Ahh…A Virtual Calming Room!

How many of you attended the American School Counselor Association’s conference this summer? ASCA@Home was well done, and I learned so much during the virtual sessions I attended. I was delighted to learn the portal would remain open through October 2. That gave me time to view many of the sessions I couldn’t get to back in July. One session that I absolutely enjoyed was all about creating a virtual calming room. This has been top of mind for me with remote learning in full swing. Last month, I finally completed mine and shared it with my staff and school counseling colleagues in my region.

The session was presented by two California high school counselors, Alexis Goddard (@MrsGoddardSC) and Josh Godinez (@CASCGodinez). During the session, there was step by step guidance for getting started. It was very informative and well done. After the session, I spent time whenever I could over a 2-3 week period to get it done. I was very pleased when it was completed, and I’ve received good feedback from many staff members so far.

I used many of the same breakout rooms with my Virtual Calming Room from the session. I combined when necessary. I ended up with 9 breakout rooms. You can visit the rooms using the following links:

• Coloring & Drawing
• Sounds & Music
• Visual Relaxation

• Puzzles & Games
• Mindfulness
• Guided Mediations

• Virtual Field Trips
• Live Animal Cams
• Exercise & Yoga

Of course there are many ways to create a virtual calming room. I learned how to create mine using Google Sites. It’s not difficult, but it does take time. You’ll want to find pictures to use for the cover of each page (breakout room) as well as pictures for each activity you are linking to.

To make my Virtual Calming Room, I created a Google Site. To do this, I went to my Google Drive, clicked “New,” clicked “more,” and clicked Google Sites. Next, I named my site at the top and changed the image to fit my calming theme. On the right, I clicked the pages tab and added the nine pages one by one, clicking the plus sign at the bottom for each. Once all of the pages were created, I went back to the home page. I chose the layout with three sections that included a space for a photo and a description underneath. I added that layout three times to get a total of nine – One for each page. Then, I selected a picture to represent each of the 9 pages for my home page. I linked each of the nine pages to their corresponding photos and added each to the description lines underneath until all were visible on the home page. Once you have completed the rooms, you’ll need to fill them with activities for your students which may include Go Noodle, soft piano, or Zen Den videos from YouTube or links to websites where they can draw, color, or view sea otters. Like I said before, it does take time. Once you get the hang of it, it’s just a matter of getting it done. When it’s done, you won’t regret the time and effort you put into. I know I didn’t!

Once your Virtual Calming Room is published, you can continue to add more activities as you find them. You will want to check your links from time to time to make sure they are still active. I’d love to know if you plan to create a Virtual Calming Room for your school. If there is some interest, I’m open to hosting a Google Meet. I know I’m visual so actually seeing how it’s done may be helpful.

My new love for Pear Deck and my Virtual Calming Room has given me a little excitement in these unprecedented times. I love learning new ways to improve my school counseling program!

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