Congrats on your new gig! If you’re just getting started, this will give you the basics of what you’ll need to get started. I went through my own Amazon list to share my favorites.
Basic Supply List
Markers
Play-Doh
Squish Balls & Small Fidgets
Soft Stuffed Animal (School mascot for the younger kids.)
Kinetic Sand (ONLY get natural colored sand. The other colors stain.)
Family Figurines (Surprising insights from these.)
DIY Sparkle Shake Bottle
Magnetic Blocks (splurge)
Bubbles
Candy Warheads (for grounding)
Cleaning Wipes
I love Amazon as much as the next gal, but a lot of my office toys came from The Dollar Tree (notice what isn’t highlighted.) The goal for these toys is to be low stake and allow them to busy their hands so that they can relax and open up to you.
Office Aesthetics
Soft Lighting
Comfortable Seating
Oil Diffuser (Allergy Friendly Scents)
Art
Had I not become a school counselor, I would have given Joanna Gains a run for her money. I have worked so hard to take my windowless cinderblock office into a place where people walk by and say, “Oh my gosh, it looks so cozy in there!” Yes, yes, it does.
School Specific Packet Info
Master Schedule
Call List for Staff with Room Numbers
Lunch Schedule
Yearly Outline & Goals (Click to see my H.S. outline.)
Initials of Regulars (and their teachers/grade)
Gather these items right away. I keep a packet with me at all times with all of this information. I am constantly on the move in the elementary school and need this information at the ready. While working in a high school and middle school, I was much less mobile and had it all tacked to the wall next to my desk.
Counseling Games
Tip-It (Great impulse control practice. I found it cheaper at A.C. More.)
Play is the child’s natural method for communication. If you want to connect with them, play! Play teaches teamwork, cooperation, and communication skills.
Sensory Fidgets to Giveaway
Fidgets should be one-handed and quiet. My personal favorite is a highlighter, but that doesn’t meet my own requirements of being quiet.
Data Tracking System
Calendar (I prefer an online calendar, but to each their own.)
Data Tracking System (I use FileMaker.)
Focus Notes (The MOST fabulous written tracker ever. See the example below of how I use mine.)
Counseling Membership
I am sure that you already have this from grad school, but you need to make sure you keep it up-to-date for the liability insurance and for the amazing resources that you’ll find from fellow colleagues. Be sure to get involved in your local school and state counseling memberships as well.
When you begin to look for lesson plans, don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Check out TPT and you’ll find an incredible amount of resources to support your program.
Be sure to check out my resources page for books and other resources that weren’t listed here.
I hope that you find connection, fulfillment, and a deep love for the school counseling profession. Best of luck!
School Counseling Tribe is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. But y’all, I will ONLY ever recommend products that I have used myself and know to be valuable to your program. I literally pulled up my personal Amazon list to share what I have actually purchased for my own office.
