The Annapolis cluster met for a baseball game at the Bowie Stadium on May 20th. For our most recent arrivals it was their first American baseball game and they had lots of fun trying to understand the rules of this sport! The weather was wonderful and the firework show afterwards was fantastic! What a great night for all who came out to enjoy the night.
On May 22nd the Baltimore au pairs met for a picnic at Hammerman Beach Gunpowder State park. It was a beautiful day and the weather certainly helps bring everyone back outdoors!
Picnic at Hammerman Beach Gunpowder State Park
Sunday, May 8th is Mother’s Day! I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Host Moms for all they do for their Au Pairs. I hope the day is extra special and that you each have time to enjoy the day with your families!
“Of all the rights of women, the greatest is to be a mother.” Zora Neale Hurston
MOTHER’S DAY AROUND THE WORLD A special day in the honor of mothers, Mothers Day is celebrated in several countries around the world though on different dates. In a large number of countries including US, Mothers Day is celebrated on the second Sunday in the month of May, but in many other countries Mothers Day is celebrated in an entirely different time of the year. But what ever may be the date of Mother’s Day around the world, the spirit is the same everywhere. Everywhere in the world mothers are respected for their extreme devotion towards their kids. And on Mother’s Day children pay their humblest tribute to their mothers and thank them for giving them birth and providing them with the best of care and upbringing.
The celebration of Cinco de Mayo (meaning 5th of May in Spanish) should not be confused with Mexican Independence Day. Mexican Independence Day is celebrated on 15th September (eve of Independence Day) while Cinco de Mayo falls on 5th of May. Mexico declared its independence from Spain on 24th August, 1821. This modern holiday began when a group of California State University students decided to hold the first Cinco de Mayo commemoration in the United States. This was around 1967. The students felt that there was no Chicano holidays and needed to do something about it. They wanted something to recapture their history and identity and decided that the Battle of Puebla was symbolic and they could connect it to their struggle for the formation of a Chicano Studies program at the university. For some great ideas to do with children to celebrate this day visit: http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Holidays/Cinco/.
May 2-8 Children’s Book Week –Every day is a good day to read to the children. Click on this website for more literacy ideas to make reading even more fun! http://www.bookweekonline.com/about
Students often show appreciation for their teachers with token gifts (giving teachers presents etc.). The National Education Association describes National Teacher Day as “a day for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives. This year teachers appreciation week is May 2, 2011-May 6, 2011. Teacher’s Day is celebrated Tuesday of that week. Here is a link to help you create gifts with your kids for their special teacher.
On April 22, 1970, Gaylord Nelson, a United States Senator, founded the first Earth Day in an attempt to bring about a better understanding of the affect we have on our planet, and calling us to take action to make positive environmental changes in our community. The first Earth Day was attended by 20 million Americans nationwide, from college campuses to town halls, and giant teach-ins were organized in New York City and Philadelphia, the latter event turning into a seven-day event known as Earth Week.
This small attempt to start something of this scale on the national level brought millions of people to band together in their neighborhoods, starting grassroots campaigns to help revolutionize the way we handled waste, recycling, power consumption, and conservation in general. That event set a powerful precedent for the rest of the world, eventually inspiring more than 140 nations all around the globe to have their own Earth Days.
By the year 1990, over 200 million people on Earth were participating in the event, making it one of the most-attended organizational activities ever created, even being called “the largest secular holiday in the world” by the Earth Day Network, the nonprofit organization that is in charge of the event on an annual basis since its inception in 1990.
Starbucks is celebrating Earth Day with a free cup of coffee!!
Here is a link for activities to do with your kids!!
The Au Pair in America 25th Anniversary Cultural Fair was held at the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park on April 9, 2011. At the cultural fair, I recorded clips of au pairs sharing greetings in their native languages. Here is that video.
150 au pairs arrived in DC on a cold, dreary January day and hurried inside to soak up the history of our country’s Capitol. A guided tour told them the story of how the building grew with the young country as it established Washington as the center of the government and, in many ways, the whole world.
First Place Winner of Global Awareness Contest and Nominee of International Au Pair Award
At our February, cluster meeting two au pairs received awards. Jazmin Vega won first place in the Global Awareness Contest. Linda Leiser received a Celebration Award because she was nominated by her host family for the International Au Pair Association Au Pair of the Year Award. Congratulations to both ladies!
