Younger Children

PRESCHOOLERS were dressed as everything from pumpkins to princesses and Tigger to Thomas the Tank Engine on Wednesday. The costumed children marched in a parade, heard a story and chose free books - all part of a combination literacy and Halloween festival. The children are in a class called ESL (English as a Second Language) for Families, run by Howard Community College and held at Crossroads Church of the Nazarene in Ellicott City. The program's goal, said manager Elizabeth Coppolino, is "getting the whole family ready to enter into the public school system."

IN UNSURE and dangerous times, how can a parent reassure a child that the school playground and neighborhood streets are safe? Thirteen months ago, this question was raised in a most horrific and graphic way. Now, in Maryland, it has been raised again. People of all ages, races and genders are being killed at random. These people were not working in the Pentagon or the World Trade Center. They were following their daily existence in their communities by shopping, filling their car's gas tank and entering school.

It's almost dismissal time at Northfield Elementary. While a third-grade teacher begins gathering children for the bus, aides circulate among the "walkers," keeping those kids focused on their worksheets. "It helps you practice your skills you've learned," aide Elizabeth Mackey said. Elizabeth, 10, and more than 25 fellow fifth-graders are members of a peer mentoring program at the Ellicott City school. Some work one-on-one with partners in lower grades. Others, such as Elizabeth, mentor an entire class for a half-hour once or twice a week.

By age 2, speech should be clear Q. At what age should a child start talking clearly? I know a 22-month-old who says "Come on" as she reaches for your hand, but the words aren't clear. She also says a lot of garbled words that could be sentences -- but others have no clue what she is saying. A. If by the age of 2 a child is not speaking any words clearly enough to be understood, I would recommend an evaluation -- a complete hearing test and a consultation with a speech therapist who works with small children (at the closest children's hospital)

Even though drug and alcohol use among Howard County middle and high school youths has dropped the past two years, a state report released last week said more children are trying drugs and alcohol before they reach high school. The number of Howard eighth-graders participating in the 1998 Maryland Adolescent Survey who said they had used such substances as cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, beer, crack and other forms of cocaine at least once is higher than in 1996, the year of the previous survey.

THANKS to years of amazing stock gains, and the growth of 401(k)s, much of your wealth may be tied up in retirement assets. If you die, they'll probably pass to your spouse or children. But will they really? Some people make a mess of their beneficiary forms. Or your company or plan sponsor might make the mess, by severely limiting what you're allowed to do with your money. Here are seven ways to make sure that your retirement plan passes to the right people and does them the most good: (1)

ELEMENTARY education desperately needs more then a few good men.That struck me again last week at the annual conference of the state's reading teachers. Of 1,100 packed into the Towson Sheraton, only a few were male. The younger the child, the more unlikely he or she will have a male teacher. Male reading teachers are as scarce as Dick and Jane books.The situation is getting worse. The proportion of males in the national teaching force declined from about a third in 1961 to about a fourth in 1996.

So you want to party like it's 1999? There will be plenty of opportunities in and around the Baltimore area tonight.Here is a roundup of some happenings.First Night Annapolis is celebrating with its ninth year of turning the city into a mega party zone with activities for children and adults. For the younger set, there will be afternoon activities, including Professor Horne's Punch and Judy puppet show. Jack Julius will present a magic act, and there will be storytelling by Tom McCabe and Maria Broom.

Harford County school officials have never been eager to follow educational fads -- and, at least when it comes to reading, parents and teachers are grateful."

Q.I am the mother of three girls, ages 5, 4 and 2. The older two tend to be very shy and timid. They do fine in groups of two to four other children but get overwhelmed in larger groups.They both attend preschool, and their teachers say they do not answer in groups. They're extremely shy around adults and do not even talk to those they know well, including grandparents.When an adult speaks to them, they just look down and try to hide behind me.I have read that shyness relates to self-esteem and that children can overcome it. What are your thoughts?