Recipe for a School Counselor
The absolute best way to start the year introducing ourselves to students! It's tough for little ones to really understand what the counselor is here for...so why not have some fun?
This is the lesson used for K-1 students. I found the bulk of this lesson either on Pinterest or on another counselor's blog ( I can't remember which one! I will search and find it so I can give credit where credit is due.) Then I tweaked it to fit our school.
Lesson
Materials:
Apron
Typed recipe to pin
to apron
Big cooking pot
Heart stickers (for
each student)
White paper chef’s
hat
Big wooden spoon
Small heart pillow
Two long rubber
gloves (the fancier the better)
Heart cut out of cardstock
(Pin to apron)
Rice (kindness)
Measuring cup
Dried Beans
(compassion)
2 large fake ears
1 empty Pringles can
(to make into seasoning shaker)
Large plastic glasses
RECIPE FOR A SCHOOL COUNSELOR
(I made note cards
with the ingredient on one side and notes to remember to say on the other side)
1 Large heart- very
tender
2 willing hands
1 soft shoulder
2 listening ears
A dash of sound
advice
2 cups of kindness
3 compassion beans
Mix all above
ingredients. Stir until all judgmental lumps have disappeared. Bake in the
oven of life
experience until well done.
Season generously
with love.
Serves
a multitude of hurting children.
Directions: Welcome
students into the classroom wearing the safety glasses, chef’s hat, and apron. Begin
the lesson by saying your name and explaining that you are the school
counselor. Ask if everyone knows why we use a recipe. Get some feedback to make
sure everyone knows that a recipe is a guide for cooking something or making
something. Talk about how a recipe will have precise measurements (like ½ cup,
¼ teaspoon, etc.) and will list ingredients (like
sugar and flour) and will give directions (let students generate words like
“mix” and “stir”). Show the front of your apron. Explain that this recipe will
help students know who the counselor is and what he/she does at your school.
Read the ingredients.
Point to the large
heart on your apron first. Read the first ingredient. Say: A counselor has a
BIG heart with plenty of love for all ________ students at ________________
School!
Put on the gloves. Read
the second ingredient. Say: The counselor is always willing to pitch in and help with projects or
events around school…or if a student needs help.
Place the heart
pillow on your shoulder and lay your head on it. Read the third ingredient.
Say: A counselor is someone with whom you can feel safe and with whom you can
share your feelings. They are like a “soft shoulder to cry on.” It’s okay to
laugh or cry with a counselor.
Put on the two fake ears.
Read the fourth ingredient. A counselor is a very good listener. Sometimes just
talking with the counselor about a problem can help you feel better. Talking to
a counselor can also help you think up a solution to your problem.
Pick up the seasoning
container and shake over pot. Read the fifth ingredient. Say: A
counselor sometimes
just gives “a dash” of advice to get you started thinking of ways to solve your
problems. Although a counselor will not be able to tell you all
the answers to your problems, or what you should do to solve your
problems, she can sometimes generate some ideas of sound advice to consider.
Scoop two cups of
rice into the pot. Read the next ingredient. Say: A counselor is always kind
and gives examples of kindness….kind words, kind notes, kind acts…
Drop 3 beans into the
pot. Read the sixth ingredient. Say: A counselor shows compassion to others.
Compassion means caring about how others feel and showing concern for others. A
counselor is very compassionate…understanding how others feel, always eager to
show their concern for others.
Then use the big
wooden spoon to “pretend” to stir the ingredients.
Read the directions.
Talk about what it means to get rid of all judgmental
lumps…to be tolerant
and accepting of others who are different in some way…
who look differently
or who believe or act differently.
Read the rest of the directions. Talk
about how the counselor has “life experiences” that help her know how to help
students…that sometimes students think they are the only
ones to ever have a
particular problem, but almost always, the counselor has helped others with
the same or similar problem.
Place the lid on the
pot. Put the pot under a table or something that will serve as an oven. Talk
about your counseling program (whole group, small group, individual). Tell the
students that it smells like the recipe is just about done cooking. Bring the
pot back to the table. Open the lid…pull out heart stickers and give each
student a sticker as they leave the room.
OPTIONAL: As you
explain each ingredient, you can choose a student to wear the item and sit in
the front of the room. At the end of the lesson, use the students to review.
