Monthly Archives: September 2014

Driving-School Buses

Back to School

The rules regarding stopping for school buses are:

  • Yellow flashing lights indicate that the bus is preparing to load or unload children. You should slow down and prepare to stop the car.
  • Red flashing lights and extended stop arms indicate that the bus has stopped, and children are getting on or off. Motorists approaching from either direction must wait until the red lights stop flashing before proceeding.
  • It is against the law to pass a stopped school bus while its lights are flashing and its’ stop arm is extended. Vehicles must stop on both sides of the roadway. Failure to stop can result in high fines which the au pair has to pay, not the host family.

Getting kids to eat healthy snacks

DSC_1219The Annapolis cluster had the privilege of having Tammy Turner from Annapolis Pediatrics educate my au pairs on how to get picky eaters to eat their fruits and veggies.  Tammy suggested eating a “rainbow” every day and keeping track of the colors  each day as a way of  making eating healthy fun and exciting.  For example, Mondays could be blue and purple and another day could be yellow and orange.  Choosing a variety of veggies such as squash, sugar snap peas and yellow grape tomatoes adds color to their plate.  Picking fruits that look interesting like kiwi or mangoes teaches children that there are many different kinds of fruits to choose from.  DSC_1221So while they may not like a certain fruit they may really enjoy something else.  It’s all about exposing your children to different foods to get them to try something new.  Suggestions were provided on snacks you can make days in advance in less than 5 minutes!  The au pairs were invited to try veggies alone or dipped in roasted pepper hummus or fruit paired with Greek Vanilla yogurt.  A great website to give au pairs other suggestions may be found at ChooseMyPlate.gov.  Another great tip was to download the free app called Fooducate on your smart phone.  This app allows you to scan the bar code of any given food and the app then provides you with a grade and color to see if this is as healthy as you think.  This is a wonderful tool to use with children to get them excited about what they are eating and a  fun way to get kids involved in  eating healthy. DSC_1229DSC_1225DSC_1230

Anne Arundel County Fair ~ Sept 10-14, 2014

Anne Arundel County FairThe Anne Arundel County Fair is an annual event held in Crownsville, Maryland that dates back to 1953. The fair includes a full range of entertainment for the whole family including carnival rides and games, animal exhibits, monster trucks, pony rides, garden tractor pulls, pig races, pie eating contests, a talent show, live music and much more. The Fair will be held from Sept. 10-14th this year.  Hours are 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 10-12 and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sept. 13-14. For more information visit their website at:  www.aacountyfair.org

Admission Prices
$6.00 Ages 16 and over
$4.00 Children ages 8-15
Ages 7 & under free
Senior Citizens (ages 55 & over) & Disabled Free on Thursday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.