for Creativity

Among my other stations, I have a creative corner! This is where we do projects in small-group or individual. There is a long table with six small chairs and a plastic shelf unit that holds all the supplies. Sometimes, play therapy kiddos even go over there to create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.

In my plastic shelf unit, I keep “mindful coloring” pages for students to color when they are needing a break from the classroom. I also have play dough and a dry erase board in case they prefer to use that instead.

Depending on why the student is visiting me, I like to make sure the activities they do reflect the emotional work that needs to be done. Sometimes, it’s best to just let them decide! There are times, like small-group and other individual activities, where I might have a specific craft for them to do.

For students grieving, I love to do a memory lantern. They cut squares of tissue paper, use markers to write words or draw pictures of the loved one on the tissue paper, then glue (with paint paste) onto the mason jar. Once that is finished we let it dry and put a battery powered tea light inside. This way the memories glow and they can put it somewhere special at home.

5: Create a Safe and Inviting Office

Kids can get intimidated and uneasy going into a new space. I want my space to feel as safe and inviting as possible.

The fluorescent lights of school can be harsh when you’re trying to create a calm environment. I have seen teachers and counselors use lamps, night lights, Christmas lights, and drape paper over their ceiling lights.

Depending on your office space and regulations at your school, I think all of the above are great ways to make your space feel more inviting. Kids can get on sensory overload if there are too many visually distracting elements.

I also like to have a comfy calm down space for them to relax and us to talk. Last year, I was searching for a couch, however, with our regulations and health code rules, I opted for two oversize bean bags. I bought these on Wayfair.com because they had the biggest selection of unusual bean bags! These were actually meant to be used outside by a pool… but I love them for my office! For starters, they are big and kids love to fall into them. Second, the cover comes off so I can take it home to wash it!

I would love to hear what things you have in your school counseling office? How do you maximize and organize?