Winter is coming

November 23, 2018

News from the Currituck County Center

From the Director

The holidays are here! By the time you receive this newsletter the turkey will be consumed and the Black Friday shopping will be well underway. That also means that the year is coming to an end.

Many individuals, organizations, and businesses choose to make charitable donations to tax exempt organizations around the end of the year. I invite you to consider a donation to the Currituck Extension Foundation. Your tax deductible contributions support things like scholarships for youth to attend camps and leadership events; the 4-H Backpacks for Kids weekend feeding program; and so much more. Take some time and read about two recent donations that were designated to the 4-H Backpacks program.

We hope you enjoy the remainder of your Thanksgiving weekend and find some useful information for the coming season in this edition. Gobble, gobble!

Freshness, Fire Safety and Your Tree

Many families will be out this weekend searching their local lots in a quest to find the perfect Christmas tree. While shape, height, and fullness are things most of us consider, paying attention to the freshness of your tree is equally as important. A fresh tree will not only last longer inside the warmth of your home, it will greatly reduce the potential for a tree related home fire. Not to mention, you may save some precious time to spend with family and friends by not having to vacuum up all those fallen needles! Check out this article for some tips on how to locate and keep your Christmas tree fresh.

Keeping Kids Engaged During the Holidays

The holiday season will soon be here and young people are looking forward with anticipation and excitement to family, friends, celebrations and the extended winter break from school. While it is nice for everyone to kick back and take a break, children will, if left to their own devices, completely disengage from school and their educational and learning routine. When this happens young people not only lose some of what they learned in the first half of the school year, they also have a much more difficult and stressful re-adjustment when school starts up again in the new year. Fortunately, there are several ways that parents can help children keep their brains engaged and prevent learning loss while they take a break from school.