Au Pair Chatter

On Sunday, March 21, we had a water safety class at Kids First Swim School in Bowie.

We learned some basic rescue tips and information on keeping kids safe around all kinds of water.
Remember:

A child can drown in any amount of water (pool, ocean, bathtub or even a bucket)

You must actively supervise children at all times around water.

Teach children water safety.

When you take a child to a pool with a lifeguard you are still responsible for supervising that child.

I hope everyone has fun in the water with kids this summer!

Here is another video that has been a long time in the making. This is a video of au pairs participating in our Central & Southern Maryland Cultural Fair on February 7, 2009.

We had a wonderful time at the 2009 City of Bowie International Festival.  We were in our usual location right on the water and despite the forecast calling for rain, it turned out to be a perfect day for an outdoor festival.   This is our 4th year signing on to provide free children’s activities.  The initial estimates were that we had 800-900 children participating this year!

I think the festival gets better and better every year.  We were fortunate to be near enough to the stage to see and hear some of the performances.   They were amazing.

This year we had au pairs participating representing, Costa Rica, China, Germany, South Africa and Thailand.

Here are some photos…

Kattia from Costa Rica & Lizzie from Germany taking a break to pose for a photo

Little from Thailand showing the children how to write their name in Thai.

Ayanda from South Africa playing a map and geography game with a child.

Kattia from Costa Rica helping the children color some mariposas (butterflies)

Kattia & Lizzie having fun with with the children.

Lily from China and Laya from Thailand

Lebo from South Africa helping the children color butterflies & Lizzie from Germany playing a map and flag game.

Here are all of my International Festival Super Stars who gave their time on a Saturday afternoon to share their culture with children and help us fulfill our motto, “We Bring the World Together.”

Ayanda from South Africa

Little from Thailand

Kattia from Costa Rica

Lily from China

Lizzie from Germany

Laya & Kate from Thailand

Lebo from South Africa

Michaela from Germany

Verona from South Africa

Here is one more photo of Little in her beautiful traditional Thai dress.

Little in her Thai dress

For the past several years my cluster has participated in the City of Bowie International Festival.  It is a wonderful event that brings people from all over the area who want to sample a variety of cultures from around the globe.  We provide free children’s activities.  Last year my au pairs had over 700 children visit our booth!!!

We are hoping for a sunny day on Saturday, so we will have lots of excited children stopping by for the activities we have planned.

Depending on when you stop by, you might join us to do one of the following:

• writing your name in Thai or Chinese
• coloring plastic butterflies
• learning the colors in various languages
• map games
• flag games
• making beaded bracelets
• making tissue paper flowers
• getting your hand painted with the flag of Germany or South Africa

Here are a couple of photos from last year’s event

International Festival 2008

International Festival 2008

The City of Bowie International Festival will be held on Saturday, October 3, 2009, 11 am-5pm at Allen Pond Park, Northview Drive, Bowie, MD 20716.

I participated in the City of Bowie Memorial Day Parade again this year.  Here is a picture:

Tip for going to parades: Sit somewhere early or mid-way along the parade route.  By the end, everyone runs out of candy.  Each year, I buy more and I still run out before we get to the huge crowds at the end of the parade.