Mark your calendar and make notes on people you could buy Holiday presents for. Refreshments on a fall theme will be served. Come and enjoy the day and pick up a few things for your shopping list.

For example, we'll probably see the very same packages of loose leaf notebook paper we can buy today selling for ten or fifteen cents more just before school begins. There will be some bargains in school supplies, but we'll need to shop really carefully to find them.

Some of our students, particularly the ones whose kids are just starting school, could use some help in shopping for school clothing too. They will have to strike a balance between leaving the kids with room to grow into their clothes and having them made fun of. And just what do those care instruction labels mean anyway? Do our students read them?

A year or two ago school officials expressed concern for the first time about the size and weights of the backpacks kids were taking to school. Eventually they came up with guidelines that are included in the packaging for each of the backpacks. Those guidelines address overall size, weight, shape and padding. Yet another thing for our students to read!

At the beginning of each school year school districts publish maps of bus routes. More than one lesson could be devoted to reading/decoding those maps so that your students' little ones don't end up at the wrong school.
Finally, if our students are truly struggling to read and write, for the short term be sure that their kids have a copy of their names, addresses and telephone numbers with them, particularly on the first few days of school. If something does go amiss, that information will get them home and safe.

Then, once you've got all that done, you can return to getting your student ready to help the kids with their homework throughout the coming year.

Sometimes, it is difficult to tell if we are making an impact, as the changes in our students are quite gradual and we adjust to their progress by setting the goal marks a little higher each time we meet. It's important, however, every now and then, to reexamine the overall changes the student has made.

Often, tutors do not realize the degree of change that they make in the lives of their students. They say, "Oh, I am only with him/her a few hours a week. I don't think that's enough to make a difference." But it really does make a difference. A big difference! When they stop by my office, they are always most enthusiastic with their praise for their tutors. To them, each and every one of you is the "top banana".

This is an opportune time for learners and tutors to vary their program materials to include sharing each other's cultural traditions of the season. From October through New Year's, books can be checked out for shared reading, and oral traditions make a terrific writing practice. It may be the first time that these cultural and family traditions have been written down, so it will be a wonderful gift to give each other, while beginning a Seasonal Journal, adding to a passing on each year.

Perhaps a project that can be an example of a yearly seasonal cultural, family practice will also enhance this sharing of experiences. Fortunately, our libraries have stacks of informational books to check out that can help celebrate the season. Starting early is always a good practice in case books need to be ordered from other sites. You want to be among the first to get those orders in!

And if anyone needs to shop in the Morongo Basin for gifts, treasures, decorations, cards, etc., please take a look at the donor list on the front of your newsletter. It is really great to be able to support those businesses that support us.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge…is the greatest benefit that can be conferred on mankind.

John Quincy Adams c. 1846