Halloween Safety Tips

Kids love Halloween! They love the excitement this holiday brings. During the month of October, everywhere they go they see the decorations in stores, in yards, or on houses, and in school classrooms. The anticipation of October 31st is hard to contain. But there are some hard facts that parents should be aware of to help reduce the risk of injury and protect the safety of their child.

On average, children are more than twice as likely to be hit by a car and killed on Halloween as any other day of the year. So to avoid this tragedy from happening to your child, consider a few safety tips.

• Use reflective tape and stickers to decorate your child’s costume, shoes, hat (or headdress) and candy bag.
• Have your child carry glow sticks or flashlights to help them see and to be seen by drivers.
• Supervise your child’s choice of trick-or-treat house stops. Be familiar with the area that you visit for Halloween candy stops. Remember to check all treats at home before allowing your child to eat the candy.
• When selecting your child’s costume, choose light reflective colors. Make sure there are no tripping hazards with the costume’s design.
• If your child is wearing a mask, remind him/her to remove the mask when walking to and from the car.

Make sure the eye holes are large enough for your child to see clearly. Halloween celebrations offer an opportunity for family bonding. Engage your child in designing his/her own costume from old clothes, hats, wigs, and make-up. Let your child be creative with his/her design and have fun creating a costume that is scary or funny. No matter how your family celebrates this Halloween, remember to keep safety as the main priority for trick-or-treating and bring your child safely home.

Pumpkin Carving Tips for Family Fun

Pumpkin craving is a great project for parents to do with their kids. Let your child design the Jack 0’lantern face. The adult can do the carving and the child can help to clean out the pumpkin.

Here are the steps to create your Jack 0’lantern:

 • Place the pumpkin on newspaper for easy clean-up.
 • Cut a circle around the stem and remove the “hat” of the pumpkin.
 • Use a long handled spoon to scoop out the seeds and pulp. Kids will have fun reaching inside the pumpkin and pull out the seeds. (the seeds can be washed, dried, and roasted in the oven for a healthy snack).
 • Before making the face on the Jack 0’lantern, turn the pumpkin around to fine the side that is smooth and clean for drawing the face.
 • Let your child design the face on a sheet of paper. You can show or give examples of shapes you can cut on the pumpkin but let the child made the decision as to how the Jack 0’lantern should look.
 • After the face has been designed, follow the pattern and draw the eyes, nose, and mouth onto the pumpkin.
 • Using a sharp paring knife, cut out the designs. Remove the cut-out pieces by pushing them out from inside of the pumpkin.
 • The finished result is ready to be lit by placing a small “t-light” candle inside on that special spooky night.

For Halloween craft and recipe ideas, visit www.kraftrecipes.com

Columbus Day Facts

Columbus Day is celebrated on the second Monday in October. It is named for the Italian explorer, Christopher Columbus who is credited with discovering the New World.

Christopher Columbus became convinced of the possibility of reaching Asia by traveling west. He tried to get support for his adventures from many sources, including the King of Portugal. But in 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain finally approved his voyage and provided him with three ships: the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

On Columbus’ famed 1492 voyage, his flagship Santa Maria ran aground and sank. He was supposed to return to Spain loaded with spices and other valuable goods and knowledge of an important new trade route to Asia. Instead, he returned empty handed and without the best of the three ships given to him by the Kind and Queen of Spain. They were still grateful for the new lands Columbus has discovered and decided to fund a second voyage that included 17 ships and over 1,000 men. Also included in this journey were European domesticated animals: pigs, horses, and cattle. Columbus’ orders were to expand the settlement on Hispaniola, convert the natives to Christianity, establish a trading post and continue explorations. Columbus was assigned the responsibility of being the governor of the new world. The fleet set sail on October 13, 1493 and spotted land on November 3rd.

The island first sighted was named Dominica by Columbus, a name it retains to this day. Columbus returned to Spain in March of 1496 to obtain supplies to keep his starving colony alive. He returned to the new world in May, 1498. He sent half of his fleet to resupply Santo Domingo and continued to explore the north east part of South America. As governor, Christopher Columbus was despised by the people. He and his brothers were bad administrators. Spain sent a replacement governor, named Francisco de Bobadiela who arrested Columbus and his brothers and returned them to Spain in chains in 1500.

Columbus convinced the Spanish crown to finance one more journey. He left May, 1502 and stayed two years in the Caribbean, Central America, and Jamaica before returning to Spain. Columbus never accepted that he had not found a water route to Asia, even though the rest of Europe was convinced that the Americas were definitely the New World.

Fire Prevention Awareness Tips

October is Fire Safety Awareness Month. There is peace of mind that comes from knowing what you and your family can do to prevent or escape a fire during an emergency. Protect what matters to you the most by being aware of these fire preparation and prevention tips. Contact your local fire department for more fire safety tips.
1. Install a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm on ceiling on every level of the house and in every room used for sleeping.
2. If your child invites friends to spend the night, it’s important to review fire safety procedures.
3. Never use candles in bedrooms.
4. Keep lamps free of flammable materials.
5. Don’t run electrical cords under rugs.
6. Don’t overload electrical outlets with cords from too many appliances.
7. Keep flammable materials away from space heaters.
8. Keep a multipurpose fire extinguisher in a place where it is easy to access.
9. Maintain a three-foot “kid-free” and “pet-free” zone around the kitchen stove, as well as, fireplace, wood stove, and space heaters.
10. Clean dryer filter after every load.
These tips are a guideline for keeping your family safe. Having a plan in place for fire prevention and fire escape will prepare your family in case there is an emergency. Do a walk-through your home and look for potential fire hazards in each room. Make the whole family aware of fire prevention actions and keep your family safe from fire hazards.