Have a safe Halloween
I love Halloween. I will be out in the yard with my smoke machine, and spooky music, and lots of candy. And looking out our living room window will be our rescued cat, Radar. Radar is a completely black cat that we rescued last spring (along with his brother in the picture, Chairman Meow Meow) and this year we will be quite vigilant as we make sure that he stays in the house. I have shared with the children that there is nothing scary or bad about a black cat. Radar is actually one of the most loving animals I have ever come across. Every year at Halloween black cats become the center of attention - and often cruelty. Please enjoy Halloween. Watch out for little children, tolerate teenagers who are not quite ready to grow up, and keep your cats safe from harms way. Happy Halloween, Radar!
Halloween is a great time to correct many misconceptions. A quick trip to the garden allows us to visit spiders, look for webs and learn more about the importance of these valuable creatures. And a look inside a pumpkin may result in the drying and harvesting of seeds which will be used to begin our next pumpkin patch. After Halloween I recommend keeping that Jack o Lantern and watching the long term changes which take place as it eventually closed up. I know of one school that put one outside and ended up with a pumpkin patch growing out of the rotting pumpkin come early spring. Take advantage of the teachable moment and every opportunity to observe and record changes in a long term study.