Wow, this month has seriously flown by!  We have been super busy working on perspective taking in social group.  The kids have been practicing "putting themselves in others' shoes" through various scenarios and videos.  I love seeing them practice such great social thinking!

In Lunch Bunch, we discussed doing kind things for others during the holiday season.  We made a super adorable bulletin board in C pod.  If you haven't gotten a chance to see it, click here and scroll down to "We Can Light Up the World With Kindness!" to learn more.

As we roll into Winter Break, I hope you enjoy some time off with your sweet children.  In light of recent events, I know that I have been holding my baby extra close and getting in as many cuddles as possible.  I've also been reflecting a lot on the hardships of parenting, teaching and life in general.  It can be very easy to get wrapped up in the stress and frustration of life.  In the past few days, I have been really focusing on being thankful for every moment, good and bad, with my students as well as my own child.  As I cleaned yogurt off my kitchen wall, I reminded myself to be thankful I can have that experience because so many do not have that anymore.  When my toddler had a meltdown in the grocery store, I tried to remind myself that I am lucky to be on this emotional roller coaster with him because many had that taken from them in the blink of an eye.
  If you start to feel inevitable feelings of frustration, take a deep breath, remember that every moment is precious, and be grateful for all experiences.  I know it's much easier said than done, but that's my goal!  I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful Winter Break full of love, laughter and precious moments with your families.  Love, Angela Cardenas    
 
Last week was a busy week with benchmark testing for third, fourth and fifth grade!  

In social group, we played the game, "I Mustache You a Question".  Hopefully the students were able to explain the game to you when they came home.  The kids had a really fun time wearing  mustaches and working on their conversation skills!  Click here and scroll down to "I Mustache You a Question" to learn more about this activity.

In Lunch Bunch, we played an inference game where I gave the students clues and they had to guess what animal, person or food I was describing.  The kids loved it and really came together as teams to help each other out!  Many kids wanted to share their own mysteries for us to solve, which was really cool!

This was Ms. Bankhead's last week with us.  I am already missing her like crazy, but it's nice to still see her in the halls since she is observing PPCD.  We are making her a book this week and will give it to her along with the gift card on Friday.  Thank you to all the parents that contributed to the gift!  

I hope everyone is having a great week.  There are lots of fun things to look forward to, holiday parties and all that exciting stuff!  I know the