Feeling Puzzled? Revisited and Revamped
I have been thinking about this for awhile and then I remembered what a wise school counselor, Andrea Burston told me, "you don't have to reinvent the wheel." I tend to forget that just because I did something in my previous school doesn't mean I can't do it again! I have to remind myself constantly that the students I work with now don't know what I did before so it will be all new to them!
So, I got the idea to decorate the large glass windows on the outside of the counseling suite area by revamping one of my favorite bulletin boards that I created in the past, my Feeling PUZZLED? bulletin board. With TONS of help from my co-counselor's intern, Jen, I revamped my Feeling Puzzled? board to make it fit the large window space. (If you have been following me on Instagram, you may have already seen the sneak peak.)
To create the window bulletin board, we cut out the words "Feeling Puzzled? Your School Counselor can help!" on 12 x 12 black cardstock using the Alpalicious cartridge font for my Cricut Expression paper cutting machine. We made the puzzle pieces using the Locker Talk Cricut cartridge. Note: It seems that the Alphalicious font is no longer being made, so I would recommend getting a cheaper new font cartridge instead!
After cutting out all the letters and puzzle pieces, I then made a Feeling Puzzled? Words Google document of things students might struggle with in middle school. You can save the Feeling Puzzled? Words Google Document as a copy and add more words or delete words that might not be relevant to your school. I used the "Quicksand" font in Google Docs for the words. Jen cut out the words and used a Scotch adhesive dot roller to affix the words to colorful cardstock. * I would love your suggestions of more "puzzling" things to add to my list! *
After everything was finished, we used a Scotch adhesive dot roller to affix the words, letters, and puzzle pieces to the glass. I love these glue dots because they are really easy to remove. You just rub them with your finger and they come right off.
I love, love, love how the finished product turned out!
Now it is very obvious where the school counselors are located in the school! ;) I plan to do different decorations a few times a year to showcase where the school counselors are located and how we can help support student success! I especially love this project because it is a fun way to think outside of the box of how you can decorate and use windows to your advantage!
Side note: If you have any kind of school budget to buy a Cricut, it is AMAZING! I asked for mine for Christmas one year and have been loving it ever since! I am keeping it at school now so I can create bulletin boards on the fly!
No Cricut? No worries! If you do not have access to a Cricut, no worries! Check to see if your school has a Ellison or Die-cut machine that has a puzzle piece cut-out. Smilemakers also sells a 36 pack of die-cut puzzle pieces. I have also seen pre-cut puzzle pieces at Target, craft stores, and teacher supply stores.
I also created a Google Document with the letters for the phrase "Feeling Puzzled? Your School Counselor can help!" that you can download and print! I made each letter a page so you can print it on colorful cardstock, white cardstock, or regular paper and glue or staple it to your bulletin board! Click on the images below to download.
What bulletin boards or other things have you done to make yourself more visible in your school?
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Danielle is a K-12 Certified School Counselor, Nationally Certified Counselor, and blogger at School Counselor Blog, a place where school counselors share innovative ideas, creative lesson plans, and quality resources. Connect with Danielle via email, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google+, and become a fan of the School Counselor Blog Facebook Page.
