Whether you have one or several pumpkins at your house by now, you may want to transform them from simple orange balls into something scary, funny, or otherwise creative. Open this link http://www.pumpkinmasters.com/free-patterns.asp and you’ll find many inspiring designs. Find one you like and then can print it out, tape it to your pumpkin and carve out the design. Be sure to have lots of paper underneath to catch all the inside flesh of the pumpkin that you’ll scoop out, and of course be careful with your knife! When you are done, you can put a tea light candle in the bottom of the pumpkin and display it at nighttime in the front of your house. Voila! This is a “jack o’lantern”.
Yearly Archives: 2013
Multi-Cluster Scavenger Hunt at the Washington DC Zoo
We had the most amazing and beautiful day for our Multi-Cluster Scavenger Hunt at the Washington DC Zoo on October 27th! Au pairs from many clusters in the Maryland, DC and Virginia communities came out to participate in a hunt to find a variety of animals to complete their bingo cards! Afterwards we enjoyed the warm sun, gathered on blankets and and had a picnic lunch on the grounds. It was a great day to relax, chat and catch up with everyone! Then of course, the au pairs went home with a mini-panda as their prize!
October 23 – Game One of the Baseball World Series
In baseball the World Series is the championship games of Major League Baseball in North America, played in October after the end of the regular season between the pennant winners of the American and National Leagues. The Series winner is determined through a best-of-seven playoff, meaning that the first team to win four games wins the series. The World Series has been an annual event since 1903. It is played at the baseball stadiums of the two teams in the series. Baseball is so popular that it is sometimes called the “national pastime.” The word “ballgame” in the United States almost always refers to a game of baseball, and “ballpark” to a baseball field. The rules of baseball can be found here http://aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/baseball.asp
Queen Anne Farm Pumpkin Patch
Though the weather was a bit cloudy it was perfect for coming out to Queen Anne Farm in Mitchellville where the pumpkins were many, the sunflowers were in bloom and the company was delightful! For many au pairs it is truly an experience to be in the United States during this time of year. Au pairs get to partake in the excitement of the season as they watch their children get ready for Halloween ~ hayrides, selecting the perfect pumpkin and later carving them and then of course … trick or treating with the little ones! Great memories unique to America.
Columbus Day
Education Matters
We are very proud of the ongoing training we offer our au pairs which provides further educational guidance on a wide range of topics. Our orientation trainers take great care to research and prepare the topics presented via Webinars to our au pairs once placed in the home of a host family. Here is the list of what we have coming up:
October 15
8 pm Nutrition. Good eating for you and your kids
9 pm It’s Up to You. Making the most of your Au Pair year
10 pm Activities to do with Preschoolers
October 29
11 am Language Development: Birth and beyond
12 noon Tantrums are no fun for anyone. Help, my kids are fighting again!
1 pm American holidays: what they are, activities and getting through the holiday blues
November 11
8 pm Managing play with more than one child
9 pm Repatriation
10 pm Feeling Sad or Stressed: Tips for gaining balance in your life
November 26
11 am Help! My kids are fighting again
12 noon Activities for School Age Kids
1 pm Homesickness. Making it through
December 5
8 pm Activities to do with Preschoolers
December 6
9 pm Successfully communicating with your host family
December 9
10 am Homework: Finding the right strategy for your child
December 15
9 pm Homesickness. Making it through
December 17
8 pm Tantrums are no fun for anyone
October 4 – World Smile Day
This is a day dedicated to good cheer and good works: “Do an act of kindness – help one person smile”. Use your imagination to think of little ways to bring a smile to someone’s face – kind words, good deeds, thoughtful gestures, there is no limit to the things you can do.
Pumpkin Patches and More….
October brings with it all things “Autumn”. This is the month of one of our most unique holidays, Halloween. But there is way more than just that one night to celebrate! Hayrides, apple picking, pumpking picking, jack o’ lantern carving, corn mazes. The list is long my friends. Visit this website to find farms and other places near you in Maryland to do these activities. www.pumpkinpatchesandmore.org/MDpumpkins.php
Free Museum Day this Saturday
A thoughtful host mother in the Baltimore cluster has sent me the following link to share with everyone in the area. A few of the local museums are offering free admission for 2 people this Saturday. She has printed out tix for Port Discovery. See what you can find!http://www.smithsonianmag.com/
Hints for Success – Homesickness/Culture Shock
Almost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.
Here are my Top 5 Tips for
Dealing with Homesickness
1. Make Friends – Don’t wait for other au pairs to reach out to you, reach out to them. There are other lots of new au pairs who are feeling the same way you are right now. Set a goal to reach out to a few of them each day. Some will respond and some will not. Don’t let that discourage you. No one will ever be mad at you for sending them a message to say hello or ask if they want to do something together. Make friends from various countries and you will also get a chance to practice your English skills together.
2. Stay in touch with your home country, but not too much. Skyping or talking on the phone every day with your family and/or friends back home normally makes homesickness worse. Try emailing instead and reduce the Skype and phone calls to once a week, until you feel stronger. It’s much harder seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those you miss.
3. Get out of the house (or your room specifically) – Go to cluster meetings, have coffee or movies with other au pairs, join a gym, go to the library, go for a walk, visit the mall, get a manicure, visit a museum. If someone invites you out, say “yes.” Also, don’t be afraid to do the inviting. If your host family invites you to do things with them, say “yes.” This will help you get to know each other and contribute to your overall happiness.
4. Realize that it definitely gets better – All au pairs experience homesickness and nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay for two years.) So, it must get better, right? Once you get past the initial homesickness, most au pairs report how quickly the year goes by.
5. Make Plans – Create your own Au Pair Bucket List (places you want to go, new foods to try, new things to experience during your year in the U.S.) and start doing them now. Post on our cluster Facebook group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.
Photo by: Shimelle Laine (Flickr)