OCTOBER is Family History Month and National Pizza Month

October 6 - Colbert/Lauderdale/Lawrence County Group/Family Home Care Provider Workshop
6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - Lawrence County DHR Office, Moulton, AL
"How to Implement Positive Guidance Into Your Home Setting Daily"
Training Credit: 2 hours in "Positive Discipline and Guidance"

October 13: Columbus Day: Celebrate America and learn about Christopher Columbus

Ideas for Columbus Day:

• Talk about words beginning with the letter "C" including Columbus

• Teach the children the following short poem: "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."

• Show the children a world globe and trace the path that Christopher Columbus took.

• Talk with the children about what they would do if they discovered new land and new people - How would they live?  What would they eat?  Where would they get their goods?

• Read about and show the children pictures of the Native Americans that Columbus saw.  Tell them why they were called "Indians".

• Discuss round / flat and sink / float and provide various hands-on activities to demonstrate these concepts.

October 16 - Bosses Day - Prepare a special surprise for your Director, Principal, or the owner of your center.

October 27 - Franklin/Winston County Group/Family Home Care Provider Workshop
6:30 - 8:30 p.m. - Winston County DHR Office, Double Springs, AL
"How to Implement Positive Guidance Into Your Home Setting Daily"
Training Credit: 2 hours in "Positive Discipline and Guidance"

October 31 - HALLOWEEN - Children of all ages enjoy this fun day by dressing up in costumes or making up their own fun costumes and playing "Trick or Treat".  In today's world it is important that all caregivers share rules of "SAFETY" with the children and parents.

NOVEMBER is Child Safety and Protection Month and Good Nutrition Month

November 1 - Infant/Pediatric CPR First Aid Training
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon
Northwest-Shoals Community College - Bevill Center
Muscle Shoals, AL
Certificates of training participants will be provided to all in attendance.  Certificates awarded by the American Heart Association will be mailed to all participants satisfactorily completing training.

November 4 - ELECTION DAY - Stage a mock election with the children.  Prepare a voting booth (a refrigerator crate serves this purpose nicely).  In the booth have one empty chocolate milk carton, one empty white milk carton, and one empty juice carton (all small sizes).  Give each child entering the booth one slip and tell them they can put their slip of paper in the type of drink they like best.  At the end of the process and after everyone has voted, count the votes together and see which drink is the preferred drink of the children.  This is a great way to introduce children to the concept of voting.

November 8 - FALL CHILD DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
"Touching the Lives of Children Together and Forever"
Northwest-Shoals Community College
8:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon (registration beginning at 7:30 a.m.)
Workforce Development Center (Building 127), Muscle Shoals, AL
Training credit: 4 hours or .4 C. E. U.'s offered in the following areas based on session attended: Child Development, The Child Care Professional and the Family, Quality Child Care and Licensing, Language Development

November 11 - Veteran's Day Holiday

November 18 - Hispanic Child Development Workshop
Taller para Hispanos de Desarrollo Infantil, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Centro Ministerial Brandon/Centro de Exito en Shoals, Florence, AL
Training Credit: 2 hours in Language Development)

November 27: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

DECEMBER

December 21 - HANUKKAH BEGINS

December 25 - MERRY CHRISTMAS!

December 26 - January 1 -KWANZAA