Best of Boston

Launching

Paddling on the Concord River

On a beautiful and warm September day, a large group of energetic au pairs rowed on the Concord River to the historic North Bridge. Most boats showed excellent technique, with only a few going around in circles and hitting the first stone bridge on the way before getting under it successfully. One of our au pairs biked over 8 miles to get to the meeting and then biked from the boathouse up to the North Bridge for the meeting. Everyone arrived safely and tying up at the dock, the boaters were admired by the tourists from around the world who were watching from the North Bridge.

After enjoying an energy snack of brownies and lemonade in a beautiful and peaceful field, we remembered 9-11 and its significance in our lives regardless of where we are from. Although many au pairs did not remember the specifics of the day, others had vivid memories of hearing the news.

Soon it was time to get back into the boats and fight a very strong current to get back to the boathouse. It was not easy and there were some panicky moments as one or two of the boats were pulled backwards, actually hitting the stately North Bridge or gliding uncontrollably into the woods on the riverside! Finally, all boats rounded the oxbow in the river with only one signaling distress. Eventually, Kevin of the Boat House took the rescue boat out to rescue these paddlers. It was quite exciting and as these tired au pairs motored back to the boathouse with their canoe in tow, it was clear that they had enjoyed the whole adventure! They joined the other au pairs who had already returned to the boathouse to share a few more minutes together before getting ready to start the week of a busy au pair.

view more pictures here!

New England Patriots

Football is one of the most famous sports in America.

It is played everywhere across the states. Whether it is on the field or in your own backyard, it has become the center of many people’s lives.  The more you know about this All-American sport, the more you will be able to enjoy it as part of your American experience.

American Football Simplified:
A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team. A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.
Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball and tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line – the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet. The Defense tries to stop them.
The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”
The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.

Visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp for the full rules of American Football and http://www.patriots.com/games/index.cfm?ac=gamedetails&eid=3663 for the game schedule.

At the batting cage!

Our end of summer cluster meeting was held at Kimballs Farm.   It was a perfect evening for ice cream and a perfect time to discuss classes and fall plans.  The meeting was to include practice (or try for the first time) golf, but a distant rumble of thunder and lightning changed the venue to the batting cages.  Amazing how many balls connected to the bats!!!   Way to go girls!

More pictures here ->  Cluster Pics

Summer is a time of travel and adventure for children and adults alike. So, how can we travel to experience this sense of adventure, yet stay right in town? If you live in our area, it’s easy! Just step into the world of Barefoot Books at 89 Thoreau Street, Concord.

With the help of our au pairs from Canada, South Africa, Thailand, and Brazil, children visiting the bookstore have had the chance to visit the rainforests of Brazil and the north country of Canada, they’ve learned about the elephants of Thailand, and they have traveled along with a child living on the veld in South Africa. Au pairs have read engaging stories to the children and they have also happily worked with the children to create crafts related to a different group of countries each week during the month of July . This summer program at Barefoot Books has paired au pairs who want to teach about their own countries with children from far and wide who have come to the bookstore to step into another culture with an au pair. 

Look at the photos to get your own view of our au pairs and the children at Barefoot Books. Join us in August to visit with au pairs from New Zealand and all of Europe. Welcome to another expression of cultural exchange provided by Au Pair in America!

More Barefoot Books Pics

Ripe for the picking!

It is time for blueberries – picking is ripe!

Consider taking the kids to Honey Pot Orchard in Stow.  Not only can you pick berries in the patch, you can have fun in the Hedge and tunnel maze, and   picnic by the barnyard animals.

Honey Pot Hill

THE BLUEBERRY PATCH

The blueberry patch is open for picking with lot’s of berries.   Go to the store to get information about container sizes (which they provide) and price.   The containers take a long time to fill so if you’re  with little ones be careful about the size you buy!

Cider donuts and caramel apples made fresh daily and can also be purchased at their store.

race to the center!

The Hedge Maze

Go and have lots of fun getting lost in the Hedge maze, the exact replica of the famous ‘Hampton Court’ Maze in England. Great fun for the kids, ages 4 thru 11.  There is also a Tunnel maze for children (no adults) to crawl through.  All for $1.50 per person.

Barnyard Animals

At the Barnyard!

Visit with the barnyard animals – “3 little pigs”, 10 energetic goats playing on their goat walk,
the never ending cock-a-doodle-doo
roosters,
bunnies
and ducks.

Farewells

On a perfect summer evening, au pairs from our clusters enjoyed an evening full of American traditions. Starting the evening off with a typical prebaseball dinner, we greeted several new au pairs who were just beginning their years here. Celebrating two birthdays, and enjoying cake and watermelon, we said farewell to members of the clusters who have successfully completed their year here in the USA.  Also, attending our meeting were two former au pairs visiting their families for the summer and offering encouraging words to the group.
Moving on to the baseball field, it was clear that the au pairs were ready to play ball! Luckily, we had heavy hitters and speedy outfielders, power pitchers, and speedy base-women to keep the game in constant suspense. After those few confusing moments about what to do once the ball is actually hit with the bat, runners began to take advantage of momentary outfield confusion to score heavily. The final scores were too high to keep track! More importantly, each au pair showed her talent at home plate and while warming up, had her photo taken for valuable future baseball cards. The Red Sox talent scouts will be calling soon!

click here for more pics ->  Baseball Pics

Surviving Summer Boredom with your Kids

Sometimes, especially with younger children, cries of boredom are really calls for companionship and attention—their friends may be away on vacation and without the structure of school they may find it difficult to keep occupied during long summer days. Prolonged intervals where the kids have nothing to do can be stressful . When bored, children often become whiny, cranky and demanding.

Here are a few easy tips to help child care providers combat summer boredom and help kids develop the internal resources that are important for developing creative, resource and time management skills:

1. Put a weekly calendar together so as not to overwhelm yourself with planning entertainment for an entire summer, just take it one week at a time—day trips, arts and craft activities, play-dates, reading time, nature hikes, picnics, bike rides, a trip to the movie theatre etc. This way kids will have something to look forward to during down time. A calendar also helps with getting kids prepared for what comes next.
2. Ask: “If you could do anything, what would you like to do?” Try and encourage your children to generate their own ideas for activities—they are more apt to have fun when they thought it up on their own! Reinforcing that children use their imaginations will also help them develop a sense of resourcefulness and get them in the habit of making their own choices about how they will spend their time.
3. Keep an “art box” handy full of supplies: scissors, fabric, felt, glue, paints and brushes, stickers, paper, markers, canvass, needle and thread, beads, yarn, picture magazines etc. Rummaging through a box of art supplies can ignite the imagination and occupy children for long periods of time. They could even begin an entrepreneurial enterprise and sell their wares at the end of the summer.
4. Inspire them to play with water. Water is very calming and soothing for children and they can while away many hours playing and keeping cool. Get them to wash the car, hose off the deck, or run through a sprinkler. Spend time together at the beach or pool*.

*Water Safety

1. Never leave a child unobserved around water. Your eyes must be on the child at all times.
2. Maintain constant supervision. Watch children around any water environment (pool, stream lake, tub, toilet, bucket of water), no matter what skills your child has acquired and no matter how shallow the water is.
3. Swim at beach near lifeguard. Do not take your eyes off child even when lifeguard is present. It is your responsibility to watch the kids!
4. Keep a phone nearby so that you can call 911 in an emergency.
5. Learn Red Cross CPR
6. No running in pool area!  Decks surfaces are slippery and accidents happen quickly.
7. No diving in shallow water. Head and neck injuries result from diving in areas too shallow.
8. Always keep basic lifesaving equipment by the pool and know how to use it. Pole, rope and personal flotation devices are recommended.
9. Don’t rely on substitutes. The use of flotation devices and inflatable toys cannot replace adult supervision.
10. Keep toys away from the pool when the pool is not in use. Toys can attract young children into the pool.
11. Keep doors and gates locked leading to the pool!

May 1st was a day of cultural education and fun, sponsored by Au Pair in America at the Boston Children’s Museum. Over the course of the afternoon, hundreds of enthusiastic children and parents toured the exhibition, received earth and skin friendly tattoos, had their faces painted with country flags, and chatted with au pairs representing countries from around the world.

The Au Pair in America Cultural Fair was truly a multi-modal event.
Traditional dance in authentic costume highlighted the presentation by Thailand while the German au pairs entertained visitors with traditional German spring egg craft and painting.  South African au pairs proudly painted their country’s flag on little and big smiling faces alike, while a  colorful and tempting piñata dangled overt the Mexico booth.  Au pairs from many other countries served as international teachers of the culture and beauty of their homelands as well.  Photos of this great event are available on our cluster photos link below.

Cultural Fair Pictures

Farewell Hilda!

Cake and Ice Cream

What could be better for celebrating  spring!!

Monday night we gathered at my home to welcome in Spring!!

This was Hilda’s last meeting after being a part of our group for two years.   We were so fortunate that her mother was visiting and was able to join us!   After introductions we settled down to the business of the up coming cultural fair, au pair marketing and the Boston Walk for Hunger.   It was a good time to talk about spring activities for the children and I was able to take them to the APIA site and show them the seasonal calender and Kids Corner, many of the girls did not know that these resources were so available to them!   A short discussion on disciplining children took place and an informative sheet was passed out with some additional info.  We then sang Happy Birthday to May and some said tearful good-byes to Hilda.

Princess Warrior battles Harvard "nerd"

To end the evening the girls were given a choice of two games to play,  Au Pair Bingo or  using aluminum foil to design a dress (thank you counselors from our FACEBOOK page for the idea).   The costumes that were created were so inventive and the girls had so much fun!

More Cluster Photos!