Author Archives: Jan Peedin

Hints for Success – Homesickness/Culture Shock

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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)

Statue Of Liberty to Reopen

Statue_of_Liberty_FREE_l

For those of you in the NYC area or with au pairs planning a visit, our most famous icon symbolizing the American people and culture will re-open on July 4th after damage from Hurricane Sandy. On October 29th the 820 mile (1320km) wide hurricane brought high winds and storm surges to much of the Eastern United States, including New York City. The Statue of Liberty is on Liberty Island, a 12 acre island located a mile south of lower Manhattan. Normally, the confines of the New York Harbor protect Liberty Island from extreme weather. However, when Hurricane Sandy hit, Liberty Island was in the direct path of a massive storm surge. Nearby in Battery Park, water rose 13.8 feet (4.2m). On Liberty Island, that meant nearly 75% of the Island was under water.

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986.

Visits to Liberty Island can be planned by going to the website:

http://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/statue2012reopening.htm

Valentines Day February 14

A little history about Saint Valentine’s Day

valentines day

On Thursday, February 14th we celebrate Valentine’s Day in the United States by giving flowers, candy and cards to those we love. We do this in honor of Saint Valentine. You may be wondering, “Who is St. Valentine”? Time to brush up on your Valentine’s history!

Legend has it that Valentine was a priest who served during third century Rome. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those that were married. With this thought in mind he outlawed marriage for young men in hopes of building a stronger army. Supposedly, Valentine, decided this decree was not fair and married young couples in secret. When Emperor Claudius II found out about Valentine’s actions he had his head cut off making him a martyr of love. Another legend has it that Valentine was an imprisoned man who fell in love with his jailor’s daughter. Before he was put to death he sent the first ‘valentine’ himself when he wrote her a letter and signed it ‘Your Valentine’, words still used on cards today.

Perhaps we’ll never know the true identity and story behind the man named St. Valentine, but this much is for sure…February has been the month to celebrate love for a long time, dating back to the Middle Ages. In fact, Valentines ranks second only to Christmas in number of greeting cards sent. For some fun children’s activities including crafts, coloring pages, games, puzzles and poems go to:

http://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/index.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/valentines-day/

Super Bowl is this Sunday, February 3rd!

Check it out at http://www.nfl.com/superbowl/47/super-bowl-matchup

Your Host Family will probably be watching, even if only for half time featuring Beyonce, and for the exciting new commercials! beyonce super bowl 2013

 

  • There is a simple explanation of American Football for au pairs on the APIA website: http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/football.asp
  • Even if football is not something you enjoy, the commercials are amazing! Advertisers pay about $30 million dollars for a 30 second commercial to be shown during the Super Bowl, so expect great commercials! People will be talking about the commercials as much as the game!
  • Great entertainment during halftime! This year Madonna is the featured act!

wall-football-games-photo-260-FF1108EFA13 Football Fun with Kids

Before putting anything on the walls, ask your host family if it OK!!

Wall Football – Football version of Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Supplies:
· Poster board
· Brown card stock or construction paper
· White marker
· Poster tacks
· Blindfold

Instructions

  1. For the game pieces, first create a goal post from two-inch-wide strips of poster board. (The uprights and the crossbar are each 20 inches long, and the post is 6 inches tall.) We attached ours to the wall using poster tack.
  2. For the footballs, cut 5-inch-long shapes out of brown card stock. We found some in the scrapbook aisle of our craft store that looks like football leather. Use a white opaque paint marker to decorate and add players’ names to the footballs. Put a blob of poster tack on the back of each one.
  3. Players line up about six feet away from the goal. One at a time, each player is blindfolded, spun around three times by another person, and set loose to try to stick their football between the uprights. (No reaching out your empty hand to feel the wall.) Play several rounds with 3 points awarded for each field goal. Highest score wins.

Happy Diwali from Au Pair in America

diwali

Diwali marks the beginning of the Hindu New Year and is celebrated with the lighting of lamps and candles, and lots of fireworks. It is regarded as one of the most important festivals of the Hindu calendar. It is celebrated across the nation with great pomp and excitement. The festival is mainly associated with lights as it is called the festival of light. The name Diwali signifies ‘rows of lighted lamps’. Diwali is a five-day festival, beginning on the 15th day of the Hindu calendar month of Kartika (Ashwin). Diyas and candles are placed on rooftops, rooms, and kitchen and even in the bathrooms. On this day, people worship Lord Ganesha, the foremost of all Hindu Gods and Goddess Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth and Prosperity. It is time to exchange gifts and sweets with friends, relatives and neighbors. Diwali in 2012 will start today, Tuesday, the 13th of November, and will continue for 5 days until Saturday, the 17th of November.

Check out you tube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMguvWvA5Yk

Columbus Day

columbus-day

The APIA office will close at 3.00pm today and will be closed on Monday in observance of Columbus Day.

Columbus Day, which is observed annually on the second Monday of October, remembers Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the Americas on October 12, 1492.

Americans are often invited to celebrate the anniversary of the discovery of their country with church services and other activities. In some towns and cities, special church services, parades and large events are held. Most celebrations are concentrated around the Italian-American community. The celebrations in New York and San Francisco are particularly noteworthy. In Hawaii Columbus Day is also known as Landing Day or Discoverer’s Day. Not all parts of the United States celebrate Columbus Day. It is not a public holiday in California, Nevada and Hawaii.

For more information about this holiday go to: http://www.history.com/topics/columbus-day

For activities for children including arts and crafts, word searches, puzzles and more facts and history go to http://www.theholidayzone.com/columbus/

Let The Games Begin

Are you catching Olympic Fever?

Olympics

Here are some resources and activities for your children below.

First things first:

Keep track of the Olympic events here is the official website for the games:

http://www.london2012.com/

 

 

The games are on NBC. The viewing schedule:

http://www.nbcolympics.com/results-schedules/index.html

 

Olympic websites:

 

Kids Activities.net

This one has background info, crafts, games, and snacks.

http://www.kidactivities.net/post/Olympics-Theme-for-Kids.aspx

 

Project Britain:

This one has activities for older kids divided in subjects such as literacy, math, science, history, geography, art and design

http://projectbritain.com/olympics/teachingresources.html

 

Care.com

Information on indoor and outdoor activities including have an Olympic ceremony.

http://www.care.com/child-care-fun-games-to-teach-kids-about-the-summer-olympics-p1017-q17278398.html

 

Teacher planet

Lesson plans, worksheets, and activities

http://www.teacherplanet.com/resource/summerolympics.php

 

DC Olympic website with links to

Athens Perseus project, National Geographic and food from Ancient Greece

http://erikafranz.wordpress.com/2012/06/12/summer-olympics-summer-adventures-for-the-family/

 

British links teaching about the Olympics

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/apr/16/london-2012-olympics-teaching-resources

 

Printables

  1. 1. http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/summer_olympics.htm
  2. 2. http://homeschooling.about.com/od/freeprintables/ss/summerolympics_all.htm

 

 

FYI:

 

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE OLYMPIC RINGS?

The Olympic symbol consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions, used alone, in one or in five different colors, which are, from left to right, blue, yellow, black, green and red. The Olympic symbol (the Olympic rings) expresses the activity of the Olympic Movement and represents the union of the five continents and the meeting of athletes from throughout the world at the Olympic Games.

Columbia Lakefront Concerts

The Columbia Association’s Lakefront Summer Festival is sponsored by the Columbia Association and held on the lawn at the Columbia Town Center Lakefront (click for map) off Little Patuxent Pkwy. No admission fee is charged. Parking is free. lakefront1

Sunday concerts begin at 6:30 pm and all other concerts begin at 8 pm and end by 10 pm.

Every Friday, beginning June 15 until September 14, free dance instruction with music will be held under the People Tree at Town Center Lakefront, from 6:30-8pm. Tatia Zack will give instruction that’s fun for beginners and those with experience! When the dance session ends — the movie begins!

lakefront

Movies begin at dusk (about 8:30 pm). All films are rated (G) unless otherwise noted.

No glass containers or alcoholic beverages are permitted.

Rain Cancellation: 410-715-3127

Statue Of Liberty

June 17 – The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France in 1885 to recognize the French-American cooperation during the American Revolution.  She stands 305 feet (93 meters) high in New York Harbor.  The seven rays on her crown represent the seven continents and seven seas of the world.

June 14 is Flag Day

flagdayFlying the American flag is more popular than ever. It is a symbol of the country’s values and traditions. Do you know what the stars and stripes mean?   Its 13 red and white stripes represent the original colonies and the 50 stars stand for the states. You might also want to use this day to teach the children about your own flag.  You can find a print out of the American flag and flags of many other countries in the Kids Culture Corner