Au Pairs and Host Families Pick Their Own Veggies all over Suffolk County, LI.

The farms have more than just fresh vegetables, they are a family fun destination!  Picnic grounds, corn mazes, farm animals to feed and pet, music, arts and crafts.  Click on a link and find a farm near you to explore!  Don’t forget to eat your veggies, too!

http://www.pickyourown.org/nylongisland.htm

Some of the Long Island Au Pairs went to the Long Island Ducks Baseball game this past weekend.

What better way is there to spend a summer afternoon than watching the All American past time?  The Au Pairs got to experience the game up close at the family friendly Ducks Stadium.  The professional baseball team won the game, scored some home runs, and gave a great show to the au pairs for their first ever baseball game.  In between innings, there are silly contests with fans from the stands.  Sons tried to break water balloons over their dad’s heads, hot dog costumed people ran a race, a father and son placed bocce bowling, and even a karoke singer got a few cheers from the au pairs!

At the 4th Inning Au Pair in America’s name was displayed on the jumbo screen!

 Kristina (Germany) and Oral (Israel) wore their APIA baseball caps and enjoyed the experience of watching the game!

It was Bruna’s last cluster meeting, she had experienced baseball at the Yankee – Met game earlier this summer!

Do you want to see a cowboy show here on Long Island? 

Cowboys and cowgirls will ride into Old Bethpage Village Restoration Saturday for an event billed as the “Gunfight at the Gulch,” the group’s second Long Island match of the season. http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Parks/wheretogo/museums/central_nass_museum/old_bethpage_rest.html

Gunfight at the Gulch

WHEN | WHERE 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Old Bethpage Village Restoration, 1303 Round Swamp Rd., Old Bethpage

INFO islandlongriders.com or email joe@islandlongriders.com

ADMISSION Included with general museum admission of $10 ($7 ages 5-12)

Spectators look on as mounted contestants will compete in fast-action, timed events using two .45 caliber single action revolvers each loaded with five rounds of specially prepared blank ammunition — like the stage props used in Hollywood movies — to pop balloons. 

WHAT YOU’LL SEE

As part of the match, participants dress in period clothing, replete with boots, chaps and cowboy hats, in keeping with the Old West spirit.  Courses of fire are set in a variety of patterns, with the first five balloons arranged randomly and the last five positioned in a straight line known as a rundown. Riders score points based on accuracy and time, and at the end of the match, which usually consists of four “stages,” the rider with the best total time, including any penalties such as missed balloons or overturned barrels, is declared the winner.

For over 40 years Earth Day has mobilized and motivated people and organizations around the world to demonstrate their committment to environmental protection. 

REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE!!

Visit http://www.earthday.org/ 

 Some Earth Day Activities for Kids at http://www.epa.gov/region5/publications/happy/happy.pdf

Materials:

• paper
• printer
• something to color with
• pencil with eraser at the end (unsharpened is best, I think)
• push pin or straight pin
• optional:  a small bead (like a pony bead)
• optional:  green paint

Instructions:

• Optional:  paint your pencil green so it looks like the stem of a flower.
• Optional:  you can print the B&W template on yellow paper.
• Take the circle and crimp it along the lines to make an orange cup shape.
• Fold the rectangular template piece on the dashed line to make a square decorated on both sides.
• Glue the square together so you have a square decorated on both sides.
• Cut on the diagonal dotted lines (don’t cut all the way into the middle). 
• Bend each corner to the center dot, but don’t crease your folds. 
• Place the cup in the middle of the pinwheel.
• Push a pin through the center into the eraser of a pencil (don’t push it super tight)
• Optional:  put a bead in between the eraser and the paper … some people find it spins a bit better this way… I’ve never noticed the difference (maybe it’s the type of pencil eraser?  I use fresh, unsharpened school pencils)
• Place it in a vase or pot and decorate your springtime table.

Template:

On Saturday, April 2nd the Long Island Clusters of Au Pair in America went to NYC to see the new Broadway show “Baby It’s You!”  The show is in previews and officially opens April 27th.  We all loved the show which featured songs made famous by the Shirelles.  

BABY IT’S YOU! is the original Broadway musical inspired by the true story of Florence Greenberg, a suburban housewife from New Jersey, who discovered one of the greatest girl groups of all time, The Shirelles, and created Scepter Records, becoming the music industry’s first female powerhouse.

This was in the Sunday Parade Section of the newspaper.  What a great idea!

ABC’s of Winter Fun

A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment

L is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
X is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – play zoo, pretend to be animals in the zoo, what noises do they make?

On Monday, December 20th au pairs from China, Brazil, Thailand, Guatemala and Brazil visited the HELP Suffolk Homeless Shelter’s daycare center.   They did a Global Awareness lesson called “Holidays Around the World” for the children.  The class of 3 – 5 year olds loved the passports and stickers.  There were stickers for each country with a greeting of Happy New Year or Merry Christmas in the language of the au pair.  The kids learned how to say the greetings.  Marie from Germany told the kids about the Christmas tree and how the tradition began in Germany.  Then the children decorated foam trees with colorful decorations.  We ended with a story about Santa Claus and a lively round of” O Tannebaum” (O Christmas Tree)!

The Suffolk County Cluster of Au Pair in America decorated HELP Suffolk Homeless Shelter for the holidays!  They transformed the recreation room into a WINTER WONDERLAND filled with snowflakes suspended from the ceiling, 2 snowpeople and some cheerful packages on the walls!  The decorate the holiday tree, too!  The residents and staff were thrilled with the results!!

HELP Suffolk is a 76-unit transitional housing facility for homeless families housing a maximum of 100 adults and 200 children at any given time.  Units are available for people with disabilities.

HELP Suffolk is the largest housing facility for the homeless on Long Island.  The complex sits on seven acres of property and consists of four residential buildings, a community building, two playgrounds and a baseball field.

Since its inception in 1990, HELP Suffolk has served over 4,000 families and places approximately 60 percent of families into permanent housing.