CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

We had fun end of the month. Miss Tina and Miss Most of the classrooms went to the pumpkin patch and had a great time.

The fire department came to school and let us explore their truck.

Trick or treating was great! You should have seen all the kids in their cute costumes. Our new therapy provider, Heartland Rehab, enjoyed being a part of it as well by having the children come by to trick or treat there. Hopefully they will let us come back next year!

We have decided to add a special day one day a month. This month it will be November 24th - Wear Your Favorite Football Team's Garb. Every month will have a different special day.

Thanksgiving is this month and we have some fun food activities planned. We will let you know closer to the event what you can send in to help us out.

Please remember to label and layer your child's clothing. It may be cooler in the morning than afternoon so layering allows us to adjust to the weather.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving Day is a legal holiday observed annually in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November. Most people celebrate Thanksgiving by gathering with family and friends for a holiday feast. Thanksgiving was first celebrated by Pilgrims and the Native American in colonial New England in the early 17th century. Its actual origin, however, probably traces to harvest festivals that have been traditional in many parts of the world since ancient times. Today Thanksgiving is mainly a celebration of domestic life, centered on the home and family.

NURSES NOTE

Did you know that over 500 children, ages 4-8 died last year as a result of motor vehicle accidents, and thousands more were injured? It's true and it is the reason that Clay County officials are so dedicated to helping parents and caregivers transport their children as safely as possible.

Every month, the officials who make up the Clay County Care Seat Safety Program offer a car seat inspection checkpoint to help ensure that all Child Restraint Devices (CRDs) are correctly installed.

To find out when the next checkpoint will take place and to make an appointment, call 213-5927. The checkpoints are conducted by nationally certified technicians and they are FREE!

Did you know?

NATIONAL CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK NOVEMBER 17-23

Reading is a right! Free to Read, this year's theme for the 84th observance of The Children's Book Council's Children's Book Week, encourages children, and the adults who care for them, to exercise, your right by spending some time with a book each day. Children's Book Week 2003 is November 17-23.

Since 1919, educators, librarians, booksellers, and families have celebrated Children's Book Week during the week before Thanksgiving. Book Week events are held in schools, libraries, bookstores, clubs, private homes-any place where there are children and books. Check your local library or favorite bookstore for events highlighting children's books.

KEEPING YOURSELF HEALTHY

One of the most important things you can do for your family is to keep yourself healthy. Here are some tips on how to do just that:

    Get Enough sleep - and exercise. Both boost your immunity. You may be tempted to skip that brisk walk or gym run when family members are ill and you've become head nurse. But jump at the chance to take the jog whenever reinforcements arrive. Nap when the sick kids nap. Staying healthy is more important than check off items on your to-do list.
    Wash your hands like crazy. Scrub up every time you wipe a runny nose or change a diaper, as well as every time you sneeze or visit the bathroom. Your best wintertime friend is a bar of soap.
    Leave leftovers alone. Even if your child looks healthy, don't polish off his PB&J or snack on the carrot he fingered and then forgot. Don't share lip balm either.
    Let the laundry pile up. Even if you find yourself changing your top over and over, put on something fresh if an ailing child drools or sneezes all over you.
    If you have flu symptoms or a bad sore throat, call your own doctor immediately. If it's diagnosed very early, the flu can be treated with antiviral drugs that lessen its severity and duration. And if your sore throat turns out to be strep, the sooner you start taking antibiotics, the fast you'll get better and the less severe the illness will be.

NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS

Kids Staff
Cara Debbie
Darren Debra
Jared Kathie
Joshua Leslie S.
Shannon Sheila
Tiffany Susan
Tara

JUST PLAIN FUN DAYS

1 - Hello Kitty's Birthday
2 - Cookie Monster's Birthday
6 - I Love Nachos Day
11 - National Vanilla Cupcake Day
15 - Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day
17 - Take a Hike Day
18 - Teddy Bear's Birthday
29 - Square Dance Day

SIBSHOP UPDATE

We had a scary Sibshop in October with 16 children attending. We played a mummy wrap game and made candy corn magnets. The next Sibshop will be held on November 8 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

If you have any questions, please contact Leslie Sowles at Lighthouse Learning Center at 264-7392.

THERAPY NEWS

The therapy department follows the Clay County school calendar, so some therapists will take off during the Thanksgiving break. Please talk to your therapist to see if they will be working. University of Florida at St. Augustine OT and PT students continue to shadow our therapists. We enjoy the ability to provide some hand-on education to these students. Michelle Katz, our 12-week OT student from UF will finish up this month. Thanks for all your hard work, Michelle!! The therapists, Lighthouse staff and the kids will miss you!

RECOMMENDED READING FROM "PARENTS MAGAZINE"

Birth to 18 Months:
One Bear, One Dog Paul Strickland ($10 Ragged Bears) In this lap-size board book with gentle, jolly art, a lone bear soon has company galore as, one by one, a dog, mouse, frog, and other amiable creatures join his parade. A Mylar mirror puts the reader at the center of the action.

Birth to 18 Months - 3 Years:
Michael Foreman's Playtime Rhymes Michael Foreman ($19, Candlewick) Tender blowing watercolors with wry touches at every turn dramatize each of the 70-plus nursery rhymes in this satisfying read-aloud treasury. As Foreman explains each verse has an activity associated with it; from the counting game that accompanies "This Little Piggy" to the in-sync sway-along that adds to the fun of reciting, "The elephant goes like this, like that."

3 to 5 Years:
Where's Mary's Hat? Barroux ($16, Viking) A cow with a flair for headgear has lost her favorite hat, and she's prepared to go to any lengths to recover it. The silliness builds with each fresh encounter between the heroine and her colorful but clueless neighbors.

5 to 8 Years:
Gigi and Zachary's Around-the-World Adventure Gilles Eduar ($17, Chronicle) Many children love to pore endlessly over illustrations, scooping out every detail as if they were searching for buried treasure. Here, Eduar gives kids plenty to peruse with winsome landscape panoramas from around the globe.

8 to 12 Years:
The Rope Trick Lloyd Alexander ($17, Dutton) A band of magicians (or are they just better-than-average fakes?) wander the Italian countryside of yore in search of adventure, their next square meal, and the secret to the greatest magic trick ever. What they find bears little resemblance to their original goals but reaps rewards of its own.