Here are some fun facts for President’s Week!

Click on the blue underlined words for more info on the fun fact!

• At his inauguration, George Washington only had one tooth. Contrary to popular belief, he never wore false wooden teeth. However, at various times he did wear dentures made of human teeth, animal teeth, ivory and lead.
• Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were the only two presidents to sign the Declaration of Independence. They also both died on the same day—July 4, 1826—the 50th anniversary of the signing.
• At 5 feet 4 inches, James Madison was the shortest president. 
• Before he was president, Andrew Jackson was wounded in a duel at the age of 39. The bullet remained lodged in his heart until the day he died. 
• Zachary Taylor let his old Army horse, Whitey, graze on the White House lawn. Visitors took horse hairs as souvenirs. 
• James Buchanan is the only president to remain a bachelor his entire life.
• While he was president, Ulysses S. Grant was arrested for riding his horse too fast and fined $20. 
• James K. Polk’s wife did not allow card playing, dancing, or drinking in the White House.
• James A. Garfield could write with both hands. To entertain people he would write in Greek with one hand and Latin with the other.
• Benjamin Harrison was terrified of electric lights. He would ask White House staff to turn them on and off for him.
• Rutherford B. Hayes was the first U.S. president to use a phone at the White House. Alexander Graham Bell personally showed him how to use it and his phone number was 1.
• Calvin Coolidge liked having his head massaged with Vaseline during breakfast in bed. He also rode his own mechanical bull and played “ding-dong ditch’em”—he would ring the White House doorbell and then run and hide.
• Robert Todd Lincoln, son of Abraham Lincoln, was present at the assassinations of three presidents: his father’s, President Garfield’s and President McKinley’s. 
• All presidents receive code names from the Secret Service.  Ronald Reagan was “Rawhide,” George H. W. Bush was “Timberwolf,” Bill Clinton was “Eagle,” George W. Bush was “Trailblazer” and Barack Obama is “Renegade.”
• Abraham Lincoln was a licensed bartender. He was co-owner of Berry and Lincoln, a saloon in Springfield, IL.

On Sunday, February 19 Au Pair in America Long Island Clusters enjoyed the basketball show by the World Famous Harlem Globetrotter. 

Stunts, dancing, tricks and general silly funny mixed in with great basketball was enjoyed by all the au pairs and a few host families.  One Au Pair even brought her visiting real family from France with her! 

The Au Pairs were surprised that the Globetrotters were so funny as well as so athletic!  The mascot, “Big G or Globie” was quite a dancer! 

Presidents’ Day is celebrated in February to honor two of our greatest presidents, Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. The holiday is celebrated in the United States on the third Monday in February.   George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 and was the first president of the United States.  Abraham Lincoln was president during the Civil War and was born on February 12, 1809.

Most of your host children will be off this week from school.  Traditionally this is a winter break for Long Island schools.  It is a great time to plan some activities in and out of the house with your host children.  Many of the libraries and museums will have special activities for the kids home from school.  Check online and bring your kids to explore these activities. 

Mid winter is a great time for crafts and for board games.  Pull out the games the children received for their holiday gifts and play them together.  Gather the craft supplies and get creative! Dreaming of spring?  How about coloring or painting some pictures of with the kids of spring flowers?  Decorate the room with the colorful pictures!  It might be cold outside, but inside the flowers are blooming on the walls!  Enjoy!!

In honor of Valentine’s Day, some heart idioms!  

Idiom definition:  an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own.

1. To have a heart of gold – to care about other people.
2. To have a big heart – to be giving, caring.
3. To be cold-hearted – lacking in sympathy.
4. To wear your heart on your sleeve – to let everyone know how you feel about someone.
5. To cross your heart and hope to die – to promise.
6. To cry your heart out – to cry a lot and feel really badly about something.
7. To eat your heart out – to be jealous of someone.
8. From the bottom of your heart – to really mean something.
9. To have a change of heart – to change of your mind. 
10.  To have a heart – to be compassionate, to care about other people.
11. To have your heart in your mouth – to be scared or nervous.
12.  To have your heart set on something – to really want something.
13. To set your heart at rest – stop worrying about something.
14. To be soft hearted – to be sympathetic.
15. To take something to heart – to have your feelings hurt by something someone says or does.

Valentine’s Day is February 14th!

Au Pairs give loving care to their host families every day.  Au Pair in America has provided 26 years as the world’s most experienced intercultural  childcare program.  

Au pairs become full-fledged family members, sharing a cultural exchange experience that often leads to a lasting relationship with the host family.

Au Pairs come to the USA for cultural exchange and to provide childcare to busy families.  They stay for one year and then have the option to extend for a second year.  Au Pairs are 18 to 26 years old when they arrive in the USA.  Please check out www.aupairinamerica.com for more information!

Au Pairs will be making Valentine cards with their host children.  Here’s how:

What you’ll need:

• 8.5 x 11 construction paper or card stock in various colors and/or patterns
• Valentine and/or heart stickers
• Scissors
• Pinking shears (optional)
• Glue stick or white craft or school glue
• Glitter (pink, red, white)

How to make it: 

1. Begin by cutting a piece of construction paper or card stock into four equal pieces.
2. Fold quartered paper in half to make a card.
3. For the easiest version, appropriate for preschoolers, use stickers to decorate or cut out hearts from a different color of construction paper or card stock to glue onto your cards. Experiment with different patterns, florals look great contrasted with stripes on a solid background.
4. Younger children love glitter! Use a bottle of glue to “draw” on a heart or phrase (such as “Be Mine”). Sprinkle glue generously with pink, red or white glitter and let dry over night. Tap off excess glitter when completely dry.
5. For the older set, let them use pinking sheers to cut out heart shapes and glue onto cards. Again, use contrasting patterns and colors to create a charming design.
6. Once glue is dry, cards may curl up a little. Place cards between the pages of a heavy cookbook or phone book and leave over night.

It is never too early to start reading to children.  Children of all ages enjoy having stories read to them.  Reading, cuddling up on a couch or reading before a child takes a nap or goes to sleep at night, is comforting for the child.  This special time together builds a bond, take the time to read to the children in your life.

• Read slowly, this gives children time to think about what you are reading.
• Change your voice for different characters, or read in a softer voice from some characters, louder for others.   A sing song voice is fun for young children.
• Share a picture book with a child and have them tell you a story from the pictures!
• Read every day!
• Children have favorites, so don’t worry if they want the same story every day, but add a few others so they can develop new favorites.
• Talk about the story, ask the children what was their favorite part.  Let them share the story back to you or their parents!
• Do arts and crafts about the story.  Have them draw you a picture about the story.
• If the children are old enough to read themselves, have them read you a story.  Alternate, you read, they read.  This will encourage them to read more!
• Have fun, read stories about subjects you and the children enjoy!
• Turn off the TV and computer and read!

NY GIANTS WIN THE SUPER BOWL!

Sunday, February 5th

Your Host Family is probably very excited about the Super Bowl this year because the NY Giants are playing!  They are competing against the New England Patriots (think NY vs Boston!).  It is truly an American experience to watch the biggest game of the season on TV with a bunch of people!  Join in!

• There is a simple explanation of American Football for au pairs on the APIA website:               http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp
• Even if football is not something you enjoy, the commercials are amazing!  Advertisers pay about  $30 million dollars for a 30 second commercial to be shown during the Super Bowl, so expect great commercials!  People will be talking about the commercials as much as the game!
• Great entertainment during halftime!  This year Madonna is the featured act! 

                                     Football Fun with Kids

                        Before putting anything on the walls, ask your host family if it OK!!

Wall Football – Football version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey

 Instructions

1. For the game pieces, first create a goal post from two-inch-wide strips of poster board. (The uprights and the crossbar are each 20 inches long, and the post is 6 inches tall.) We attached ours to the wall using poster tack.
2. For the footballs, cut 5-inch-long shapes out of brown card stock. We found some in the scrapbook aisle of our craft store that looks like football leather. Use a white opaque paint marker to decorate and add players’ names to the footballs. Put a blob of poster tack on the back of each one.
3. Players line up about six feet away from the goal. One at a time, each player is blindfolded, spun around three times by another person, and set loose to try to stick their football between the uprights. (No reaching out your empty hand to feel the wall.) Play several rounds with 3 points awarded for each field goal. Highest score wins.

Wall Street Journal writer, John J. Edwards III writes a blog called “The Juggle” for families who work at balancing family life and work.  His latest blog entry is about why he and his wife have decided to switch from a full time babysitter to an au pair.   

Click on the link below for the article:

http://blogs.wsj.com/juggle/2012/02/02/switching-to-an-au-pair/

John Edwards will be continuing to post entries as the au pair selection process and the experience of using an au pair.

Groundhog Day is celebrated in the U.S. each year on February 2nd. On this day in mid-winter, the groundhog awakens from a long winter’s nap, and goes outside of his den to see if he sees his shadow. This tradition is big on an otherwise cold and dreary mid-winter’s day.

According to legend, if the groundhog sees his shadow (a sunny morning), there will be six more weeks of winter. He then returns to his den and goes back to sleep. If however, he does not see his shadow (cloudy days), he plays around outside of his hole for a while. If he does not see his shadow, spring is just around the corner.

The Groundhog’s Day tradition travelled long ways. It comes from German roots. German immigrants brought the tradition with them from Germany. As they settled in hills of Pennsylvania, they began the tradition of using the Groundhog to predict the the arrival of Spring. The tradition is based upon Candlemas, the day that is the midpoint between Winter and Spring. A famous Candlemas poems goes:

If Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania is the site of the annual Ground Hog event. Our little rodent friend (yes, Groundhogs are classified as rodents) is called Punxsutawney Phil. There are a few other “predictors” around the country, but they all pale in comparison to Phil’s ability to predict the remainder of winter.

Watch the movie Groundhog Day, a fun romantic comedy that centers around the Punxsutawney event!

Tonight is ESL Graduation at Suffolk Community College! 

To all the Au Pair in America Au Pairs graduating tonight, CONGRATULATIONS!