Tag Archives: New Orleans au pairs

Happy Labor Day!

NOLLaborDay

Happy Labor Day to all hard working au pairs!

Labor Day is a legal holiday in the USA, celebrated on the first Monday of September. It was established in 1882 to provide working people with a guaranteed free day for rest and enjoyment. Most Americans celebrate Labor Day by having picnics, parades, and cookout. Many rush to the stores to take advantage of big discounts offered by the retailers.

Occupational Collage Craft for Children
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/laborday/

NOLLaborDaycraft
Make a great collage by cutting pictures of workers from magazines and gluing them to poster board.

Ask your host kids the names of professions in English and then tell them the names of those professions in your language.
– teacher
– policeman
– doctor
– nurse
Give them a star or thumbs up if they can remember the words at the end of the day!

Tip: Start with names that are easy to pronounce. Pielegniarka (nurse in Polish) may be too much of a challenge! 🙂
Another option may be the phrase “Good job!” – “Dobra robota!”

Most of all, remember to have FUN!

Spreading the Word About APIA – Seminar for Au Pairs

NOLAupairs

For more than 25 years, Au Pair in America has been the leading provider for intercultural live-in child care in the U.S. Since 1986, more than 90,000 of our au pairs have provided the highest quality care to American host families.

APIA au pairs who have been in the USA for at least two months are invited to attend a seminar to learn how to spread the word about APIA and encourage American families to experience all the benefits of excellent dependable childcare with a cultural flair.

The webinars will take place this Thursday, August 7th and Friday, August 8th.

To register please use the link below:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/886641042 – August 7th 11am

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/929907450 – August 8th 2pm

Celebrating Mad Mardi Gras

Au pairs had a “mad” experience during Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

What did they like about it?

Everything!!

Extravagant floats, shiny doubloons, pounds of beads, King Cakes with babies or just cheesecake, dancing cheerleaders, stomping brass bands, flying moon-pies, eye-popping costumes, and crowds of revelers thronging the streets day and night made for unforgettable time.

Some celebrated with their host families, others with friends, but all with the like-minded Mardi Gras lovers!

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“I really enjoyed Mardi Gras in New Orleans, I think everywhere else it’s just another Tuesday in February but not in here, there are a lot of things going on, like parades for example, people come from all over the country to celebrate Mardi Gras in New Orleans and to have fun! I had a blast! It was really crazy:) — Marta from Poland

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I had a wonderful time during Mardi Gras, made the whole experience of being in the US amazing… — Mbali from South Africa

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Mardi Gras 2013 is the best experience I made so far being in the United States. It is much better than the “Karneval” in Germany. But the saying should be: “Throw me something that fits.”   =) Sarah from Germany

A Memorandum from a Child

  • Set limits for me. I know quite well that I ought not to have all I ask for.  I am only testing you
  • Be firm with me. I prefer it. It lets me know where I stand
  • Lead me rather than force me. If you force me, it teaches me that power is all that counts. I will
    respond more readily to being led.
  • Be consistent. Inconsistency confuses me and makes me try harder to get away with everything I
    can.
  • Make promises that you will be able to keep. That will encourage my trust in you
  • Remember that I am being provocative when I say and do things just to upset you. If you fall for my
    provocations, I’ll try for more such victories.
  • Keep calm when I say “I hate you.” I don’t mean it, I just want you to feel sorry for what you have
    done to me.
  • Help me feel big rather than small. I will make up for feeling small by behaving like a “big shot.”
  • Let me do the things that I can do for myself.  If you do them for me, it makes me feel like a baby,
    and I may continue to put you in my service.
  • Correct me in private. I’ll take much more notice if you talk quietly with me in private rather than with
    other people present.
  • Discuss any behavior when the conflict has subsided. In the heat of conflict for some reason my
    hearing is not very good and my cooperation is even worse. It is all right for you to take the action
    required, but let’s not talk about it until later.
  • Talk with me rather than preach to me. You’d be surprised how well I know what’s right and wrong.
  • Help me feel that my mistakes are not bad. I have to learn to make mistakes without feeling that I
    am no good.

Baby and Child Expo

Baby and Child Expo

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Lakeside Shopping Center — Center Court

10AM —1PM

Next Saturday, July 7, 2012, APIA au pairs will participate in the Baby and Child Expo sponsored by La Leche League of Jefferson.

Providing optimal childcare for their offspring is a continuing challenge for most busy families, including, or perhaps especially, for the families who have just welcomed a new baby into their fold.

Au Pair in America is here to help!

APIA offers several program options to meet the varied needs of host families. In addition to Standard, Extraordinaire and EduCare options, APIA provides Infant Qualified au pairs who have at least 200 hours of recent documented care for children under 2 year old.

Families interested in matching with an au pair for a year-long mutually rewarding relationship and a culturally enriching experience are welcome to come and learn about our program.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Creative Outdoor Play

Outdoor play is more than merely supervising children – it is an interactive learning experience with endless possibilities, and is essential to a child’s development.

Researchers have found movement to be crucial to children’s development and are concerned with the amount of inactive time children spend watching television, playing video games or working with computers. An excellent resource on this topic is Jane Healy’s book Endangered Minds. It is shown that children need to have large amounts of unstructured playtime in order to develop well- rounded personalities, to build self-esteem and self-confidence, develop healthy social skills by participating in group activities, and to stimulate their intellectual development.

Playing outdoors allows children the physical freedom that is not always possible indoors. The more children move, the more they learn, and children can play outdoors year-round with appropriate clothing.

Children of all ages need to explore the outdoor environment and learn from their experiences. Children are able to learn about the four basic elements of nature — air, fire, earth and water.

They can find places to pretend they are whoever they want to be, such as a firefighter a super-hero or an animal.

There are places for creativity, such as drawing on the sidewalk with chalk or painting the driveway with water. Children can look for something heavy or light, something smooth or rough, something bright or dark, something man-made or natural, something huge or tiny, the possibilities are endless.

Creative outdoor play takes what is already on this earth and uses it in a way which is unique to a child: digging in the dirt or sand, making ditches and rivers where toy boats can float, or creating roads for toy trucks and cars. It means giving children the freedom for exploration and discovery. Children grow by daring, risking, failing, redoing and succeeding. Help children grow mentally and physically by playing outdoors whenever possible, giving them the opportunity to learn from the world around them.

Children’s World’s Fair at La Children’s Museum

Au pairs are looking forward to participating in Children’s World’s Fair at Louisiana Children’s Museum. They will share their cultures through poster presentations, displays of cultural items and souvenirs, country fact sheets, games, story readings, music and more. Countries represented will include Germany, Bolivia, France, Austria, South Africa, Australia, Poland, Costa Rica and Brazil.

Date: March 10, 2012.

Hours: 10 am – 5 pm

Location: 420 Julia Street

Please come and join us in celebrating world’s cultures!

Click here to view full information about this spectacular event.