Welcome back to School Counseling Simplified! Today, I'm sharing some Valentine's Day-themed activities you can use with your students. I love using seasonal themes in counseling, and February is the perfect time to focus on topics like:

• Healthy vs. unhealthy friendships and relationships

• Friendship skills

• Conflict resolution

These activities are engaging, discussion-based, and easy to implement—whether you're working with a whole class, small group, or one-on-one sessions. Let's dive in.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Friendships and Relationships

This is an important topic because students only know what has been modeled for them. It's essential to be explicit in teaching these skills and help students recognize healthy vs. unhealthy behaviors.

Activity Ideas:

• Discussion Cards/Prompts: Great for small groups or one-on-one sessions

• Friendship Sort: Example—You feel happy and encouraged after spending time with a friend (healthy)

• "Talk About a Time…" Scenarios: Encourages students to share personal experiences

• True or False Statements: Helps clarify common misconceptions

• Relationship-Focused Discussions for Older Students: Ensure age-appropriate conversations

These activities serve as a starting point for deeper, more meaningful discussions.

Conflict Resolution

Since friendship and conflict resolution go hand in hand, it's helpful to teach students practical skills for managing disagreements.

Activity Ideas:

• I-Statements for Role Play: Teach students to express their feelings constructively (e.g., "I feel sad when you didn't talk to me at lunch today…")

• Different Conflict Resolution Strategies: Discuss how to respond using humor, compromise, or asking for help

Friendship Activities

For younger students, interactive and hands-on activities make learning about friendship fun and memorable.

Activity Ideas:

• Friendship Pizza Craft: Each "slice" represents a quality of a good friend

• Friendship Soup Activity: There is a great YouTube video on this concept—bring in a pot and a salt shaker to act it out

Check the show notes for links to additional resources if you prefer ready-to-use materials. I hope you have a great Valentine's Day!

 

Resources mentioned:

• Join my school counselor membership IMPACT here!

• Curriculum Map Freebie

• Unhealthy vs Healthy Friendships and Relationships

• Conflict resolution group 

• Friendship soup 

• Friendship pizza 

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More About School Counseling Simplified:

School Counseling Simplified is a podcast offering easy to implement strategies for busy school counselors. The host, Rachel Davis from Bright Futures Counseling, shares tips and tricks she has learned from her years of experience as a school counselor both in the US and at an international school in Costa Rica.

You can listen to School Counseling Simplified on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more!