Personal Touches and Bits of Comfort

When it comes to the office of the school counselor, one of the most important things, in my opinion, is to be sure that the space is comfortable and welcoming for students. There are so many ways to go about achieving this, and obviously, the space should be comfortable for the counselor as well. In my experience, kids will always want to come to a room that has bright colors and toys. I have also found that kids really love being able to sit in bean bag chairs or on those big bouncy exercise balls. Those are very simple ways to help put students at ease, and make them feel less intimidated as well as less formal. Something different that I have tried this year is setting up a "relaxation station" for students in the corner of the room where I have pillows, bean bag chairs, and stuffed animals. When students find their way into my office, they are often times angry or sad or upset about something. Going right into a heavy conversation and trying to dissect what is going on is not always immediately effective. Often times, children need a few moments to themselves to calm down and pull themselves together. Typically, the best results come when everyone involved in a situation are calm. By providing the students with a comfortable space, they are better able to get a handle on their feelings and calm themselves down. Another thing that I have tried, for the first time this year, are using "cozy shades" over the lights in my office. Fluorescent lighting tends to be harsh. For me, soft lighting has always induced a more comfortable feeling. When looking for a way to soften the light in my office, I came across "cozy shades" on amazon.com. They come in several different colors, and they have magnets in the lining, so you can put them on the metal around the lights, and they change the color of the lighting in your room. They have many choices of solid colors, but I chose the blue, purple, and green striped shades for my office, because, as I mentioned before, children seem to be drawn toward color. When the lights in my office are on, there are now shades green, purple, and blue thrown around my office. I just put them up yesterday, but everyone, children and adults alike, have reacted very positively! I will include a link to the cozy shades on amazon.

My cozy shades :-)

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Doffice-products&field-keywords=abilitations%20cozy%20shades

 

My lovely office space :-)

 

Thank you all so much for reading! Until next time.