School Counselor Office Tour
Alternate Title: How to Turn a Kindergarten Boysā Bathroom into a School Counseling Office
This post will show you around my elementary counseling office and show you how I organize my space!Ā The alternate title is no joke.Ā Back when I first startedĀ teachingĀ at my school, my current office used to be the kindergarten boysā bathroom! A few years ago, we needed extra space, so the counselorās office was turned into a classroom and a bathroom was turned into the counselorās office. Truth be told, you would never really know my office used to be a bathroom. It is small and narrow, and in an awkward location in the school, but I love the privacy and it has become a quiet, cozy space to work with kids!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.Ā I receive a small commission when someone makes a purchase through one of my links, which helps to support my blog!
About My Office
Last year, as a first year counselor, I was given a small supply budget and used some of it to spruce up my office. I also wrote a grant through our local education foundation, so that helped to offset some costs and allow me to make my office an inviting space. I work in the elementary setting and am fortunate to be able to see students individually, in small groups, and in classroom lessons. I conduct individual counseling and small groups in my office, and visit each classroom for whole group lessons.
Three Main Seating Areas
1) Counseling Couch
Although my office is tiny, I have three seating areas that allow a lot of flexibility. The most popular choice for students is my couch! Ā Students love to get comfy on the couch while we chat and I spin my desk chair around to talk with students.
We have VERY strict fire safety and health code policies, so I had to buy a āschool couchā that can be easily cleanedā¦ unfortunately, that means the couch is actually not very comfy, but the kids donāt seem to mind! One thing I love about the couch is the flat arm rests and back surface, which allow me to prop up some comfort items and a bin of fidgets.
Find the items you see here:
2) Sand Tray Station
Another favorite area for students to sit and chat is myĀ sand trayĀ station. Students love to sit on theĀ wiggle stoolsĀ and play with the sand while we talk. The stools are a bit pricey, but they are very durable and allow students get some sensory input while we chat because they gently wobble — I love sitting on them too!Ā
I useĀ kinetic sandĀ in my sand tray, which is an absolute favorite because it is very moldable! Helpful hint: I use a 10 literĀ sand trayĀ and needed about 10 pounds ofĀ kinetic sandĀ to fill the tray.
If the student is visiting my office for a check-in or a calm down time, he or she often plays with the sand as a sensory tool while we talk. If the student is visiting me to work on a specific counseling goal, I often will give the student a prompt for the sand tray.
Because my office is small, I donāt have the space to display all of the miniatures as recommended for traditional sand tray therapy. However, theĀ organizerĀ that I use as a sand tray table doubles as a storage unit and all of the miniatures are stored inside. When a student is working on a sand tray prompt, I simply pull out the drawers and place them on my small group table, which is located in the center of my office. This allows the student to easily see all of the miniatures that are available and also allows for quick clean up!
3) Small Group Table
My small group table seats 5 students (plus me) comfortably, but I can fit 7-8 students when Iām desperate! I pull over my desk chair to sit at the table with students, which saves space by not having an extra chair at the front end of the table. For extra seating, we pull over the wiggle stoolsĀ from the sand tray area.Ā I love having a large dry erase board on the wall near the small group table because we can easily write on it during our groups.
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Storage, Storage, Storage!
When I was hired as the school counselor, I spent half of the summer arranging my office and figuring out where to store everything! Since the office was a bathroom originally, there is no built in storage.Ā Thankfully, the office came with the two metal cabinets you can see in the photo above. Ā
The double wide filing cabinet actually does not have any files in it! Instead, all of the drawers are used for storage. The bottom two drawers hold school supplies and art supplies that I use for small groups. The third drawer up holds storage containers for my small group folders (I run 8-10 small groups at the same time, so I needed a place to keep the materials for each group separate). The top two drawers hold games and other materials I use with students.
The metal cabinet on the right has two purposes (the above photo shows the cabinet when it is open)! One, it has several shelves that I use for supply and book storage.Ā Two, it holds my coat, purse, and personal items.Ā I put a plastic storage container in the storage cabinet to give me even more places to put stuff! Ā Ā
Another storage space with two purposes is my paper storage unit. This is beside the two metal storage cabinets. It functions as a small table to place a file sorter and supply container, but most importantly, holds all of my 11 X 18 construction paper! Ā
Behind my small group table, I have a small bookshelf that holds some commonly used items. The bottom shelf contains my āgrab and goā resources that I keep multiple copies of and can grab quickly when I have a student in need.
The middle shelf holds finger puppets and larger puppets that I use with my younger students. My older students also like to use these to role play friendship issues! Two of my favorite puppets are this set ofĀ finger puppetsĀ from IKEA and this largerĀ happy monster puppet. The top shelf holds an amazingĀ dollhouseĀ that I found on Amazon. It is the perfect size for a tiny office because the front of the house folds out to make the house bigger! Ā
My K-1 students love putting the dollhouse on the floor to play and talk through issues!
My Desk and Workstation
My desk is directly across from the couch. When students sit on the couch, I spin my desk chair around while we chat. This saves a lot of space by not having a second seating area for me.
The first major decision I made in my office when I got the counseling job was getting rid of the massive, wooden teacher desk. Sure, it had a lot of great storage drawers, but it was simply too big for the space.Ā Instead, I brought this narrow, wooden desk from home that I had purchased in college. It works great for the space, still has storage, and has a much sleeker look than the teacher desk monstrosity. (Disclaimer: I do not typically have fresh flowers on my desk! Ā These were an end of the year gift from a colleague!)
I made the decision to place a metal filing cabinet directly next to my desk, which created a great work station wall. Itās magnetic, so I placed magnets on the back of my building schedules, which allows me to take them off easily to refer to often!Ā I also have a magnetic dry erase board that I use for quick reminders and my to do list.
Another helpful thing I did was stick a notepad and post-it notes directly to the file cabinet, so I can quickly grab a note and jot down stuff before I forget!Ā
An added bonus of having the filing cabinet next to my desk is that it functions as a room divider and blocks my often messy desk from view when you walk into my office! Ā
I love that my desk is extra wide because I can keep my School Counselor Planner open on the left side of my desk under my āwork station wallā and frequently refer to it throughout the school day!
Books, Books, and More Books!
I was aĀ classroom teacherĀ before I was a school counselor, and developed a healthy obsession with childrenās books. My office has a tiny nook right by the door and I decided that it was the perfect spot to wedge in a tall bookshelf. All of my books are organized by counseling topic. Read more about how I organize my counseling library byĀ visiting this post.
I use books most often during classroom lessons, but also read them during small group lessons, and sometimes with individual students. I also frequently loan books to families when they are dealing with tough situations at home. I love having so many books available because kids respond so well when they can read about someone else going through a similar situation. Ā
On the top shelf of the bookshelf, I keep all of my counseling resource books. Ā I have a lot of great resource books, but my collection does not compare to other counselorsā because most of the ideas I use come from blogs,Ā TPT, and digital resources. TheĀ Mrs. Potato HeadĀ that I use for my K-1 Meet the Counselor lessons is relaxing by my resource books! Ā
Technology in School Counseling
One final area of my office that students love is my Apple TV. It is mounted above my sand tray, so students can easily see it from my small group table. I can stream digital resources from my computer directly onto the Apple TV. I love showing YouTube clips during my small group lessons because visual media is very engaging to my students. I also love using brain breaks fromĀ GoNoodleĀ to get students moving or relaxed. Another great thing about the Apple TV is that I can stream music from iTunes or Pandora to create a relaxing atmosphere in my office. Ā Ā
I hope you enjoyed the tour around my office! Ā As a new counselor, I would have loved a post like this because I was completely overwhelmed with setting up a tiny office. Now that I am in my second year, my space has become the perfect place to work with kids!Ā If you have any questions about my office, please feel free to ask them in the comments!
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What a great office! Love every part of it. The poster is my next purchase. Happy weekend!
Alyce
I wish I could move into your office, it's so amazing! PS. Your office isn't nearly as tiny as you'd think. My office is literally the size of the small group table area. But regardless, this gave me some ideas for my office, thank you!
I am just starting my school counseling masters program and would love if you could recommend any good books that would help assist me with lesson planning/small group ideas. I feel so overwhelemed on how to organize my year/day.
Hi Loni! I completely understand the feeling you are having. It can definitely be overwhelming as you try to figure out how to structure your day. Keep in mind that it is a fluid process– it is definitely not something you need to figure out right now. Experiment and try to see what will work best for the school you're in. Network with local counselors if possible. As for resources, I would start with Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. I have found both of those sites to be more valuable than resource books. Also, check out the Elementary School Counselor Exchange on Facebook. Best of luck to you as you start your career!
I am almost done with my first year as an elementary school counselor and currently am in quite a small office. I made a great case and next year will be moving to a much bigger office and was at a loss of how to actually organize it. This has been a wonderful description of all the different areas of your office, and the links are perfect, I'm starting my amazon wish list right now! Thank you so much for sharing all of this information, I feel really excited about getting my new space ready this summer!!
Hi Cary! I am so glad the post was helpful to you! Best of luck as you prepare for your new office! š
Hello!
You're post was incredible and now I am so pumped to redo my office for next year. I do have one question however. In my office, I have a brick wall that I would like to cover with something useful. What would you recommend? What materials should I be looking for? Also I have built-in shelving that sticks out pretty far on two sides of the room. It needs to be painted, but I'm curious how else I could visualize a better use. Any and all suggestions would be so helpful-I'll even send you pictures! š
Thank you for your guidance!
Julie
Hello! I'm so glad the post was helpful! I recommend keeping your walls as simple as possible. You could look for some inspirational artwork to hang up, create a "how do you feel today" display, or create a gallery wall of student photographs and artwork. I used to have one of those brick walls when I was a classroom teacher and it was a pain to get anything to stay up! Command hooks and velcro usually worked the best! Can you paint the bookshelves the same color as the wall? That may help them blend in better. You are welcome to send me pics to help you brainstorm: [email protected]. Good luck!!
Excellent tips! I'm excited to incorporate in my office.
Can you please tell more about the way you organized your professional library? How did you make the labels? Also, where did you purchase the book bins and labels?
How do you use Mrs. Potato Head w/ your lessons? Thanks for your tips!!
Hello! I'm so glad the post was helpful to you! I organize my library with the website Library Thing. I sorted all of my books into categories and then I logged them into the website to keep track of what I own. Yes, I made the labels myself– hoping to get them posted on TPT this summer! The neon book bins are from a site called Really Good Stuff. The aqua bins are just from a store like Target or K-Mart. The Mrs. Potato Head is great for "meet the counselor" lessons. I compare each part of her body to the role of a school counselor. For example, I stick her feat on her body and talk about how the students will see me walking around the school. I put on her ears and talk about how my job involves a lot of listening to kids, teachers, and parents. If you Google "Mrs. Potato Head meet the counselor" you can read more about the lesson! š
OK, I am trying to find out if my district will allow me to get a small couch like the one you have. Didn't see it referenced in the "find it here"… could you share where you got yours? Does yours have a fire tag on it? Thanks so much!
Hi Krista! I didn't reference it because it was crazy expensive š My district would not let me use a regular couch, so I had to order from a school specialty store. Luckily, they had extra money in their budget for furniture! Yes, it is fire safe and easy to wipe down and sanitize. Here it is: http://www.thelibrarystore.com/product/19-00370/h
This is very detailed! Thank you!! Very helpful and awesome that you included links!
What a great space! Question about your lateral (Double Wide) file cabinets… It looks like the top lifts up to reveal the storage but there is no drawer inside. Did it come this way or is it how it was assembled? I would love something similar but am having a hard time finding that style. Thanks! š
Thanks Jennifer! The lateral file came that way! I thought it was weird at first, but now I really like it!
You mentioned your grab and go resources and commonly used items. Can you elaborate on those? Would you be willing to share your color coded schedule you have up on the file cabinet next to your desk?
Hello! The grab and go resources are just things that I use frequently. Most of them are from TPT. I keep multiple copies on hand so that I don't have to run to the copier when a student visits. The color-coded schedule next to my desk is our building schedule that shows what subject each teacher is teaching throughout the day– it's a simple Google spreadsheet that we color coded by grade level.
I see a grab and go coping skills booklet, what are some other grab and go things you have ready to use with students?
I have some feelings resources where they can circle the feeling, some coloring pages for stress relief, an apology letter template, a problem solving wheel, and my problem vs reaction scales (in my TPT store).
Thanks for sharing! š
I love your post! I would love to know more about Sandplay and how you use it when counseling students. Also, did you attend any training for Sandplay and if so, where? Thank you so much!
Hi Amy! In the school setting, I primarily use the sand tray in a non-directive way. While I'm talking with students, they often use the miniatures to create a scene in the sand tray. After they create their scene, I process it with the student. Some students do not use any miniatures and prefer to use the sand as sensory tool while we talk. Occasionally, I will use the sand in a more direct way and give the student a prompt such as, "build your perfect school day." Unfortunately, there is often not as much time for directives in the school setting as I would like there to be! I took my graduate coursework at Spring Arbor University in MI. I took several play therapy electives that had a focus on sand tray work. I have also taken trainings from The National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children and the Michigan State University School of Social Work. If you Google "sand tray therapy" you will be able to find lots of great trainings and resources!
Love this post ! Just purchased your digital binder & trying to get set up & organized for my first year in a k-8 elementary/middle school. My room is a little odd but Iām having the chance to organize how I want & get to repaint it !
I essentially have 3 rooms…If I send some pictures of my office as it is now, can you help me think of ways to utilize the space ?
Very nice office
I need a tiny desk also. Any ideas on where to get one? My office is 10x12ish
I think it was from Target! I have seen some smaller desks on Wayfair and Amazon, too.