Counseling Connection

December 2024

I hope your holidays are off to a great start! 🩵

I truly LOVE the topics we talk about in guidance this time of year. I believe these skills we are learning are really going to help our students continue to grow into amazing little humans!

K-2nd we have been talking about how to show care and compassion to others. We have read several books surrounding the topic of kind actions we can do for others who may be feeling a hard feeling or going through a tough situation. In addition to, ways we can show the people in our lives that we care about them!

In 3rd-5th we will practice the importance of understanding different perspectives to the same situation and how to disagree respectfully. Introducing some very important skills that will make our Youngsters successful in school and outside of school!

• Made homemade snow!- great for a sensory box or pretend play
• Come up with a family goal for the New Year!
• Make paper snowflakes and hang them up in your home!
• Create homemade Christmas cards to pass out to friends and family
• Play Christmas Movie/Song Charades
• Track Santa!

Dr. Mallory, from Mallory Orthodontics, organizes the Live Thankfully food drive each year! This is a wonderful cause supported locally by schools and businesses that receive donations and put food boxes together for those who may be struggling to provide food for their family this time of year.

We are so thankful for the hearts of those in the community who support and work hard to organize these events! They help make Christmas magical for so many!

Here is the Live Thankfully Wise County website if you are interested in learning more about this organization.

This year at Young we are focusing being great humans by improving our manners and building our character traits!

In December, we are highlighting being grateful, engaging, and the importance of being productive.

Additionally, some manners we are encouraging are writing thank you notes for kind gestures, never using bad language, and refraining from making fun of or teasing others.

I OFTEN encourage reading with your child to parents because it has so many benefits! Not only does reading together improve your child's language development and vocabulary, but many children's books have an underlying social-emotional theme that can lead to fantastic discussions!

Below are some books that highlight some of the character traits and manners for December (many can be found at our local library!):

Grateful/Thankful

• The Thank You Letter by Jane Cabrera
• Gratitude Is My Superpower by Alicia Ortego
• When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree by Jamie LB Dennihan
• Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson - we read this during our Kindergarten lesson in November!

Productive:

• Smart Ninja by Mary Nhin
• Your Fantastic Elastic Brain by JoAnn Deak

No Teasing:

• Llama Stops Teasing by Sue Graves
• The Tease Monster by Julia Cook
• Spaghetti On A Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismody

Bad Language:

• Little Bird's Bad Word by Jacob Grant
• Taste Your Words by Bonnie Clarke

Courtney Cordova MA

Counselor

Young Elementary

Email: courtney.cordova@decaturisd.us
Website: https://www.decaturisd.us/domain/551
Location: 379 Buchanan Road, Decatur, TX, USA
Phone: (940)-393-7446