The Chicago Area Blog

On Sunday, April 10, Au Pair in America, the nation’s first and largest au pair provider, will host a Cultural Fair at the Chicago Wolves Hockey game in the North Lobby at Allstate Arena from 2pm to 5pm.

Organized by the community counselors from the greater Chicagoland area, the fair provides a great opportunity for families who are looking for child care to learn more about the program. Au Pair in America host families and their au pairs will be in attendance along with Au Pair in America staff to answer questions.

 Tickets to the Chicago Wolves game are available at the box office, or for current host families with their community counselor. Current Au Pair in America host families and au pairs will be sitting in section 210, rows C through G if you would like to purchase tickets near this area.

The Cultural Fair is being held in celebration of the 25^th anniversary of both Au Pair in America and the U.S. Department of State’s legal au pair program – both established in 1986.

 Schedule of Events

Dyeing the Chicago River: 10:45am

It is  best viewed from the east side of the Michigan Avenue bridge, the West side of the Columbus Drive bridge or upper and lower Wacker Drive between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive.

 Downtown Chicago Parade: 12:00 noon

The parade starts at Balbo and Columbus and proceeds north on Columbus Drive to Monroe.

Taking Public Transportation  is Highly Recommended!

2011 kicked off with a trip to Disney for 36 lucky au pairs and 2 community counsellors.  Here they are in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

Pack your bags for the 7th Annual  Au Pair in America  trip to DISNEY WORLD

For Au Pair in America au pairs only

JANUARY 27 – JANUARY 31, 2011 $390.00 Per person

 Includes 4 nights in All Stars Music Hotel on Disney Property, 3 day hopper pass and transportation to all 4 parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom) and transportation from the Orlando airport to the hotel on January 27 and transportation to the Orlando airport from the hotel on January 31. Price does not include meals.

4 Au Pairs to a hotel room .Each room has 2 double beds

Au Pairs will need to book air travel to and from Orlando, Florida. 

Email Kathy at kkressner@comcast.net

Bee searching for pollen

Fun with Bees!

Summer is a great time to observe and learn about the wonderful world of bees, but be careful not to get too close!

At the Library:

Look for books about bees such as Berlioz the Bear by Jan Brett or Bumblebee, Bumblebee, Do You Know Me? : A Garden Guessing Game by Anne Rockwell.

Arts and Crafts:

• Make a large “Bee Garden” poster: Use green paper and create a flower garden using markers or construction paper or crayons. Draw bees visiting the flowers.
• Make a Bee Headband: Use a 1-1/2” wide piece of construction paper measured to fit the circumference of the child’s head for the headband. You need chenille stems (pipe cleaners) if you want to make the flowers stand up. Make the flowers out of tissues or stiff paper.

Make a Bee Snack

Make pumpernickel (dark) bread with melted cheese stripes.

Six Buzzing Bumblebees (a finger play – use your fingers as the bees)

Six buzzing bumblebees
Flying ‘round the hive,
One buzzes off and then there are five.
Five buzzing bumblebees
Flying near my door,
One buzzes off and then there are four
Four buzzing bumblebees
Flying ’round a tree.
One buzzes off and then there are three.
Three buzzing bumblebees
In the sky so blue.
One buzzes off and then there are two.
Two buzzing bumblebees
Flying toward the sun.
One buzzes off and then there is one.
One buzzing bumblebee
Looking for some fun,
Oops! It stung me….off it buzzes.
Then there are none.

The Geneva Sun Newspaper recently ran a great article on Chicago area Au Pair in America community counselor, Sandee Plescia and her au pairs.  It discusses the cultural exchange aspect of the program.

Read the article HERE.

Au Pairs work hard all week long.  They provide childcare for their Host Families for up to 10 hours a day and 45 hours a week.  They have fun with the children; taking them to the park, playing games, reading, helping with homework, driving to activities and so much more.  So when the work week is over, Au Pairs love to take a break and relax.

On Friday, April 16 three Au Pair in America clusters from the western suburbs gathered at Expression Dance Studio in Westmont for:  “Au Pair Dance Night Out.”  They were joined by their local Community Counselors Maria, Pat and Pam, and one very brave set of Au Pair parents for some dance lessons and a whole lot of fun.  The au pairs learned a few “smooth latin moves” and how to have fun, and look good out on the dance floor.  One Au Pair commented:  “Dance Night was so much fun, we should do this again very soon.”

   Easter is on Sunday, April 4 for both “Western” and “Eastern Orthodox” Christians this year.   Here is some Easter trivia from around the world:

	According to widespread belief, Easter owes its name to “Eastre”, the Anglo-Saxon goddess symbolizing hare and egg. Another theory suggests that it comes from the early German word “eostarun”, meaning dawn and white.
	Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25.
	Easter is a “moveable feast” as it does not fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars. The full moon determines the date of Easter.
	”Pysanka” is a name given to the tradition of Easter egg painting.
	The color used in painting the eggs differ in different nations. Orthodox Grecians paint their eggs red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Some Germans and Austrians paint their eggs green and use them on Holy Thursday. Slavic peoples decorate their eggs in gold and silver patterns.
	Chocolate eggs   were traditionally given as gifts in Europe.
	In 19th century Europe, bitter dark chocolate was used to make small egg shapes. These chocolate eggs were traditionally exchanged as Easter gifts, especially in countries like France and Germany.
	Ninety million chocolate Easter bunnies and 16 billion jelly beans are produced each year before the commencement of the Easter festivities. As a holiday, Easter comes only second to Halloween in terms of the annual sale confectionary items.
	76 percent of people eat the ears on chocolate bunnies first.
	According to the Guinness Book of World Records the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25 feet high and weighed 8,968 lbs.
	In countries like Hungary and Transylvania, the day after Easter is called “Locsolo Hetfo” meaning “Watering Monday”. This is because water, perfume or perfumed water is often sprinkled in exchange for an Easter egg on this day.