Pat's Old Town Alexandria, Virginia Blog

April is the month in the US that many people celebrate Easter. For children that means the Easter Bunny is coming. Enjoy some “funny bunny” reading, crafts and games throughout this month. Here are some bunny books to look for at the library:

The Bionic Bunny by Marc Brown; Bunny Money by Rosemary Wells; The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter; Little Rabbit Foo Foo by Michael Rosen; Good Job, Oliver! by Laurel Molk; The Runaway Bunny by Maregaret Wise Brown; Dear Peter Rabbit by Alma Flor Ada

Bunny Crafts: Cut a sheet of paper in half. Have the children tear an oval shap from one half and two ears from the other half. Glue the ears to the top of the oval; use crayons to color ears, eyes and nose. Poke 3 whisker holes on either side of the  nose with a toothpick and gthread dry spaghetti or straws from a broomstick thru the holes for whiskers. Add a cotton ball for a tail-= display your bunnies around the house.

Take advantage of mild days and head outside to draw on the sidewalk and/or driveway with chalk (ask your host family first if this is ok!) Kids love to have their whole bodies outlined and then fill in the drawings with clothes and a face.

AuPair in America will pay for the cost of a Red Cross classs providing that an aupair has at least 6 months left on her visa, and the aupair will be taking Infant and Child CPR training. Recently, 13 aupairs from our cluster were training by The American Red Cross in Old Town Alexandria.

The festival of Purim is one of the most  joyful on the Jewish calendar. There are 4 commandments; the reading of the story of Esther, festivity and rejoicing, sending gifts (usually food) and giving gifts to the poor. It is customary to dress in costume for the celebration

Mardi Gras, French for “Fat Tuesday” marks the end of Carnival and the beginning of the Christian feast of LEnt. The biggest Mardi Gras celebration in the US is in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Weds, Feb. 22 is Ash Wednesday, in some Christian churches the first penitential day in the season of Lent. In the US, some Christians go to church and receive a smudge of ashes on their foreheads as a sign of penitence.

Here is a promised recipe for our aupairs to do with their kids, compliments of food4tots. com and Washington Parent Magazine.

You will need: 1 thick slice of whole grain bread, 1 pat of unsalted butter, 1 large egg, some salt and pepper and cooking spray

Take the bread and cut a heart shaped whole in it about 3 inches wide. Spread butter on both sides. Heat a frying pan and then spray it with cooking spray; on medium high heat, saute the bread on both sides until golden brown. Turn the heat down and then take the heart shape out of the bread and break the egg into the hole left. Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Season and transfer to a plate.

Enjoy!

Make pancakes with your kids today: Prep time is 5 minutes and cook time is about 15 minutes. Try to pour the batter in the shape of a heart for an early Valentine’s Day celebration. This recipe serves 8 and comes from Allrecipes.com. Your kids can help measure out and mix. You should do the actual cooking.

1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 3 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, one tablespoon white sugar, 1 1/4 cups milk, 1 egg and 3 tablspoons melted butter

Sift together the dry ingredients, Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and butter; mix until smooth. On a lightly oiled griddle or in a frying pan ove medium high heat, pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve. 

This Sunday, aupairs may be joining their host families and/or friends to watch the Superbowl, a professional football game this year played between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. Frequently, fans gather for Superbowl parties, and restaurants with TV sets are filled. Highlights of the game include the halftime show (this year featuring Madonna) and the Superbowl commercials.

Aupairs in our cluster will enjoy several celebrations this month including

Valentine’s Day- celebrated on February 14-

                              and

Presidents Day, – celebrated on February 20

Watch our blog for a Valentine’s Day craft that aupairs can do with their host children.