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.

Family Speech Center

Family Speech Center has been servicing children, adolescents, and adults since 2003. Our Speech-Language Pathologists are trained professionals who evaluate and diagnose adults and children to identify specific speech, language and swallowing difficulties. Once the communication difficulties are assessed and identified, our Speech-Language Pathologists develop and implement a therapy plan individualized to meet a client&rsquo;s needs. Our staff has experience with many types of communication disorders and difficulties, including language delay and weak vocabulary skills, articulation/phonological disorders, myofunctional disorders, apraxia, language learning disabilities, auditory/language processing difficulties, fluency disorders, and pragmatic/social disorders.

Westchester School for Special Children

The&nbsp;Westchester School&nbsp;is a New York State approved, non-public&nbsp;school&nbsp;that provides educational and therapeutic services to students from New York City,&nbsp;Westchester&nbsp;County, Long Island, and Connecticut.&nbsp; The school views all children, regardless of functioning level or handicapping condition, as children with potential for growth and development. Historically, educational programming, particularly for the severely handicapped was primarily concerned for easing the burden of those who cared for these children. Changes in legal standards and socio-philosophical perspectives made this an excessively limited and limiting approach. The rational for program and selection of educational objectives is based upon the developmental needs of the individual child.

The Vincent Smith School

Vincent Smith School is a non-profit, coed, independent school for grades 1-12 that serves students from Nassau, Suffolk, and NYC since 1924. The school is most known for its small classes, supportive staff, and individualized programs for students with learning differences such as Dyslexia/Dyscalculia/Dysgraphia, as well as school anxiety, school reluctance, or ADHD.&nbsp; We emphasize academic, college-prep success through differentiated instruction and on-site services as needed for reading, speech, or OT in dedicated classrooms. VSS offers rolling admissions throughout the year at our scenic Port Washington campus. &nbsp;