Host Family Day is an annual event that Community Counselors around the country do with their au pairs and families; it’s a great opportunity for families and au pairs to meet one another, share program experience and advice, and have a little fun. We checked in with some of our Counselors in Washington State and they had one of their best Host Family Days yet, with over 150 host parents, host kids and au pairs in attendance!
Here in Seattle we just had our annual Host Family Day, a gathering of our Au Pair in America community: Community Counselors, host families, host children and au pairs. We come together, get to know one another, and share best practices, all in a fun environment.
This year we did a water balloon toss with the au pairs and their host kids, and a cross cultural scavenger hunt where the au pairs and kids teamed up to find the word for rock in German, meet someone from Italy, listen to hello in 5 languages, and other fun clues. We had tattoos, flyers, Global Awareness coloring tables and Au Pair in America hats and sunglasses which were a big hit!
The kids love the games and the au pairs love meeting one another, especially with lots of new au pairs arriving during the summer. New families really enjoy the chance to ask questions about car usage, curfew, food and homesickness to those families that have been with the program longer. My favorite part of the event is looking out at the crowd as I define au pair to be “on par,” and congratulate families and au pairs for taking the chance on a stranger to make a more peaceful world, filled with open-minded, global citizens. I see hugs, tears and acknowledgements of gratitude from a group of people working together on a life-changing program.
Read more about Au Pair in America in the Seattle/Tacoma area at Community Counselor Kim Van Cleave Michaels blog, and find out more about welcoming an au pair on our website.
