Anne's Au Pair In America Blog

Au Pairs from West Orange, Verona, Glen Ridge and Essex Fells spent a recent afternoon bowling at Eagle Rock Lanes in West Orange. For some, it was the first time to try this favorite American pastime, for others, it was a chance to show off their skills. There were many new faces to meet at this Cluster meeting too as we were welcomed three new Au Pairs to the group this month. Everyone had a great time and a lot of laughs!

Enoy the Super Bowl this evening!  It’s a great American tradition!

You can learn all about the tradition of Ground Hog Day by visiting the Turtle Back Zoo on Tuesday February 2nd at 11 am. Come see if local ground hog “Essex Ed” will see his shadow and what that means for the weather in the coming months. There will be an activity for children too. You must pay to enter the Zoo, but the Ground Hog Day event is free.

Backwards Day is a day to do everything backwards. It’s especially popular with school-aged kids. think… writing backwards, reading backwards, wear your shirt with the back in the front. Eat your dinner, but start with dessert.. Use your imagination….

In honor of Mozart’s birthday, listen to some classical music today! This music may be calming or delightful at nap time, mealtime or to inspire artwork you might do with your host children.

Looks like we’ll be getting our first snowstorm of the winter this weekend. With that in mind, here is some things to consider before you go driving this weekend:

AAA recommends the following winter driving tips:

• Avoid driving while you’re tired. Get the proper amount of rest!!
• Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.
• Make certain your tires are properly inflated.
• Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.
• If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.
• Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).
• Always look and steer where you want to go.
• Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.
• Watch weather reports and do NOT drive in bad weather is expected. If you must leave, let others know your route, destination and estimated time of arrival.
• If you become snow-bound, stay with your vehicle. It provides temporary shelter and makes it easier for rescuers to locate you. Don’t try to walk in a severe storm.
• Make sure the exhaust pipe isn’t clogged with snow, ice or mud. A blocked exhaust could cause deadly carbon monoxide gas to leak into the passenger compartment with the engine running.

Tips for driving in the snow:

• Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.
• Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, and turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
• The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
• Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
• Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed downhill as slowly as possible.
• Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill?
• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

Stay Safe!

Today we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Click on the link below to learn more about Dr. King and his importance to American life and history.

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/mlkjrday1.html

 Au Pairs from the NJG and NJA clusters attended the Broadway show Memphis for their January Cluster meeting. It was a thrill to see this wonderful production, which not only had fantastic music and dancing, but also taught everyone some American history relating to the race relations between Black and White Americans in the South during the 1950’s. Everyone had a great time, in spite of the FREEZING cold temperatures in New York City!

Thanksgiving can be traced back to 1863 when Lincoln became the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving Day. The holiday has been a fixture of late November ever since.  The Pilgrims who sailed to this country aboard the Mayflower were originally members of the English Separatist Church.  They had earlier fled their home in England and sailed to Holland (The Netherlands) to escape religious persecution. Seeking a better life, the Separatists negotiated with a London stock company to finance a pilgrimage to America.

The Pilgrims set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. Their first winter was devastating. At the beginning of the following fall, they had lost 46 of the original 102 who sailed on the Mayflower. But the harvest of 1621 was a bountiful one. And the remaining colonists decided to celebrate with a feast – including 91 native Americans who had helped the Pilgrims survive their first year. It is believed that the Pilgrims would not have made it through the year without the help of the native Americans. The feast was more of a traditional English harvest festival and lasted three days.

It was Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor, whose efforts eventually led to what we recognize as Thanksgiving today. Hale wrote many editorials championing her cause in her Boston Ladies’ Magazine, and later, in Godey’s Lady’s Book. Finally, after a 40-year campaign of writing editorials and letters to governors and presidents, Hale’s obsession became a reality when, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as a national day of Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was proclaimed by every president after Lincoln. The date was changed a couple of times, most recently by Franklin Roosevelt, who set it up one week to the next-to-last Thursday in order to create a longer Christmas shopping season. Public uproar against this decision caused the president to move Thanksgiving back to its original date two years later. And in 1941, Thanksgiving was finally sanctioned by Congress as a legal holiday, as the fourth Thursday in November.