Welcome back to another episode of School Counseling Simplified! I hope your school year is off to a fantastic start. In this episode, I'm sharing four creative, hands-on ways to freshen up your Meet the Counselor lesson.

I truly believe that every counselor should include a Meet the Counselor lesson at the beginning of the year. My personal favorite is a Meet the Counselor Game Show. It's competitive, fun, and requires very little prep. Most importantly, it's an excellent advocacy tool. It gives students clarity on who you are, what you do, and how they can access your services.

But if you're looking to add something new this year, I've got four simple ideas you can incorporate:

1. Emotions Charades Turn learning into a game by having students act out emotions from a card while their classmates guess. This helps students practice reading facial expressions and body language, while also developing empathy and emotional recognition.

2. Counseling Treasure Hunt Set up a scavenger hunt in your space with counseling-related items like a mandala coloring sheet, fidgets, or SEL books. As students find each object, engage them in discussion about how these items are used in counseling.

3. Mindfulness Moments Introduce mindfulness by leading a guided meditation or creating a mindfulness jar. Both activities provide practical examples of self-regulation strategies that students can use throughout the year.

4. Vision Collages Encourage self-expression by having students create collages that represent their goals, likes, dreams, and hopes. They can cut out images from magazines or design a digital version online. This is a creative way for students to reflect on their identities while you get to know them better.

These activities are easy, engaging, and perfect for adding variety to your traditional Meet the Counselor lesson. Not only do they make your role more accessible to students, but they also set the tone for a supportive and engaging school year.

Resources Mentioned:

• Join IMPACT

• Meet The Counselor Game Show

• 4 Ways to Spruce Up Your Meet The Counselor Lesson - Blog

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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!