Museum update: Francis returns and much more!

He’s big, he’s bad, he’s back — Francis the Praying Mantis 2.0 has returned to the Staten Island Children’s Museum to welcome visitors.

November is a busy month at the children’s museum with even more fun stuff to do after you’ve finished gawking at the mantis.

Whether they crawl, walk, or run, children of all ages are invited to participate in a 5K race on Nov. 5 from 10 am to noon, for a $1 entry fee. Pre-registration required.

Grab a lantern on Nov. 11 to take a spooky tour of the grounds of Snug Harbor, then warm up at the museum with hot apple cider and doughnuts. The tour is from 5 to 7 pm and admission is $8. Pre-registration required.

Celebrate the written word all day on Nov. 12, from 10 am to 4 pm, in honor of Literacy Day. Admission is free.

Staten Island’s own Wahoo Skiffle Crazies breezes in on Nov. 20 at 3 pm and puts on a foot stomping show with music created on washboards, tin tubs and other fun stuff. The concert is free with general admission.

For weekly activities, the museum offers Kidz Cook every Friday at 2, 3 and 4 pm and Up4Art every Saturday and Sunday at 1, 2 and 3 pm.

So, come on down, and say “Hey!” to Francis. General admission is $6 for everyone over 1 year old and free for members. Grandparents are free every Wednesday.

Staten Island Children’s Museum [1000 Richmond Ter. at Tysen Street in Randall Manor; (718) 273-2060]. For more info, visit www.statenislandkids.org.

Camp Lee Mar

A private 7 week residential summer program offering a unique curriculum incorporating a strong Academic and Speech program with traditional camp activities. Our campers flourish at Lee Mar due to the structured environment we provide which allows our campers to feel comfortable and secure. Careful study is made of parent input, school (IEPs), camper interview, etc., so that the interests and needs of each child can best be determined for suitable grouping prior to the camper arriving. At Lee Mar the children find comfort and friendship with children of similar age and functioning level. From this foundation we encourage our campers to embrace and learn new skills and have new experiences which they can build upon on their return home. We also focus on building friendships which last throughout the year, as well as learning how to cope with the dynamics of group situations. Development of the whole child is our goal. We work hard at improving the daily living, social, and life skills of our campers, while giving them the happiest summer of their lives!

Long Island Speech

At Long Island Speech, we recognize the value of every person and are guided by our commitment to excellence. We believe that everyone has the right to better communication in order to improve their quality of life. Our mission is to provide exemplary speech/language and feeding services for each of our patients by our highly qualified clinicians, making a positive difference in the lives of our patients so that they may achieve their highest potential. Through the commitment of our staff, we can maintain a quality of presence and tradition of caring; which are hallmarks for Long Island Speech. Our vision is to be the absolute best speech therapy service provider throughout both Nassau and Suffolk counties. We aspire to be the provider of choice in our industry.&nbsp;We have 9 affiliated offices across Long Island, all participating with most major health insurance companies. We also offer evening and weekend hours. Call 844-5-SPEECH to schedule your first appointment.

Enabling Devices

Enabling Devices is a family-run business that designs, manufactures and sells adapted toys and accessible devices that make life more joyful and fulfilling for children and adults living with disabilities. &nbsp; It started with a train set, a mercury switch, and a young boy whose therapist thought he couldn&rsquo;t play with toys. In 1975 our founder, Dr. Steven Kanor, walked into a room at United Cerebral Palsy/Long Island and saw a boy sitting in a wheelchair, his head resting on his shoulder. When he asked where the toys were, the OT said, &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have the motor skills to play with toys, and he can&rsquo;t lift his head.&rdquo; But Dr. Kanor was not interested in what the boy couldn&rsquo;t do. He was interested in the boy's potential. The next morning, he was back. He&rsquo;d brought a train set, which he&rsquo;d connected to a mercury switch. The switch, the first capability switch he&rsquo;d designed, was attached to the boy&rsquo;s ear. When the boy raised his head, the switch made contact and the train ran around the tracks. After several weeks of playing with this toy, the boy was holding his head up straight, even when the train was not running. Dr. Kanor was elated. Since that day, he never stopped innovating, never stopped trying to make our products better, never stopped designing new devices. Today, our design team is just as passionate, just as creative, and just as committed to innovation as the man who founded this company. Enabling Devices is the place to find toys, devices and tools that help build more joyful, fulfilling lives. We have an extensive selection of adapted toys, capability switches, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, adapted electronics, mounts, iPad products, sensory items and products for the visually impaired. Over the years, the important constants remain. We&rsquo;re still the same small, family-run company Steven Kanor founded in 1978, with the same values of personal connection and deep product knowledge. We&rsquo;re still committed to providing caring, individualized service to each customer. And we&rsquo;re still grateful for the privilege of sharing in your journey.