Bettina Velona's Au Pair Blog

Cleaning Up Made Easy
Is it hard to get cooperation at clean-up time?
Turn clean-up time into a game. Try throwing a die, if it lands on one, the person who threw the die must clean-up one thing, if the die lands on four, he or she must pick up four things, and so on. Everyone plays (even the au pair)!

Mexican Table

Chinese Table

On Sunday, March 21, Au Pair in America brought the world to the Boston Children’s Museum.   Boston area counselors organized a Cultural Fair, open to their host families and to the public.

Au pairs from all over the world did an amazing job putting together information about their countries and presenting it at country tables.  They seemed very excited to share their culture with others. Parents and children talked to au pairs, played games, enjoyed crafts, danced, watched performances and learned words from different languages.   Children received passports and collected country stickers at each table.

Ukrainian Table

This event provided an entertaining and educational afternoon for children and adults.  It also satisfied the State Department requirement that counselors offer annual host family workshops for their host families.  Au Pair in America prides itself in providing an excellent cultural exchange opportunity for host families and au pairs in addition to offering affordable and flexible child care.

Brazilian Dancing

FrenchTable

For more Cultural Fair photos, please visit Cultural Fair Photos and Heidi’s Photos

Valentine's Au Pair Meeting

For our February cluster meeting, I invited my au pair group for a Valentine’s Extravaganza at my house.   Au pairs had a choice of making heart-shaped pizzas, decorating heart-shaped cookies and making a heart craft.  After eating their pizzas, many au pairs decorated cookies and made a captured heart craft as  Valentines for their their host children.

It is a requirement of the Au Pair in America program that one of the monthly cluster meetings each quarter focuses on child care, child development and/or child safety.  During this week’s meeting, we discussed cultural differences and how they can affect child care as well as the relationship between au pairs and host families.  We discussed problems that might come up and how to prevent them.

Check out those hearts

For more photos of our cluster meeting, check out Valentine’s Cluster Meeting.

“While there are challenges with every childcare experience, I have been pleasantly surprised by almost every Au Pair I have had and they just keep getting better and better!!  My children have a wonderful sense of being citizens of the world as well as a nation.  They have a better understanding of geography and languages as well.  I have the security of knowing that my childcare will always show up for work because she lives with us.  And the comfort of truly getting to know the person whom my kids play with and depend on while I am at work.  The price tag is also extremely attractive.  It is most definitely one of the most affordable childcare option is you work at least 4 days a week or have multiple children.”
C.M, Host Mother

Check your town’s Health Department.  The towns are now making the H1N1 flu vaccine available to priority groups.  If an au pair takes care of an infant under 6 months old, she is eligible to receive a free H1N1 vaccination.

Healthy Living For The Fall And Winter Seasons

Keeping a healthy body, mind and spirit = balance

Get enough sleep

• Eat healthily
• Exercise regularly
• Take some time each day to relax
• Rest or slow down when you feel tired
• Maintain a balance between work, rest, relaxation and your social life.

Stay healthy and avoid spreading germs

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol based hand sanitizer
• Shower regularly
• Try not to touch your eyes, nose or mouth.  Germs often spread this way.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with the crook of your elbow or a tissue – not your hand
• Put used tissues in a wastepaper basket
• Avoid close contact with people who have cold or flu symptoms

Keep a clean and healthy home environment

• Keep frequently touched surfaces clean.   These may include:

-Kitchen counters
-Computer keyboards and computer areas
-Telephones
-Doorknobs

• Keep the children’s play area and toys clean.
• Keep your bedroom as dust free as possible.  Vacuum regularly and empty your waste paper basket daily.

*sources -  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Homeland Security