Thursday, July 12, 2012

Operation:  Cute Office

I have three full years of school counseling under my belt and during that time I've had three different offices.  The first two were in different schools as I started off split between two elementary schools.  I was busy between both schools with little time to decorate.  Once I was lucky enough to be assigned to one very awesome school I was then given one very awesome office.  While the space was great it took a little while for me to settle in and really make it my own.  I had some goals for my office space that included the following:  Must be child friendly.  Must have soft lighting (I have a nasty aversion to bright overhead lighting).  Must promote a safe, nurturing counseling environment.  Must be cute.  Yes, cute.  I shared my goals with my fiance's aunt who is a decorating extraordinaire.  I unleashed her in Ikea with $100 and this is what she came up with...



Ikea is an awesome place to find inexpensive office decor!  She picked up the sphere lighting, floor lamp, wall stickers, red table for my dollhouse, material for bookcase curtain and wall hanging, storage boxes, chair cushions, wall hooks that happen to be shaped like doggy behinds, art, and more.  I have a sneaking suspicion she went a little over budget, but over all it was a great deal.  
HELLO, MY THOUGHT IS...

If you don't hit up the Dollar Spot at your local Target regularly you are missing out.  They offer a variety of items for---you guessed it---one dollar!  OK, sometimes the prices go up to $2.50 but that's pretty reasonable as well.  I've found toys to use for play therapy, small figurines for my sand box, squishy stress balls, office decor, and more.  Most recently I came across sticky notes pads that read "HELLO, MY THOUGHT IS..." and MY thought was that they would be great to use as icebreakers when starting group sessions.  I can stick one on the table for each member and they can start writing down their thoughts as soon as they arrive for group.  I think my students will enjoy sharing what is on their mind when we begin groups as they often come in eager to share what's going on in their world.  I can also use group topic related prompts to help facilitate discussions.  I plan to use these sticky notes this coming school year.  What a great find!