Oct. 12, 2005

Take notes, you have a full year to prepare to be the best trick or treat candy-giver-outer in the world.

Straight from Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s fourth-graders here&8217;s your Halloween how-to-guide:

Chocolate. Chocolate. Chocolate.

It was hands down the top vote getter, more specifically, Snickers and Baby Ruth.

Also bringing in multiple votes were M&Ms, Starburst and Laffy Taffy. Skittles, sour Shockers and Jolly Ranchers are acceptable too.

What not to give: pencils, paper and apples.

&8220;If they give you an apple, that means you are a loser,&8221; Thomas Hawkins said.

Sure, you&8217;re an adult with a lot of things to worry about between now and next Halloween, but becoming the best candy-giver-outer in the world is a goal we should all strive to attain. Besides, if you fail, there will be rotten eggs to greet the front of your house, the kids said.

They don&8217;t take this business lightly.

Fourth-grade is a life turning point of sorts. It&8217;s when kids start turning 10, and 10 is that caught in the middle age. You&8217;re no baby like the kids at Frazier, but you aren&8217;t a troubled pre-teen like the folks at Robert Lewis Middle either.

You are grownup enough, but you&8217;re still a kid. And every major event in the life of a kid must now garner some extra thought. How old is too old to trick or treat?

The majority of Mrs. Tuccio&8217;s fourth-graders went trick or treating this Halloween, but some opted for the slightly more grownup parties. Others claimed they&8217;d engage in the teen troublemaker sport of throwing eggs, though I doubt they really did.

And of the trick or treaters, the event was more about candy and less about costumes than it is for the little kids.

Originality is not a factor when picking a fourth-grade costume. This class of 22 had at least six witches, though I think I lost count at some point, two ghosts and a couple unidentifiable scary masks.

Best costume ideas go to Jesse as a king, Tristan as Batman&8217;s head with a skeleton body and Kelvin&8217;s Scream mask with actual dripping blood.

And now that you are a grownup fourth-grader who isn&8217;t afraid of the dark, scary is the way to go, they said.

Scary people are a good thing for Halloween, Walter Turner said. And for those adults out there who want to go for bonus points next Halloween, the kids like it when your house is scary too.

Try playing a scary movie on the TV in the background, they said, or having someone jump out of the bushes.

&8220;It&8217;s fun,&8221; Brianna said. &8220;Sometimes I dream about it when I go to sleep, but when I wake up, it&8217;s fun.&8221;

Oh, and the mayor&8217;s proclamation that resulted in trick or treating on Saturday or Monday, that was a-OK with the kids.

It meant twice as much trick or treating and twice as much candy.

Yes, some of them did go both nights.

When the clock&8217;s ticking on your trick or treating days, you don&8217;t turn down the chance when it&8217;s given.

I&8217;d say this group has at least one more quality year of door-to-door begging, maybe two. Acne-faced pre-teens need to call it quits.

And while us adults are preparing the candy stockpile, you kids can start brainstorming costume ideas.

Use your imagination. Don&8217;t be something you can buy at Wal-Mart. Find things laying around the house, borrow some of mom&8217;s clothes and create your own costume.

An insider tip from the adults, the best costumes get the best candy. We know you like chocolate.

Julie Finley is the education reporter for The Natchez Democrat. She writes a weekly column based on experiences with Marty Tuccio&8217;s homeroom class at McLaurin Elementary. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or

julie.finley@natchezdemocrat.com

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