Whether you're getting together with friends, trick or treating at one of the daytime events or braving the evening in your neighborhood, we wish a safe and fun Halloween for all of you. Some of our sponsors have put together some excellent gatherings and are hoping for a visit from you! You'll find their events when you click on the jack o'lantern!

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCES are coming in the next few weeks for parents with school-age children. This is a great time for parents to connect with their child's teacher,  ask questions and learn how they are progressing. You see the papers come home and you hear your children complain about tasks or teachers but it is hard to gauge what all that means. Go in prepared. You are your child's advocate and a voice for your child so use this time to listen and check-in with their teacher. Talk to your child before and find out what they may be concerned about. If you have a child with special needs, make sure they have access to all the available resources in your district.

But don't wait for the conferences if your child is falling behind... Use the resources available in your school and check our list of Tutors for a list of local programs >>

Parmalee

by Elizabeth Borelli, Nubius Organics co-founder and mom of 2 sweet little greenies

Another summer has come and gone, the kids are back at school, the smell of autumn is in the air. As another crisp October beckons, kids everywhere are repeating the age-old question "What are you going to be for Halloween?" The answer wavers often, sometimes even after the costume is planned, made or purchased, but it's Halloween after all and that's just part of the fun.

Fortunately for us eco-moms, Halloween is one of those celebrations that works well in green. It's easy to switch from drugstore candy containing more wrapping than edible contents to eco-friendly treats. Do-it-yourself costumes can be a simple and inexpensive alternative to their made-in-China counterparts. Of course even with our best intentions, the double-espresso-speed schedule that so many of us run on can render any new direction daunting. It's tempting to get sucked in by all the crazy promotions and point-of-purchase displays encouraging us to grab & go in order to save some time. But with a few simple changes to hearken a more wholesome holiday, you'll be pleasantly surprised at what you'll find.

It's almost here!  There are so many daytime activities that you may be able to make nighttime neighborhood trips short and sweet!  If you are going out with your children or allowing your tweens  to go from A-Z with friends (GASP!), here are a few tips for safety.

• Never go trick or treating alone...always use the buddy system!
• Trick or treat in groups of 3 or more friends and family!
• Make sure to stay on your pre-agreed route...No shortcuts!
• Only visit areas that are well lit...look for the lights!
• Never enter a strangers home...stay at the door!
• Wear bright costumes that are easy to see.
• Carry a flashlight with extra batteries!
• Carry only flexible swords, knives, and props!
• Eat dinner before you go out.
• Never eat candy that has been opened, have your parents inspect all candy at home!
• Follow the rules of the road...look before you cross the street!
• Always walk, don't run...you can't trick or treat if you get hurt!
• Wear comfortable shoes that you can walk in!
• Stay away from homes with dogs and other animals you don't know!
• Wear a watch that you can read in the dark...know when to go home!
  
  Thanks to Sean Sanford of Rod Sanford's Traditional Martial Arts for these tips.

by Beth Kanne-Cassleman, MEd, MFT

Here are a few tips to optimize this special one-on-one time you will soon have with your child's teacher!

What to expect:

The parent-teacher conferences are usually a packed 20-30 minutes intended to review how school has been for your child thus far this year. The teacher will be prepared to go over formal information, such as report cards, work samples, and assessments as well anecdotal information, all of which will be of great interest to you. This is your chance to get detailed feedback on your child, so grab it while you can.

Like homework, it is another opportunity to strengthen the home-school connection. The teacher will provide you with insight into your child's strengths and stretches and some suggestions for what you can do to further support your child at home, while also explaining what he/she will be doing at school to meet your child's needs. It is a chance to really deepen the collaborative potential that the adults in your child's life have to support him/her in becoming the best the that he/she can be!

Some things to consider as the conference approaches:

• Start looking more carefully at your child's schoolwork and generate questions that arise for you about it. Take notice and jot down examples of any patterns you are seeing in your child's work or attitudes about school this year to share with the teacher. (Consider carryover rough spots from previous years and new strengths, improvements, or struggles emerging.) Read entire article >>

Below is only a partial list of upcoming events and activities so be sure to click on our EVENT CALENDAR so you do not miss anything >>

Use the PARENT PLANNER to click on events and resources you are interested in and click PRINT MY PLANNER to print or email your list.

Class Calendar | School Schedules | Movie Showtimes

10/24/2009 from 11:00am to 4:00pm

Celebrate harvest time the old-fashioned way at Wilder Ranch State Park's Heritage Harvest Festival. Choose and decorate a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, take a wagon ride, watch draft horse, antique tractor, and living history demonstrations, try your hand at some old-time harvest activities, listen to live bluegrass and western music, learn to square dance, play cow pie bingo, enjoy hand-cranked pumpkin ice cream, harvest goodies, and more.

Admission free; parking is $10 per car

It's not too early to be planning Thanksgiving celebrations.

I love family and friend gatherings with the usual turkey, stuffing, squash, peas, mashed potatoes, gravy with giblets and pumpkin pie fare. The aroma of a roasting turkey permeating the house while guests play scrabble with the children, catch up on family happenings, have friendly skirmishes over politics and the best way to make gravy, play pool and help in the kitchen. It's quite possibly my favorite holiday.

A very few times in my life I have broken from tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving in a unique way and those are the occasions I especially remember -a Thanksgiving picnic on a palm tree lined beach north of Santa Barbara because our young family was new to California and all relatives were back east; and one notable Thanksgiving, partaking in exotic dishes -coucha: lamb shoulder meat rubbed with olive oil, salt, mint, cayenne pepper and turmeric and baked in a slow oven; slata mechouia: grilled green peppers, tomatoes and garlic; pastries of nuts and honey- in a great three story room encircled with lacy wood carvings framing balconies in an ancient castle in the souk in Tunis, Tunisia.

I asked my friends who have teens and who tend to do things unconventionally, "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" The response, "Going on a Thanksgiving dive with Dennis and Ginny Judson of Adventure Sports."  It sounds perfect for a family with teens. If you have young children, take a look at some of Adventure Sports' other family adventures.

Many of you know Dennis and Ginny Judson for their many years of teaching children to love water and swimming. 

We asked Dennis about his Thanksgiving Adventure.  "I tell people I dive to eat. Essentially it's fairly true. You're out on an adventure with a bunch of friends, you're in exotic places loaded with critters, so it seems only appropriate to forage for sea delectables to share in the evenings repast, and you know there is no substitute for fresh seafood.

The Indian summer is an amazing time to explore the northern Channel Islands. The weather is sublime, the water can be up to 100-foot visibility, and almost everything collectible is in season. We charter the Vision, a floating hotel, out of Santa Barbara for excursions to San Miguel Island.  In this season the beauty is unsurpassed.  

It is noted for such superb seamounts loaded with tapestry of color and textures of wildlife as to make a photographer sweat. It is also lobster season. November is the best window to dive the walls of Wilson or Woodrow's rock in optimal conditions. We will do morning dives in deep water, then afternoons in shallow for the spiny critter. The November Thanksgiving dive is a wonderful way to experience this delectable holiday with your extended family. Lobster divers will have equal time with the deep scallop folk. It's hard to beat the scallop hor-d'oeuvres with lobster stuffed turkey."

November Deep Blue Thanksgiving with Lobster Nov. 26-28
Lodging * Cuisine * Seafood Supreme * Sundecks * Textures of Color $545

Dennis Judson, Adventure Sports Unlimited, 303 Potrero St, Santa Cruz, 831-425-4887, dennis@asudoit.com