Westchester Connections – Maralyn’s Cluster Blog

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner was amazing. Au Pair in America counsleors provided the turkeys, that were skillfully carved by Jim Hamlin, and lots of apple cider. Au Pairs, who were asked to bring side dishes and desserts, outdid themselves with a wonderful array of treats from around the world. We all ate well, some discovered new foods, and everyone agreed that it was a most enjoyable evening.

Here’s the link to the 2011 International Thanksgiving Photo Album: http://s791.photobucket.com/albums/yy197/MS-APIA/2011%20International%20Thanksgiving%20Dinner/?albumview=slideshow

Avoid the ER and save some money.  There is an additional ER deductible for visits not deemed “emergencies”.  Au Pairs, please note there are several plans with differing deductibles.  Visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/insurance_3.asp for full details.  If you need a local clinic, look in the Medical Information section of your Welcome booklet or call your counselor.

Rosh Hashanah starts at sundown and is a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Jewish year. Synagogue services are held on Rosh Hashanah. During the services, the shofar (a ram’s horn) is sounded.

Like most Jewish holidays there are food customs associated with Rosh Hashanah. One of the most popular and well-known food customs on Rosh HaShanah has to do with dipping apple slices into honey. This sweet combination stems from an age-old Jewish tradition of eating sweet foods to express the hope for a sweet new year.

As the weather cools and the leaves start to change color it is apple-picking season in most parts of the United States. Try these simple apple recipes, no matter where you get your apples:

• Applesauce is very simple to make. Remove the core and quarter the apples. If you leave the peel on during cooking it will give the applesauce a pink color. When the apples are very soft, remove any peel that is left, mash the pulp or put it through a sieve. Add sugar if needed.          
• Try making Dried Apple Rings. They can be used as a nutritious snack. Peel, core and slice apples into 1/8 inch rings (Macintosh or Golden Delicious apples work best). Dip each ring into a mixture of lemon juice and water to help the apples keep their color. Pull a piece of string through the center of each ring and hang in a dry, warm place. They take 1-2 weeks to dry and become chewy.   

There are Asian (or Indian) and African elephants. African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth. They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their larger ears that look somewhat like the continent of Africa. Asian elephants have smaller, rounded ears.

To celebrate Elephant Appreciation Day, have some Elephant Ear pastry (Palmiers), a sweet available at many bakeries. If you like to bake, you can try these at home.

 These multi-layered pastries sprinkled with cinnamon sugar make a treasured after-school or tea-time treat. Plus, they’re easy when you start with prepared puff pastry sheets.

Ingredients

1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
All-purpose flour
1 package (17.3 ounces) Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets (2 sheets), thawed

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F. Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork. Stir the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the work surface with the flour. Unfold 1 pastry sheet on the floured surface. Brush the pastry with the egg mixture and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar mixture. Starting at both short sides, fold the pastry toward the center, leaving a 1/4-inch space in the center. Brush with the egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar mixture. Fold one side over the other, making a 4-layer rectangle. Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet.

Cut each rectangle into 12 (3/4-inch) slices, making 24 slices in all. Place the slices cut-side down, 2 inches apart on baking sheets and brush with the egg mixture.

Bake for 12 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Remove the pastries from the baking sheets and cool on wire racks. 

Au pairs and host parents are most often together with the children at the most stressful times of the day- that is, the morning and at the end of the day.

Getting through the stressful times of the day is best done with a consistent approach. Planning ahead about division of labor and delegation of responsibility, as well as developing routines that both the au pair and the parents will adhere to, is essential.

Another particularly challenging time of day is when the transition is made from parent to au pair or from au pair to parent. Focusing the transition on a particular activity and consistently following that procedure may ease the confusion for the children. For example, Mommy will help you get dressed and then you will go downstairs and the au pair will give you breakfast while Mommy gets ready for her day; or the au pair will give you a bath, and when you are done, she will say goodnight and Daddy will read you a story before bed.

The children benefit when the au pair and parents remember to work cooperatively, keep communication open and exercise authority when necessary.

A football field is 100 yards long. There is a Goal Post at each end of the field, in the End Zone, one for each team. A Football Game is made up of 60 minutes of play time. The 60 minutes is divided into four Quarters of 15 minutes each. At the end of two Quarters, there is a break called Half Time. On the Scoreboard you can see the minutes and seconds running out. The team with the most points at the end of four Quarters wins.

Each team has an Offense and a Defense. If the Offense has the ball, it tries to score by getting it across the Goal Line (the line where the playing field and the End Zone meet). The Defense tries to stop them.

The Offense gets four tries to move the ball 10 yards toward their own goal post. These are called Downs. If they make the 10 yards or more, they get another four tries to move the ball another 10 yards. If they don’t move the ball 10 yards in four tries, the ball goes to the other team, or the team “loses the ball.”

The Super Bowl is the final game of the Football season when two teams play each other for the championship. The game takes place in late January or early February. For some people, the TV commercials are the best part of the Super Bowl.

Take a moment to day to remember victims of the 2001 September 11 attacks, often referred to as 9/11 (pronounced nine-eleven) On this day, hijackers intentionally crashed two airplanes in to the World Trade Center in New York City causing them to collapse. Hijackers crashed a third airliner into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, just outside of Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania, after some of its passengers and flight crew attempted to retake control of the plane.

Enroll in an infant/child CPR and first aid class. This will be a valuable investment of your time.  Ask your counselor for details or visit http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/insurance.asp. Au Pairs receive a copy of the Red Cross Scholarship Form and an Information sheet in their counselor-given “Welcome” packet.

You can also find many safety tips on the Au Pair in America website http://aupairinamerica.com/

In honor of Baby Safety Month, here are some more specific baby tips: 

• Check the condition and sturdiness of toys. Discard any with sharp edges or those that are broken or falling apart.
• Check children’s clothing for loose buttons and strings.
• Is the baby’s pacifier still in good condition? If not, toss it. Never use strings to attach the pacifier to baby’s clothes or crib.
• Where do you set baby’s carrier when she’s in it? Not on the counter, or any high surface. Babies can wiggle and tip themselves over.
• Walkers can be dangerous (especially old ones that don’t meet today’s safety standards) because they allow baby to move very quickly and reach things they normally can’t. Never use around stairs.
• Stroller check. If your stroller is collapsible, be sure latches are secure before putting baby in. Always check that your child’s arms are out of the way when reversing handle directions so they won’t get pinched. Be sure to use that safety strap. Don’t hang overloaded or heavy bags on the handle of the stroller; this may cause it to tip over.
• Can you name the 12 most common choking foods for kids under five? Popcorn, hot dogs, chunks of meat, raisins, ice cubes, chunky peanut butter, nuts of any kind, hard candy, grapes, raw carrots, potato chips and corn chips. Don’t leave toddlers alone while eating; if they begin to choke you need to be nearby to assist.
• Get a piggy bank: this is a great place to put coins so they don’t end up on the floor, in the couch cushions and then baby’s mouth.
• Never leave your child unattended in the bathtub. If the phone rings, let the machine get it.

With the start of school it’s easy to rush out the door and forget to eat a healthy and nutritious breakfast.  Remember that children need a balanced diet including milk, meat, vegetables, fruit and grain. Breakfast should include at least three of those groups.